In Kate Chopin's story, The Awakening, where does the quote, "first passion of her life" come from? In the summary/overview posted on this site,...

I, too, have searched through Kate Chopin's The
Awakening. The best I can guess is that in summarizing Edna's time listening
to the music and the influence of the Gulf, that she comes "alive" in  some way that is
new to her. The fact that "first passion of her life" is in quotation marks may not
necessarily mean that it is a direct quotation, but that the author of the summary hoped
the quotatio marks would emphasize the birth of new feelings within Edna. The story is
called The Awakening for just these reasons, and these examples of
music and the ocean give the reader a sense of a striking change in Edna, important
elements the author is trying to impart to the reader.

For
instance, Chopin writes (in Chapter Nine) about an "abiding truth" that comes to Edna
for the first time as Mademoiselle Reisz plays:

readability="7">

It was not the first time she had heard an artist
at the piano. Perhaps it was the first time she was ready, perhaps the first time her
being was tempered to take an impress of the abiding
truth.

The mention of
"abiding truth" leads me to believe that this is a step on Edna's part in learning about
herself, which I believe is fundamental to the development of her character and the
plot, as well as its contribution to the story's
resolution.

The other reason that makes me believe that
this is simply the summary and a general statement about the things occurring within
Edna's mind is the way the summary is worded: i.e., I can find no place where Edna
listens to the the music while gazing out at the Gulf. I believe these are two separate
incidents that affect her profoundly. The music touches Edna's soul in a new way. And
her relationship with the water changes when she learns that she can swim. The water
draws her, and it is the water, too, in which she finally finds "release." (Quotations
used for my emphasis.)

I hope this
helps.