Bird...Woman?

I've heard so many different descriptions of women. That women are snakes. Coy, sly, manipulative. That they are tigers. Protective of their young, quiet at times, but vicious at others. But...a woman...a bird? A novel idea for a new type of woman.
Edna is not your typical "Grand Isle mother-woman." First of all, she's not even originally from Grand Isle; how can she be considered "one of them"? How can anyone expect her to blend in completely? Her situation reminds me of mine. I was born in the U.S. In California, actually, but I am always looked at not as simply "American," but as "Asian" or "Asian-American." No matter what I do or say, I will never really fit the completely "American" stereotype. And believe me, there is one. Edna is almost the same. Though she tries to "assimilate" into the small society that Grand Isle is, she doesn't really put much effort into it. Sure, she takes up sewing winter clothes for her children, but only halfheartedly, and while commenting on its uselessness.
Bird imagery is packed throughout the first few chapters of the novel. The parrot in the cage struck me in particular. The woman's colorful pet seems devoid of attention. Wanting love. Desperate, even. Desperate enough to call out to those near, but proud enough to deny wanting love, pushing others away. That's how I see that parrot. To Chopin, it might have just been a parrot. But there I am, with my AP Lit magnifying glass, trying to see the small details of each cell that makes up the organism, the work.
I found it funny--no, maybe not funny--but definitely interesting that Madame LeBrun caged her poor love-seeking parrot. If the parrot represents the woman...then she just caged woman. Herself. 
But why is woman a bird? What made Chopin decide to characterize woman as a bird? On page 8, she describes a mother-woman as "fluttering about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened [her] precious brood." When reading this, I got the idea of a plump momma bird flying around from child to child, feeding each child this, cleaning up after the other...basically, a hectic "ideal" mother. So maybe I do understand why Chopin chose a bird. Because birds always come back to their nests. Even after flying far away, facing toils and troubles to look for food for their children, the mother bird always comes back. Always. So is this foreshadowing? Edna's hands are "strong" and "shapely" and in no way bird-like. Edna is not a bird. Therefore, she is not a mother-woman. Hence, she will not return after taking her adventurous flight...
Speaking of returning, I found so much symbolism in the scene in which Edna takes back the rings she had given to her husband before leaving to bathe. Could anything be more symbolic of Edna's pact to return? Her property-like state in her husband's view? She had to give him her rings, a symbol of his ownership of her, to him. And take them back when she returned. 
Whenever I think of birds now, I think of Wing Biddlebaum and his fluttering hands. While I felt that Wing's hands were described as somewhat feminine, caressing and gently touching, Edna's hands are described as almost the opposite. So if Edna isn't a bird, what is she? If she is not a "mother"-woman, then what kind of woman is she? Is she even a woman?