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Naked and Free in The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening Essays

  Naked and Free in The Awakening    The Awakening, by Kate Chopin seems to fit neatly into twentieth  century ideals.  Chopin addresses psychological issues that must have been  difficult for people of the late nineteenth century to grasp.  Just as Edna  died a premature death, Chopin's book died too.  The rejection of this  book, at the time, ironically demonstrates the pressure many women must have  felt to conform to society.  Chopin shows the reader, through Edna  Pontellier, that society restricts women the right to individuality.  This  restriction by society can be seen in the clothing Victorian women wore during  the time.      For example, we see clothing used as an important metaphor in the  story.  Victorian women's clothing was extremely confining, much like their  life.  The clothing can be seen as a type of "cage" which is apparent when  we see Edna and Adele walking to the beach in chapter seven.  Adele wore a  veil, "doe skin gloves, white gauntlets ... was dressed in pure white, with a  fluffiness of ruffles that became her" (478).  Adele was the ideal of  beauty.  Edna, on the other hand, "wore a cool muslin that morning ... a  white linen collar and a big straw hat" (478).  We learn that "a casual and  indiscriminating observer ... might not cast a second glance" (478) towards  Edna.  The fact that Edna was simply dressed showed her non conformity  towards society's standards.  When the two women get to the beach, Edna  removes her collar and unbuttons her dress at the throat.  Her decision not  to wear all the garments is a hint at the rebellion to come.    Another obvious example of the symbolism of clothing is seen at the end of  the novel when Edna removes all of her clothing before committing suicide.   Chopin writes that when Edna was "there beside the sea, absolutely alone, she  cast the unpleasant, prickling garments from her, and for the first time in her  life stood naked in the open air" (558).  Edna seems to be removing her  final restrictions before finding her freedom in death.  This last  rebellion against society seems to give Edna her final "awakening".  This  awakening can be seen when Chopin writes, "She felt like some new born creature  opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known" (558).