Books with title The Awakening and Selected Short Stories

Set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers around Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century South. The Awakening is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism.

“BEFORE IT’S TIME” MAY BE MISAPPLIED to some works, but not Kate Chopin’s remarkable 1899 novel THE AWAKENING. Had it debuted in Europe, its author may have achieved the stature she so richly deserved. But in turn-of-the-century America, a woman’s determination to be free of the restrictions of marriage—to express her soul’s desires as an independent person was not a theme to go unchallenged by a critical press. The theme alone does not make this a remarkable work; Chopin is a gifted storyteller: we are there in her settings; her characters are alive and known to us; we share Edna’s anguish and Léonce’s bewilderment. There is nothing outdated in her style—no stilted narrative; no sense that her writing is unrelated to our time. Kate Chopin wrote only two novels, and this was her last. A few critics recognized her importance, but their praise was overpowered by that of the morality monitors and the defenders of marriage and the traditional roles of women. One wishes she had known that her work would find its rightful place in American literature in another century.

The Awakening (1899) appears in this collection of short stories. Upon publication of the story Chopin's writing was highly praised, but the public was outraged by the content and only one edition was printed. The Awakening was rediscovered in the 1960s, when Chopin was praised for raising feminist questions. The story follows the personal discovery of a married woman of the things she did not even realize she was missing.

The Awakening (1899) appears in this collection of short stories. Upon publication of the story Chopin's writing was highly praised, but the public was outraged by the content and only one edition was printed. The Awakening was rediscovered in the 1960s, when Chopin was praised for raising feminist questions. The story follows the personal discovery of a married woman of the things she did not even realize she was missing.

One of the earliest feminist works in American literature, "The Awakening" tells the story of Edna Pontellier. Unsatisfied with societal expectations and unhappy with her family life, she begins to fall in love with the dapper Robert Lebrun. Lebrun's flirtations, along with the lifestyle of renown musician Mademoiselle Reisz, rejuvenates Edna's sense of freedom and independence. However, an affair with the womanizer Alcee Arobin provides Edna with a taste of the danger that comes from living outside of social convention. Trapped between the life she is expected to live and the one she longs to lead, Edna struggles to find happiness. Also included are eight of Chopin's most celebrated short stories: "A Pair of Silk Stockings", "A Reflection", "A Respectable Woman", "Beyond the Bayou", "Desiree's Baby, Ma'ame Pelagie," "The Kiss", and "The Locket."