Use of Aviary Symbolism in the Awakening Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening is full of symbolism. Symbols add meaning and depth to the text. Chopin emphasizes the expression "free as a bird" through the consistent use of aviary symbolism in the Awakening. Throughout the story he cleverly weaves images and descriptions of birds to express the psychological state of mind of his protagonist, Edna Pontellier. Perhaps the most obvious example of this symbolism is in the first spoken sentences of the novel, which, strangely, are not spoken by a human, but rather shrill by a parrot. "Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! Alright!" (Chopin 1) are the words shouted by this mad caged bird. When translated into English, they say: "Go away! Go away! For heaven's sake!" These expressions adequately represent the forbidden thoughts that cross the mind of Edna Pontellier, the heroine of the novel. She wants to leave because she is bored with her worldly life. Tired of dealing with her insensitive husband and her normal children, she longs for something more exciting. Paradoxically, Edna probably should have followed the parrot's advice and immediately escaped from her hellish world. Yet she didn't do it and, for this reason, she was forced to meet her tragic end. Moreover, in addition to the words of warning, the image of this hostile, screaming bird is itself a symbol. Because, like the parrot, Edna is also trapped, not inside a wire cage, but according to society's standards and traditions. The next demonstration of the avian image comes in the form of a young man named Alcee Arobin, a man whose slowly syllable last name is pronounced “a – robin.” This bird, a harbinger of spring, is able to fly freely. Ar... middle of paper... it is useful to consider this quote by Sandra Gilbert: Porches and pianos, mothers and children, skirts and umbrellas: all these are the supports and properties of domestic life, the key elements of that which in The nineteenth century was called the "sphere of women", and it is in this sphere, on the edge of a blue gulf, that Edna Pontellier is firmly caged when she appears for the first time. . . she is confined to what is not only literally a "woman's sphere" but, symbolically speaking, the Woman's House. . . every object and figure [here] has not only a literal domestic function and a dreamlike symbolic splendor, but a typically feminine symbolic meaning" (47). Works Cited and Consulted Bloom, Harold, edited by Kate Chopin. Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Chopin, Kate The Awakening and Selected Stories New York: Penguin Books, 1986.