Edna had found her old swimsuit still hanging, faded, on her usual clip. She put it on, leaving her clothes in the baths. But when she was there, at the seaside, absolutely alone, she got rid of her unpleasant and prickly clothes, and for the first time in her life she stood naked in the open air, at the mercy of the sun, the breeze beating on her. her, and the waves that invited her. How strange and horrible it was to stand naked under the sky! how delicious it is! She felt like a newborn creature opening her eyes into a familiar world she had never known. The foamy ripples curled up to her white feet and coiled like snakes around her ankles. She came out. The water was cold but she continued on her way. The water was deep, but she lifted her white body and held out her hand in a long, wide motion. The touch of the sea is sensual, enveloping the body in its soft and close embrace. The Awakening, Chapter XXXIX, Page 160. The novel "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a woman held in chains by the social conventions common in the late 19th century, where it takes place the story. One day, Edna wakes up from the role given to her by society and begins to listen to her wishes and inner feelings that guide her towards herself. From now on, Edna becomes an independent and free young woman, who lives her life for herself, not for her husband or her children, as one would expect of a woman of that time. She leaves her old life to start a new one. It seems that Edna is closing all doors behind her, so there will be no way back into her past life even if she wanted to go through it. The passage above shows Edna at the end of her journey of self-discovery. It shows her back where the story began: on the beach at Grand Isle. After the reader has accompanied Edna throughout the novel, the story has now come full circle. The protagonist has reached a point where there is no way back. But even social conventions are too strong to be broken by a progressive woman represented by Edna Pontellier. Although this cannot be proven verbatim, the reader understands that Edna commits suicide and drowns in the sea..