Nature and Chopin
Nature and ChopinNature as a Mood Controlling Device
Nature relates to everyone. For this reason it is one of the most frequently found elements in literature. Nature embodies the human spirit and the human emotional spectrum. In “Nature” Emerson suggests that, “Every appearance in nature corresponds to some state of the mind and that state of mind can only be described by presenting that natural appearance its picture”. Nature has been described as “the world’s body, through which they [authors] speak in concrete terms their perceptions of themselves and the world” (Harmon 341). Kate Chopin uses nature as a symbol of her characters’ spirits. The moods, emotions and actions of the characters are reflected in their natural surroundings. Three of her works in which nature plays a vital role are “Ripe Figs”, “The Awakening”, and “The Storm”. Nature is liberating, sensual, deceptive, isolating, and cyclic in each of these pieces.
Chopin uses nature as a medium through which to set her characters free. In “Ripe Figs”, Maman Nainaine will only allow Babbette to visit her relatives when the figs ripen. Maman Nainaine associates Babbette’s independence with events in nature. When the figs have matured then Babbette is mature enough to handle the responsibility of a little freedom. Similarly, in “The Awakening” the ocean provides Edna with a sort of freedom. In the beginning of the novella Edna struggles with swimming. “A certain ungovernable dread hung about her in the water, unless there was a hand nearby that might reach out and reassure her” (36). At the same time she is oppressed by her husband and submissive to society’s expectations of her. She is afraid to make it on her own; she feels she needs her husband as support. One evening Edna decides to take a chance and tries to swim alone. Her success gives her a feeling of exultation, ” . . . as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul” ( 36). Simultaneous with her newfound ability to swim comes Edna’s ability to see herself as an independent woman, an entity entirely separate from her husband. The water unfettered her. Likewise, in “The Storm”, the thunderstorm is what keeps Calixta’s husband away from home and what drives Alceè into her arms. The wall of water acts as a barrier between Calixta and her husband. She is able to forget her husband and child, her responsibilities, for a short period of time. During the storm she is a passionate, desirable woman. She is no longer just a housewife and mother. Ultimately the rain extricates Calixta from the bonds of her marriage. In all of these texts, nature provides a means of escape. As Emerson once said, “Nature is made to conspire...
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