It is no secret that Mrs. Pontellier is a wise woman,
understanding the complicated ways and difficulties of life. Also as shown on
page 49 where she breaks down into an overwhelming river of tears— a distressed
woman. Her marriage is not perfect one as I explained in my previous blog post,
and when there is not a significant other for comfort and support through
difficult times; it is necessary to have some sort of relief to get away from.
Mrs. Pontellier obliges to Roberts request for her to join him on a stroll to
the sea. Chopin describes the sea as a sort of solace for Mrs. Pontellier, “The
voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous,
enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.”(Chopin 57). I fell that
Chopin’s description of the sea is one that could be a description of a lover,
maybe it is depicted this way because of Mrs. Pontellier’s lack of a comforting
lover, so the ocean is a substitute for it. Since her husband will not wrap her
up in a warm embrace, the ocean will instead.
In
class we were informed to try and understand the symbolism of large bodies of
water, and in this situation, I feel that the ocean is a solace in Mrs.
Pontelliers stressful and hard to understand life.
I agree that Mrs. Pontellier's marriage is not a perfect one. I believe that Edna should be spending time with her family instead of Robert Lebrun. However, i think Edna feels more comfortable with Robert than her own husband.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the Pontelliers do not have the best marriage. I think that the sea being a "loving embrace" symbolizes Robert because he was always there for Edna. I think that Edna should be trying to look towards her family for love not someone else.
ReplyDeleteEdna does seem to have an interest in the sea. From a totally outside perspective, Edna seems to be lost in herself. She does not have the confidence as a mother, wife, or even friend. She does not fit in with the other Creole women and in this aspect, Edna feels powerless. When looking to the sea, I think she feels a sense of empowerment that she does not find elsewhere.
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