In The Awakening, caged birds serve as reminders of Edna’s entrapment and also of the entrapment of Victorian women in general. Madame Lebrun’s parrot and mockingbird represent Edna and Madame Reisz. Like the birds, the women’s movements are limited by the society around them, and they are unable to communicate with the world around them. The novel’s “winged” women may only use their wings to protect and shield, never to fly.
Edna’s attempts to escape her husband, children, and society manifest this arrested flight, as her efforts only land her in another cage, the pigeon house. While Edna views her new home as a sign of her independence, the pigeon house represents her inability to remove herself from her former life, as her move takes her just “two steps away.” Mademoiselle Reisz instructs Edna that she must have strong wings in order to survive the difficulties she will face if she plans to act on her love for Robert. She warns: “The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.”
Critics who argue that Edna’s suicide marks defeat, both individually and for women, point out the similar wording of the novel’s final example of bird imagery: “A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water.” If, however, the bird is not a symbol of Edna herself, but rather of Victorian womanhood in general, then its fall represents the fall of convention achieved by Edna’s suicide.
Edna finally is able to soar when she swims out to sea, and instead of turning back she keeps swimming because it is her choice to do so. Edna finally realizes that she has control over herself and decides to keep swimming towards freedom. Some people might believe that Edna is committing suicide, but those readers are not looking at the big picture, she finally decides to do what is right in her mind, which sets her free and to soar like a bird.
In today's society there are a lot of people including men that need to strive to soar like a board or they just fall from the sky. Everyone can not soar or fall forever and I see a lot of instances through High school where that happens, especially with relationships. One moment the couple feels like they are on top of the world and keep soaring like a bird, but that can change in one instance. It is crazy how quickly someone can change their mind and treat you like they never knew you. Everyone in society experiences the bird metaphor in The Awakening, everyone falls and everyone will soar at some point in their life, but they need to find their independence first.
