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In her novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin is an artist who paints a picture for the reader with every word:"The sun was low in the west, and the breeze was soft and languorous that came up from the south, charged with the seductive odor of the sea." (12) The inclusion of such alluring and dramatic images allows the reader to see, hear, feel, smell, and live in the scene which she creates. Chopin writes to awaken the senses, and her style is one of beauty and uniqueness. As if stroking a brush across a canvas, or playing a chord on the piano, Chopin’s use of expressive, descriptive, and poignant writing is evident throughout the novel, thus adding to its overall effect.
Chopin incorporates a number of images and emotional phrases which reflect the beauty of her writing. A recurring image throughout the novel is that of the sea: "The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude, to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace." (13) Chopin gives us the ability to feel the sentiments of her characters as they wander along the shore. We can hear the soft crashes of the waves and smell the sweet, cool odor of the sea. Chopin allows us to feel the warmth and serenity that Edna feels towards the ocean. The sea is a place of comfort and contentment for Edna. Chopin uses adjectives such as "seductive" and "whispering" to illustrate this. Compelling lines such as the aforementioned are not lacking within the work. In each chapter Chopin writes with a flowing, descriptive style that allows the reader to be affected by her words:"It was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire." (83) Chopin does not simply write about a small kiss exchanged between Arobin and Edna, she expresses the passion and significance of their moment together as being a "flaming torch." She later describes the heartfelt professions of love between Robert and Edna, enthralling the reader’s mind: "He kissed her with a degree of passion which had not before entered into his caress, and strained her to him. ‘I love you,’ she whispered. .... Oh! I have suffered, suffered! Now you are here we shall love each other, my Robert. We shall be everything to each other. Nothing else in the world is of any consequence.’ Her seductive voice, together with his great love for her, had enthralled his senses, had deprived him of every impulse but the longing to hold her and keep her." (108-9) Chopin uses powerful adjectives and dynamic images to entice the senses of the reader and enhance the effectiveness of the work
Chopin beautifies her novel through her many descriptions of scenes and characters: "Her beauty was all there, flaming and apparent: the spun-gold hair that comb nor confining pin could restrain; the blue eyes that were like nothing but sapphires; two lips that pouted, that were so red one could only think of cherries or some other delicious crimson fruit in looking at them." [8] Chopin describes Madame Ratignolle using vibrant adjectives and lucid images in order to create a sound picture in the reader’s mind. Images such as cherries and sapphires serve as references for the reader and give the writing a very poetic feeling. Chopin conveys this feeling later when describing Doctor Mandelet: "He was quite portly, with a profusion of gray hair, and small blue eyes which age had robbed of much of their brightness but none of their penetration." (65) Again, Chopin grasps the reader’s attention with a bold, clear image. In another respect, Chopin is able to let the music of Mademoiselle Reisz float off her pages. "The music grew strange and fantastic -turbulent, insistent, plaintive and soft with entreaty. The music filled the room. It floated out upon the night, over the housetops, the crescent of the river, losing itself in the silence of the upper air." (64) Chopin conveys the feeling and majesty of the music and the effect that it has on Edna and the other characters. The reader can almost hear the joyous sounds and the booming crescendos.
Chopin includes several recurring images at the end of the novel to complete the effectiveness of her work. The novel ends with Edna returning to the ocean. Like a refrain of a poem, Chopin again repeats her description of the sea, transporting the reader to a spot beside Edna on the sand: "The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in the abysses of solitude." (115) Chopin also includes the natural image of a bird to serve as a symbol in a very poetic line of the work: "A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water." (115) As the novel closes the reader will learn how Edna’s life and death compares to the bird. The last paragraphs of the novel end with the aura of contentment that was evident throughout the novel, without the inclusion of any harsh images. Chopin stimulates the senses one final time within the last line of the work: "There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air." (116)
Chopin writes a novel of poetic form and beauty in The Awakening. She eloquently describes each character, location, and situation, allowing the images to come to life in the reader’s mind. The emotions of Edna, as well as other characters, are felt through the poignant phrases and dramatic images which Chopin conveys. The constant inclusion of heavy description and poetic form makes The Awakening a very effective piece of writing.
Chopin incorporates a number of images and emotional phrases which reflect the beauty of her writing. A recurring image throughout the novel is that of the sea: "The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude, to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace." (13) Chopin gives us the ability to feel the sentiments of her characters as they wander along the shore. We can hear the soft crashes of the waves and smell the sweet, cool odor of the sea. Chopin allows us to feel the warmth and serenity that Edna feels towards the ocean. The sea is a place of comfort and contentment for Edna. Chopin uses adjectives such as "seductive" and "whispering" to illustrate this. Compelling lines such as the aforementioned are not lacking within the work. In each chapter Chopin writes with a flowing, descriptive style that allows the reader to be affected by her words:"It was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire." (83) Chopin does not simply write about a small kiss exchanged between Arobin and Edna, she expresses the passion and significance of their moment together as being a "flaming torch." She later describes the heartfelt professions of love between Robert and Edna, enthralling the reader’s mind: "He kissed her with a degree of passion which had not before entered into his caress, and strained her to him. ‘I love you,’ she whispered. .... Oh! I have suffered, suffered! Now you are here we shall love each other, my Robert. We shall be everything to each other. Nothing else in the world is of any consequence.’ Her seductive voice, together with his great love for her, had enthralled his senses, had deprived him of every impulse but the longing to hold her and keep her." (108-9) Chopin uses powerful adjectives and dynamic images to entice the senses of the reader and enhance the effectiveness of the work
Chopin beautifies her novel through her many descriptions of scenes and characters: "Her beauty was all there, flaming and apparent: the spun-gold hair that comb nor confining pin could restrain; the blue eyes that were like nothing but sapphires; two lips that pouted, that were so red one could only think of cherries or some other delicious crimson fruit in looking at them." [8] Chopin describes Madame Ratignolle using vibrant adjectives and lucid images in order to create a sound picture in the reader’s mind. Images such as cherries and sapphires serve as references for the reader and give the writing a very poetic feeling. Chopin conveys this feeling later when describing Doctor Mandelet: "He was quite portly, with a profusion of gray hair, and small blue eyes which age had robbed of much of their brightness but none of their penetration." (65) Again, Chopin grasps the reader’s attention with a bold, clear image. In another respect, Chopin is able to let the music of Mademoiselle Reisz float off her pages. "The music grew strange and fantastic -turbulent, insistent, plaintive and soft with entreaty. The music filled the room. It floated out upon the night, over the housetops, the crescent of the river, losing itself in the silence of the upper air." (64) Chopin conveys the feeling and majesty of the music and the effect that it has on Edna and the other characters. The reader can almost hear the joyous sounds and the booming crescendos.
Chopin includes several recurring images at the end of the novel to complete the effectiveness of her work. The novel ends with Edna returning to the ocean. Like a refrain of a poem, Chopin again repeats her description of the sea, transporting the reader to a spot beside Edna on the sand: "The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in the abysses of solitude." (115) Chopin also includes the natural image of a bird to serve as a symbol in a very poetic line of the work: "A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water." (115) As the novel closes the reader will learn how Edna’s life and death compares to the bird. The last paragraphs of the novel end with the aura of contentment that was evident throughout the novel, without the inclusion of any harsh images. Chopin stimulates the senses one final time within the last line of the work: "There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air." (116)
Chopin writes a novel of poetic form and beauty in The Awakening. She eloquently describes each character, location, and situation, allowing the images to come to life in the reader’s mind. The emotions of Edna, as well as other characters, are felt through the poignant phrases and dramatic images which Chopin conveys. The constant inclusion of heavy description and poetic form makes The Awakening a very effective piece of writing.
