At first, the Gulf of Mexico represents the society that Edna believes inhibits her ability to function independently. She has a fear of water. However, she has been taking swimming lessons. When she swims far out and remains afloat, she exults in her achievement. She has proven that she can successfully buoy herself against a world that would pull her down. The gulf then becomes a symbol of her liberation. At the end of the novel, she believes she can achieve complete liberation by surrendering herself to the depths of the gulf. And so she wades into the ocean and drowns herself.