This essay investigates transitivity in extracts from Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening. The system of transitivity belongs within systemic functional linguistics and is used for analyzing experiential meaning in language, that is, the way in which we talk of our experiences. The method can be used for analyzing literary texts. The aim of the essay is to investigate how the transitivity in the extracts reflects the process that the main character Edna goes through, and if it reflects the subject of conflict between human nature and culture. The results show that Edna’s representation in the transitivity changes as she develops. They also show differences in sentence structures between the parts of the extracts that describe Edna’s feelings and those which describe her actions. When it comes to her feelings they are repeatedly cast as forces, filling the doer-role of subject in the sentences. In the sections which describe Edna’s actions, on the other hand, Edna is often an agent, and a medium-initiator. These patterns give an impression of Edna as being in control of her actions, but not of her feelings. The recurrent use of feelings as forces is regarded as reflecting the subject of conflict between human nature and culture.