Journal 25: Chopin's wings

Quote:
“‘The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is sad to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth’” (Chopin 599)

Summary:
This are the exact words of Mademoiselle Reisz to Edna, when they where talking about Edna wanting to be an artist. Edna is telling this to Arobin when she is back at her house. She thinks these words are “queer”.

Response:

Mademoiselle Reisz’s words tell Edna that she needs to be ready and strong to overcome all the obstacles she will encounter if she really wants to become an artist. But this “artist” is not only about Edna’s desire to become a painter, it is about Edna as a whole and about all the awakenings she is having. Mademoiselle is telling her that discovering herself as and individual and trying to be independent in her time, will be a harsh task if not impossible. Also, she is telling her that people who usually want to be free and will often surrender and go back to the beginning, which is why if Edna has resolve enough to start her journey, she will need strong wings.

I think these words actually became true at the beginning, when Edna tries to swim far away in the ocean, but once she is overreaching her own strength, she get scared of death, and she goes back. Mademoiselle’s words reflect exactly how Edna felt when she came back from the water that day she learned how to swim. But in this case is not the ocean, it’s the sky, both are infinite and threatening, both symbolize freedom, and both can lead to death if you can’t fly or you can’t swim.

Chopin’s symbolism is really great, plus, the message she sends with these words, is the confrontation with a harsh reality that everyone knows, because humans want to believe they can overcome their problems and they can succeed, but that is not true, at least not if you don’t have the strength enough.