The Awakening

by Kate Chopin

English language

Published Aug. 1, 2007

ISBN:: 978-0-312-44647-5

(13 reviews)

The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle between her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It 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, generating a mixed reaction from contemporary readers and critics.

62 editions

Miriam Robern reviewed The Awakening by Kate Chopin by Kate Chopin

No The Ending Is Not Good, Actually

2 stars

Content warning Spoileriffic!

Look, I know. I understand. I am an English major. I get the historical background and the publishing realities and blah de blah de blah-blah. I understand why the story ends the way it does. That doesn't make it a good ending or even the right ending.

I loved this book from the start right up to the penultimate chapter. The titular awakening is complex, grounded, and masterfully articulated. Edna becomes a real person! It's amazing! And then she throws it all away in what can only be described as a fit of pique. The last chapter blows.

This book should be taught, and it should be taught as a tragedy. Not that the story itself is a tragedy, but the story's conception, context, and publication as a tragedy. We all deserve better than Chopin and The Awakening got, and this novel can serve as a very depressing signpost along the way to getting to that better world.

Anthony reviewed L’éveil by Kate Chopin

L’éveil

4 stars

L'Éveil (The Awakening), c'est le récit d'une libération. Une libération qui amène son lot de souffrances, mais qui entraîne dans son sillon d'innombrables sensations qui n'avaient jamais été ressenties (ou acceptées). Dans un style sobre, très moderne, Kate Chopin décrit merveilleusement le cheminement d'une femme qui, dans la Louisiane du XIXe siècle, se refuse à appartenir à quiconque : ni à un homme, ni à ses enfants. Nous sommes ici dans un cheminement personnel, individuel, dans ce qu'on imagine comme l'étape précédant le féminisme (la volonté que toute femme le partage, et ce quelle que soit sa couleur de peau ou sa condition sociale). Mais à quelques reprises le personnage d'Edna élargit son questionnement et l'étend à l'ensemble des femmes, avec par exemple ce passage : « peut-être est-il préférable de se réveiller après tout, même pour souffrir, au lieu de rester dupe de ses illusions toute sa vie. »