What Does Soft Close Embrace Mean

Quote Literary/Style Elements Commentary Additional Ideas
“The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.” (15) Personification – the sea
Imagery – touch
Diction – soft, close embrace / sensuous Chopin uses to sea to illustrate the freedom that Edna desires and eventually obtains. Edna explores her emotional and sexual awakening which was foreshadowed through the word “sensuous” and the phrase “soft, close embrace”. Edna is changed after her first time being in the sea on her own and becomes more independent as a woman. The sea liberated Edna from her way of life and she became a different person as a result.
“Why, it seems to me that the sun is hot enough to have
The word choice of “coiled” and “curled” are what snakes are known to do before they attack their pray, yet Edna is willing to die and give her life to the ocean. The ocean is what allowed Edna to truly live, and in doing so caused her to go through very rough experiences that eventually led to her committing
Edna observes several different things that were once familiar and now after her awakening she sees them almost as antagonists to her. She is able to see that her former way of life was oppressive and unfair to women. Conventionally, women were not supposed to question why the world was like this and Edna recognizes this fact which leads to her new way of life.
“I can live in the tiny house for little or nothing...I know I shall like it, like the feeling of freedom and independence.” (86-87) Diction – freedom / independence Chopin captures Edna’s desire to be less conventional through her move out of her house to a tiny house on the corner. Edna uses the words freedom and independence which aren’t exactly thoughts that a conventional woman would be having. In fact, she doesn’t even tell her husband and comments that he will think she is “demented”. She moves in order to escape the psychological prison she is in and explore her own