The central conflict in Kate Chopin's The Awakening is the self-discovery, or "awakening," of the protagonist, Edna Pontellier. Throughout the novel, she transforms from the bored and submissive wife of Léonce Pontellier to a dynamic and independent woman with a powerful will. The episode that triggers Edna's awakening is her learning to swim. Edna's swimming is a fresh and exciting experience for her and stimulates a feeling of achievement. Chopin's description of the event is a metaphor for Edna's awakening as well as a foreshadowing of the consequences of her self-discovery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Edna's learning to swim is such an important event in the novel because she accomplished something without outside help and solely for her own pleasure. Observers of the phenomenon are surprised by the event; it was an “unexpected achievement” and “a matter of wonder,” indicating that Edna’s family and friends underestimate her (p. 27). Each of Edna's friends who in the past had attempted to instruct her "rejoiced that her special teachings had achieved the desired end" (p. 27). The other characters cannot accept that Edna accomplished anything on her own; therefore, they attempt to take credit for this accomplishment. The episode at sea excites Edna and gives her a feeling of power that is absent from her daily life. Swimming arouses in Edna “a feeling of exultation,” causing her to become “bold and reckless” and feel “intoxicated” (p. 27). These are emotions she does not usually feel and would not be considered appropriate for a woman of her status. In addition to these thrilling sensations, Edna also feels empowered. Her “newly won” skill makes Edna feel “as if a power of significant importance had been given to her soul” (p. 27). Although this passage marks the first stage of Edna's awakening, it also serves as a metaphor for the different stages. that she goes through during her transformation. When Edna laments the time she wasted “dancing around like a baby!” » she may also lament the years she wasted leading the dull life of a submissive and bored wife; the years wasted sleeping before he “awakened”. Next, Edna turns “her face toward the sea,” a metaphor to show that she is turning toward her future (p. 28). The “vast expanse of water” represents the infinite possibilities that Edna now sees in her life (p. 28). Edna swims and reaches out toward “the limitless,” just as she will do from now on in her daily life (p. 28). At the end of her swim, Edna's adventure suddenly becomes frightening. Having overestimated her strength, Edna becomes tired and “[A] quick vision of death struck her soul” (p. 28). This image foreshadows Edna's eventual suicide by drowning at the end of the novel as the final stage of her awakening. Although the implications of Edna's accomplishment are mostly positive, Chopin imbues this passage with references to the unhappy loneliness that will result. self-discovery. The author says that Edna wants to swim “where no woman has swum before” (p. 27). This desire shows Edna's need to be different from the other women around her; she is no longer content with just being a mother and wife: she wants to be a woman first. She walks away from the beach to feel more alone and swims outside in an attempt to “get lost,” another allusion to her impending suicide (p. 28). Even at this stage of her awakening, Edna begins to feel isolated from her friends. She looks at the shore towards “the people she had left there” (p. 28). Water is “a barrier that its strength alone.