"The Awakening" by Kate Chopin.

In The Awakening, Kate Chopin used the sea as a symbol to show how Edna awakened to her independence, her sexual desires and her place in society. The book took place in the late 1800s on Grand Isle in Louisiana. The main character Edna Pontellier, who was not a Creole, was married to Leonce Pontellier, who was a Creole. Leonce was self-centered and did not care about anybody but himself. He saw Edna as his …

…to fulfill her sexual desires. Edna never felt that she fit in with the Creole society because she was prudish. Edna had loved her children, but could not give up her independence to move back with Leonce and tend to them. Edna finally realized that her relationship with Robert would never last. Edna's inability to give up her independence for her children and her failing relationship with Robert foreshadowed her committing suicide in the end.