Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, is a very artistic and musical work. The novel is filled with references to music and art. In the very first chapter, the Farival twins play a duet on the piano. Les Ratignolles regularly organize musical evenings. Miss Reisz is a talented pianist, who often plays for Edna. Edna loves music and takes up drawing and painting. Music stimulates his passions. Art brings him fulfillment and liberation. Her painting, in particular, functions as a symbol of how Edna shaped and designed her own life. As Edna awakens to her identity, she begins to shape her own destiny amidst stifling Victorian society. Likewise, as she awakens to art, she begins to create her own style. His paintings on canvas represent his individuality traits. Edna discovers her personal voice at the same time as she finds her artistic voice. The art symbolizes Edna's self-expression. Art presents an alternative to domesticity. Throughout the novel, Edna's growth as an artist is chronicled. She starts as an amateur impersonator and works her way up to becoming an aspiring artist. However, Edna's career as an artist ends when her life is swallowed up by the sea. By comparing Edna to the two other artists in the novel, one can assess the reasons for Edna's fateful decision. Initially, Edna was just an amateur, not an artist. She brought her drawing materials to Grand Isle. She “tried” herself at drawing, “in an unprofessional manner” (Chopin 543). His handling and control of his brushes manifested a “natural aptitude” and not a “long and close knowledge of them” (Chopin 543). She does not yet take her art seriously; it is simply a means of pleasure. In Edna's early days, her art is limited only to imitation (Dyer 89). She wishes to browse...... in the middle of a paper......t her (Chopin 625), but, for Edna, it is the culmination of her artistic efforts. Main sourceChopin, Kate. Awakening. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: WW Norton, 2007. 535-625. Print.Secondary sourcesBloom, Harold, ed. Modern critical views: Kate Chopin. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Print. Boren, Lynda S. and Sara DeSaussure Davis, eds. Kate Chopin Reconsidered: Beyond the Bayou. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1999. Print. Dyer, Joyce. Awakening: a novel about beginnings. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. Print. Koloski, Bernard, ed. Approaches to teaching Chopin's Awakening. New York: American Modern Language Association, 1988. Print. Wyatt, Neal. “Symbols in “The Awakening”” Virginia Commonwealth University. 1995. Internet. August 06. 2010. .