
In 'The Awakening' by Kate Chopin, the story follows Edna Pontellier, a woman who feels trapped by societal expectations and her roles as a wife and mother. As she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, Edna's awakening leads her to question her own desires and the constraints imposed by society in the 1890s. The novel explores themes of feminism, individuality, and the pursuit of personal fulfillment amidst societal pressures, culminating in a tragic ending that challenges traditional norms.
Set in the idyllic coastal community of 1890s New Orleans, 'The Awakening' delves into the inner turmoil of Edna Pontellier as she grapples with her unfulfilled yearnings and embarks on an illicit liaison that reignites her passions. Through sparse prose and poignant storytelling, Kate Chopin crafts a powerful narrative that challenges societal conventions and explores the complexities of women's roles and desires during a time of rigid social norms.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of suicide, mental health struggles, and societal oppression, reflecting the protagonist's turbulent emotional state.
Has Romance?
The novel features a strong romantic element, as Edna's relationships with Robert and Arobin drive her awakening and illustrate her internal conflicts.
From The Publisher:
She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.
Condemned as "sordid" and "immoral" on its publication in 1899, this story of a woman trapped in her marriage effectively ended Chopin's career but was revived as a proto-feminist classic in the 1970s. What Newsweek calls Chopin's "prophetic psychology" insures its timeliness today.
The Art of The Novella Series
Too short to be a novel, too long to be a short story, the novella is generally unrecognized by academics and publishers. Nonetheless, it is a form beloved and practiced by literature's greatest writers. In the Art Of The Novella series, Melville House celebrates this renegade art form and its practitioners with titles that are, in many instances, presented in book form for the first time.
Ratings (47)
Incredible (4) | |
Loved It (20) | |
Liked It (12) | |
It Was OK (7) | |
Did Not Like (3) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (85):
Read It (52) | |
Want To Read (22) | |
Not Interested (11) |
2 comment(s)
3.7 stars rounded up. This is a feminist work written in 1899. About a woman's journey of self discovery. Questioning her ideas about marriage, motherhood, society, art and the nature of love. It was shocking when it first came out and I'm glad things have moved forward since then. It's not my favorite works of fiction, didn't get as drawing in the story as I would have liked but I loved what it represents and the way it made womens voice heard and was one of the text fighting for female equality. And important work for sure but not the most enjoyable for me personally
Fantastic book about women and their limited choices
About the Author:
Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis in 1850, to a Creole mother and an Irish father. Educated at St Louis' Sacred Heart Academy, Chopin went on to reject her catholic faith and embraced a free thinking philosophy inspired by writers such as Darwin and Huxley. In 1870 she married French Creole Oscar Chopin, who died in 1882 of yellow fever. A widow at only 32 with six children, she eventually moved home to St Louis where she began writing fiction. She completed three novels and close to one hundred short stories which were published in prominent magazines such as Atlantic Monthly and Vogue. She died in 1904.
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