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Chapters 1-5 Commentary The Awakening is about Edna's dissatisfaction with the social constraints on women's freedom. Therefore, it is significant that it opens with two caged birds. Throughout the novel, Edna feels that marriage enslaves her to an identity she for which she is not suited. The parrot is an expensive bird valued for its beauty. The mockingbird is fairly common and plain, and it is valued for the music it provides. These two birds …

…been referring to her all along. She is the one running things the way she wants, and she is causing the chaos he dislikes so much. Edna throws her wedding ring to the ground because it symbolizes her entrapment within constricting conventions. Her husband has just equated her status with that of a wayward servant or a paid employee. He provides her with a lavish home, so she owes him her complete submission. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**