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Get every literary device explanation for The AwakeningPlus so much more...
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Simile
Explanation and Analysis—Muddled Wine:
On a warm day on Grand Isle, Edna expresses her inner emotions to her friend Adèle Ratignolle, and the novel uses a simile to describe how this interaction makes her feel:
[...] flushed and intoxicated with the sound of her own voice and the unaccustomed taste of candor. It muddled her like wine, or like a first breath of freedom.
The book compares Edna’s experience to being drunk or gaining independence for the first time. Expressing her emotions causes Edna to feel a sense of freedom—this self-understanding, crucially, is part of her titular awakening. Throughout the novel, Edna begins to focus on her inner experiences and desires rather than what other people expect of her, shying away from the strict Victorian norms that dictate her behavior and choices. However, this self-knowledge comes with a risk: she abandons social convention without clear principles to guide her, which ultimately leaves her feeling empty and aimless.
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