The narrator of the novel Episode Suivant by Hubert Aquin cannot breathe; he drowns. The author presents water as a deadly force capable of suffocating life. Aquinas uses the characteristics of water to represent the narrator's inability to express his national identity and therefore himself. Multiple symbols are used throughout the book, such as fire and ice, but water is a primary and important aspect of the book as it conveys a sense of inertia within the individual. This notion of water is linked to the repression of Quebec nationality. The book approaches water in a variety of different contexts: as the main basis of the story (as interpreted by the translator), as a metaphor for the self, and as a substitute for language. Water, woven into a nationalist allegory, is given contradictory attributes and is both a source of life and a source of life. This dual approach to the fundamental element of water embodies both his desire to express his nationality and his inability to authentically express his own existence. The story begins under the waters of Lake Geneva, as the narrator explains “it is in the area of ​​this invisible lake”. that I will tell my story” (4). The lake is at the heart of the story, because it is this water (or the water that flows from it) that he speaks of in terms of self and language. The place names of this body of water are also significant to the French Canadian nationality. Translator Sheila Fischman has as much literary power as the narrator. Indeed, without having read the French edition of the text, the English edition modifies the meaning concerning the image of water. Fischman does this by consistently using the French name of the lake "Lac Léman" instead of using its English name "Lake ...... middle of paper ...... serves to corroborate the asphyxiation of a Canadian -definitive French. national narrative. Water embodies both the narrator's desire to express his nationality and personal identity, but also his inability to do so. Ultimately, Water becomes for the narrator a kind of liquid courage that never produces substantial results, so he turns to a future revolution to conceive of a true national identity.Works CitedAquin, Hubert. Next episode. Trans. Sheila Fischman. Toronto: McClelland & Steward Ltd. “Beyond borders: the reader’s “other” places in children’s literature.” Children's Literature in Education 39.2 (2008): 95-105. 98. Springer eBooks. Proxy. Queen's Lib. University, Kingston. November 1, 2010 < http://www.springerlink.com.proxy.queensu.ca/books/ >