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Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Key Examples in The Awakening
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Adèle Ratignolle's Charms:
Early in the novel, the narrator uses imagery to describe Edna’s close friend Adèle Ratignolle:
There was nothing subtle or hidden about her charms; her beauty was all there, flaming and apparent: the spun-gold hair that comb nor confining pin could restrain; the blue eyes that were like nothing but sapphires; two lips that pouted, that were so red one could only think of cherries or some other delicious crimson fruit in looking at them.
Related Themes:
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—A Desolate Figure:
Over the course of the novel, Edna grows close with the piano player Mademoiselle Reisz and asks her to play for her. As Mademoiselle Reisz plays, the music “evoke[s] pictures in [Edna’s] mind.” In Chapter 9, the novel uses evocative imagery to capture Edna’s emotions as Mademoiselle Reisz plays a piece entitled "Solitude":
Unlock with LitCharts A+When [Edna] heard it there came before her imagination the figure of a man standing beside a desolate rock on the seashore. He was naked. His attitude was one of hopeless resignation as he looked toward a distant bird winging its flight away from him.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Hot Breath of Night:
While at a musical party at the Ratignolle’s, Edna recounts a story of two lovers, told to her by Madame Antoine. The narrator uses visual and sensory imagery to describes the partygoers’ reaction to Edna’s story:
Unlock with LitCharts A+They could feel the hot breath of the Southern night; they could hear the long sweep of the pirogue through the glistening moonlit water, the beating of birds’ wings, rising startled from among the reeds in the salt-water pools; they could see the faces of the lovers, pale, close together, rapt in oblivious forgetfulness, drifting into the unknown.
Related Themes:
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—A Curious Procession:
In Chapter 12, Edna and Robert go to mass by boat. Before arriving, they observe some people walking on the beach, and whom the novel describes using imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[A] curious procession moving toward the wharf—the lovers, shoulder to shoulder, creeping; the lady in black, gaining steadily upon them[.]
Chapter 30
Explanation and Analysis—Yellow, Silver, and Gold:
After Edna finalizes her move into the pigeon-house, a sign of her asserting her newfound independence, she throws a glamorous birthday party at her former residence. The house is spectacularly decorated, which the narrator describes using imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+There were wax candles in massive brass candelabra, burning softly under yellow silk shades; full, fragrant roses, yellow and red, abounded. There were silver and gold, as she had said there would be, and crystal which glittered like the gems which the women wore.
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Explanation and Analysis—Edna's Glow:
On the night of Edna's elegant party, the narrator uses imagery to describe Edna:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The golden shimmer of Edna’s satin gown spread in rich folds on either side of her. There was a soft fall of lace encircling her shoulders. It was the color of her skin, without the glow, the myriad living tints that one may sometimes discover in vibrant flesh. There was something in her attitude, in her whole appearance when she leaned her head against the high-backed chair and spread her arms, which suggested the regal woman, the one who rules, who looks on, who stands alone.
Related Themes:
Chapter 39
Explanation and Analysis—Pinks Filled the Air:
As Edna dies, memories from her childhood return to her in a flood of images. The novel uses imagery to express these memories to the reader:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Edna heard her father’s voice and her sister Margaret’s. She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was the hum of bees, and the musty odor of pinks filled the air.
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