Motif in The Awakening

Motif Examples in The Awakening:

Chapter XXIX

"Joe is working over at the ‘pigeon house’—that's the name Ellen gives it,..." See in text (Chapter XXIX)

The nickname of Edna’s home—the ‘pigeon house’—evokes again the motif of the bird. As Mademoiselle Reisz tells Edna in Chapter XXVII, “the bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings.” Edna is the bird who desires freedom from society constraints. Thus, the house that will allow Edna such freedom is called the “pigeon house.”

Zachary, Owl Eyes Editor

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