In The Awakening, The Old Man and the Sea, and The Sea-Limits, it is evident that the Sea is a magnet for all kinds of people. The doubtful, the trapped, the willing, the passionate, the worldly, the listless--all find something unique to them in the sea. In The Awakening, the sea acts as Edna's conscience. She doesn't realize the correlation directly, but her freedoms give her liberty in the sea, and her darkest days are stormy. Eventually, the sea ends her conscience forever. What was born there must die there, so it makes sense that the awakening that she generated in that ocean would reclaim it. This is similar to the ocean in The Old Man and the Sea, where the sea gives Santiago the greatest fish of his life, and good weather, but reclaims the fish to feed its own creatures. This would make the sea appear selfish, but in reality, it is indeed a giving being. It gives when a human is in need, whether it needs encouragement or a Marlin. The sea simply has too many things to look over, however, and cannot give wantonly. It has to keep tabs on who has taken what, and must get them back. Keeping that under consideration, the sea does not treat Edna and Santiago equally. It upends Edna's life completely. It changes her, lets her see things she had never seen. It wakes her up and lets her see what life should be--but then takes away everything. For Santiago, the sea has always been a constant companion. It gives him fish and wearies his body and soul in return. But this fish is different. It is the greatest achievement he could have dreamed of, if he can only battle the pain. And he does. But the sea's loss is not equal to Santiago's, so she takes it back. In The Sea-Limits, the sea is not something man can associate with life, but rather life itself. As the marker of the passing of time, the sea is a super-being. It is beyond human understanding, and the only way we can see it is through that lens of the extraordinary. It is not just a companion but a guide, even a guardian.
The sea has long been an important part of literature. Its vastness and mystery are unmatched by any other aspect of nature. The sea cannot be contained, manipulated or moved without significant consequences. It's giving and kind, but ultimately just and fair, a protector of its creatures, and oblivious to petty human issues. How each individual approaches the sea is reciprocated. One's relationship with the sea is determined by one's own fears and expectations. Time has been kept as long as the sea has beaten upon the shore, and man has always sought to understand it, often only to find that what they were looking for was inside of themselves already.
just and fair, a protector of its creatures.
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