The Awakening contains many symbolic features, such as the way Edna uses art, the birds
             (the parrot and the mockingbird), sleep, music, and the houses Edna Pontellier lives in, but
             perhaps two of the most significant symbols are the clothes in the novel, not only of Edna,
             but also the other characters, and the water, whether it be the ocean, the gulf, or the sea.
             These two symbols are possibly the most significant because of their direct relationship to
             Edna Pontellier. Both the water and her clothes have the power to not only emphasize, but
             help show exactly how and what Edna is feeling.
             Clothes appear to have significant meaning in The Awakening, enough so that they
             are mentioned at almost every description of the characters. Edna Pontellier starts the novel
             fully dressed and appropriately dressed for a woman of her responsibilities, however, at her
             final moment, she is naked on the beach. Other women in the story also represent their
             'position' and the way they feel in the way they dress. For example, Madmoiselle Reisz
             never changes her clothes. This could possibly symbolize her physical detachment from
             anything around her, including nature and any suppressed feelings. In contrast, Edna's
             clothes represent her physical attachment to society. She sheds her clothes the way a snake
             sheds its skin when it is time for a new one and it does not fit into the old one any longer.
             Edna doesn't feel like she can fit into society any longer. Madmoiselle Reisz, on the other
             hand, does not seem to have any desire to be more than what she has been given in the
             society in which she lives. Therefore, she does not change her clothes, because she does not
             feel the need for change in her life.
             Other characters, such as Madame Leburn always have new clothes to cover their
             bodies. This could, perhaps, represent the constant need to cover their sexuality as women in
             suppressed roles as wives and m...