The Epiphany in The Awakening Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, presents an American woman's struggle at the turn of the century to find her identity. At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, seems to define her identity in terms of wife, mother, and member of her community. As the story progresses, Edna tries to define herself as an individual. The turning point in her struggle can be clearly seen in a scene where Edna realizes for the first time that she can swim. After struggling for months to learn to swim, in this scene he realizes that it is easy and natural. This discovery symbolizes Edna's break from seeing herself in terms of what society expects of her and her new awareness of herself as an autonomous human being. Before this scene, Edna has some awareness of the duality of her existence. The narrator tells us that “[even] as a child she had lived her little life entirely within herself. At a veChevy vs. Ford - 732