What does meeting Édouard represent to Zelda in the book, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald?

When Zelda meets and falls in love with Édouard, he symbolizes the possibility of a new life for her. Zelda herself recognizes Édouard as a symbol for her, as she states, “Édouard was less a man than a symbol for me, a symbol of my yearning for something I couldn’t yet name” (186). For Zelda, Édouard is a way out of her unhappy marriage. Though Zelda is not wholly aware of what exactly it is she wants in life, Édouard shows her that she has the power to take control of and change her life.