Abstract: The novel Hotel du Lac ends as the heroine Edith Hope puts “returning” on the telegram form， leaving a puzzle unsolved: What change happens to Edith when she returns from Hotel du Lac to London? In light of Lefebvre's theory of “spatial triad” and Foucault's theory of “space and power”， this essay attempts to provide an answer by tracing the development of Edith's female consciousness. First， Edith's two spatial practices， namely， her marriage disgrace and her banishment， are the “crime” she commits and its consequent punishment respectively. Second， in the conflict between patriarchal representational space and its female counterpart， Edith's female consciousness begins to develop. Third， the opposition between her novels and her letters， both as representations of space， marks the thorough awakening of her female consciousness. After these three power confrontations， Edith， returning from Hotel du Lac， becomes a woman independent of patriarchal discipline， comparable to Nora who leaves the house at the end of Ibsen's play A Doll's House.

Key words: Hotel du Lac, female consciousness, spatial practice, representational space, representation of space