Doves in Jesus’ Baptism

Since ancient times the dove has been used to identify and represent the divine. In the Bible, the dove represents the divine, encompassing the entities of heaven, the holy spirit, and god. In the story of Jesus’ baptism, it has been told that the spirit descending upon him resembles a dove, or descended like a dove. This can be seen in Luke 3:22, as the text describes, “The Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” Baptisms represent an entrance to a new pure world in the Christian faith, so by a dove being present during such a ceremony, it demonstrates how the arrival of a dove symbolizes the entity of the divine. This concept is present in The Awakening, when Edna chooses to let the sea overcome her, and take her life. The bird is soaring above her, as she is peacefully becoming one with the sea. The line illustrates, “A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water” (Chapter XXXIX). In this moment, Edna is in water, symbolic of a baptism, and it suggests additionally going to heaven. The bird flying above represents the entity of heaven and the divine being present, and the fact the bird is injured shows how life weathers a person as they grow older.

Other Literature with Bird Motif: The White Heron, Trifles, and the Great Gatsby

• Owls are symbols of wisdom and great sight, and some people see owls as an omen of death. In the Great Gatsby “owl eyes” is a man that appears in the novel, and the theme of owls is scattered throughout the book. Owl eyes appears at Gatsby’s funeral, adding to the idea that birds represent heaven and the divine in afterlife. By the owl being present at a ceremony of death, it represents the presence of heaven and the divine.