her summer at Grand Isle she is confronted with herself in her truest nature, and finds herself swept away by passion and love for someone she cannot have, Robert Lebrun. The imagery of the ocean at Grand Isle and its attributes symbolize a force calling her to confront her internal struggles, and find freedom. Chopin uses the imagery of the ocean to represent the innate force within her soul that is calling to her. "The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in a maze of inward contemplation." (p.14) Through nature and its power, Edna, begins to find freedom in her soul and then returns to a life in the city where reside the conflicts that surround her. Edna grew up on a Mississippi plantation, where life was simple, happy, and peaceful. The images of nature, which serve as a symbol for freedom of the soul, appear when she speaks of this existence. In the novel, she remembers a simpler life when she was a child, engulfed in nature and free: "The hot wind beating in my face made me think - without any connection that I can trace - of a summer day in Kentucky, of a meadow that seemed as big as the ocean to the very little girl walking through the grass, which was higher than her waist. She threw out her arms as if swimming when she walked, beating the tall grass as one strikes out in the water." (p.17) Chopin's reference to swimming occurs many times in the novel, and through the ocean and her experiences swimming, she not only confronts nature, but she challenges and discovers her true self. The use of nature is especially significant as a memory in her childhood because it marks a time in her life when she was happy and free. This image of swimming returns to her when her soul is beginning to reopen, at Grand Isle. When Edna finally learns to swim, she finds herself frightened, alone, overwhelmed, and surrounded in a vast expanse of water. Her experience swimming in the ocean for the first time parallels her discovery and immersion in the true nature of her soul: "As she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself . . . A quick vision of death smote her soul, and for a second of time appalled and enfeebled her sense." (p.28) She is frightened by her own self-discovery - yet is enraptured by it. It is this contradiction and this confrontation with nature that is brings about Edna's self-discovery and metamorphosis within the novel. It is more than love for Robert that drives her to be free from the restrictions of this society. Instead, it is her discovery of her own self that causes her to shun the confines of society. Edna's "self-discovery" awakens her, and she is able to greet her own soul, a soul filled with passion and sexuality. How

Some common words found in the essay are:
Isle Edna, Grand Isle, Langston Hughes', Chopin Hughes, Langston Hughes, South Dixie, Variations Hughes, Dark Girl, Speaks Rivers, Edna Pontellier, freedom soul, nature serves, soul nature, nature serves symbol, langston hughes', softness sun, chopin hughes, symbol burden, serves symbol, langston hughes, grand isle, symbol captivity death, captivity death soul, langston hughes' poetry, means express freedom,
Approximate Word count = 1895
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)