The Symbol of Chopin

     In The Awakening, there are several symbols throughout the book that either symbolize an overall theme or the main character herself, Edna Pontellier. There are symbols such as the birds or the sea which symbolize her breaking free. Then there's her arts that give her individuality and purpose, but the most elegant and persuasive symbol in my opinion on Edna's life is the music played by Mademoiselle Reisz. The music that she plays symbolizes something greater if you've ever heard it. Impromptu is a famous piece composed by Frédéric Chopin. This piece is very much like Edna's life. Edna's first encounter with these pieces by Mademoiselle Reisz stirred great emotion as she imagined a naked man on a desolate rock who was filled with great resignation as he looked out and saw a bird flying away. This first encounter is much like Edna as she is saddened and constrained by Leonce while she dreams about going away.  The next piece evoked massive emotions throughout her, swaying and stirring up emotions that must've been locked deep down in the very essence of her "soul." She trembled at the sounds, she wept and felt the power of this experience. Throughout the story, she continues to beg or plead with Reisz for more as it did so much for her mind. But most interestingly is how Frédéric Chopin wrote his music which related to Edna's life itself.. 

     Frédéric Chopin composed unlike any other before his time. The piece was much like a Shakespeare play, many ups and downs until a final sad and solemn ending. The notes progressively go up such as Edna's excitement in life, then go down such as her random outbreaks in her emotion which resemble some type of depression such as chapter 30. Her very life story, her events in her life, follow the path that the music she had listened to and stirred up all these emotions tell. Her life has trailed from going up with Robert and breaking free from Leonce, then went down as Robert left for Mexico. It then went back up with Alcee's appearance and back down when she felt some sort of guilt or conscioussness to her doings. It seemed to have gone up at the party but then, I feel, she finally realized she was going to be alone in her new house. She took that step of independence, the high note in the piece, the part that gains greater speed and is the height of excitement, but then realized at the end of chapter 32 "she was alone." I predict that the book will follow the same pattern as the piece by Frédéric Chopin. Or it'll follow his most famous piece - Nocturne. She'll have more manic highs and depressing lows - ultimately ending in a crushing defeat (If following Impromptu) or even worse - death (likely in Nocturne).