In The Awakening, Kate Chopin used the sea as a symbol to show how Edna awakened to her independence, her sexual desires and her place in society. The book took place in the late 1800s on Grand Isle in Louisiana. The main character Edna Pontellier, who was not a Creole, was married to Leonce Pontellier, who was a Creole. Leonce was self-centered and did not care about anybody but himself. He saw Edna as his possession because in Creole society men were dominant. Seldom did the Creoles accept outsiders into their social circle and women were expected to provide well-kept homes and have many children. Edna did not feel that she fit into the Creole society and finally awoke to many feelings when she swam in the sea for the first time.…
