The Awakening [Paperback]

 

 

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The lot of women in the 19th century wasn't a terribly impressive one -- many of them had been reduced to babymakers and inoffensive "property" for the men.

And Kate Chopin caused a massive scandal when she wrote about one woman who drifted from societal normal in "The Awakening," leading to a world of exploration, love, and ultimately tragedy. Her misty, vaguely dreamlike writing can pull a reader into the world of 1900s New Orleans and its society, but her heroine sometimes feels more like a vessel than a fully-realized person.

Edna Pontellier is the wife of successful New Orleans businessman Léonce, and mother of two lovely young boys. Yet she is dissatisfied by her life, and feels no connection to the other wives and mothers, who idolize their motherhood and subservience. And when she encounters handsome young Creole Robert Lebrun while on vacation, she begins to "awake" to the feelings she has left behind during her marriage.

Distancing herself from Leonce and her sons, Edna begins exploring art and emotions that have been denied her by the strictures of her society -- as well as an affair with the flirtatious Alcée Arobin. She even moves out into a cottage of her own, much to the horror of those who thought they knew her. Her romantic feelings have not moved on from Robert, but his return makes her realize how different she has become...

Kate Chopin's most famous work is often cited as a sort of proto-feminist work, with a woman rebelling against the male-dominated role she has been given. The fact that a story about a woman abandoning her husband and kids caused such a scandal only adds to that belief.

But that's a rather restricted label to give such a versatile author, and "Awakening" is a book with too many facets to be so restrained. In many ways Chopin resembles a Southern version of Edith Wharton, exploring the stultifying society that she once dwelled in, and the often-tragic consequences of people -- particularly women -- who dared to step outside those unforgiving boundaries.

Chopin's lush writing elevates this story even further, weaving an atmospheric, vaguely dreamlike web around everyday New Orleans. She makes readers feel the heat of a summer's day, the remote beauty of a party, the eerie majesty of an empty sea. And though "The Awakening" is infused by a feeling of languid dreaminess, Chopin creates a feeling of tension and inevitability that grows as the book goes on. It's almost a shock at the book's finale, when that tension releases in a quiet burst of poetic language.

And to her credit, Chopin is able to make her points about women and society without setting up straw-men. Such characters as "angel of the house" Adèle Ratignolle and the stuffy Leonce (who sees Edna as his personal property and expects her to obey) are examples of the usual society of the time, yet Leonce is a fully realized character who loves -- but can never understand -- his wife.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that Edna herself is at times rather thin as a character. While she has many conflicting desires, she sometimes seems like a mere vessel for all those desires to be displayed over time. But there are some scenes where she does seem like a fully realized person, such as when she meditates on her lack of housewifely virtues, is struck by wild mood swings around her sons, and befriends Mademoiselle Reisz.

"The Awakening" is more than just an early feminist novel -- it's an exquisitely written story about the roads that our own desires can take us down, and the tragedies that can come from it. A must-read, if nothing else for Kate Chopin's powerful writing.

The Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, is one of the most classic examples of the books of liberation. First published at the end of the 1890s, depicts the life of an American woman named Edna married and socialized among a circle of Creoles (immigrants of the French ancestry). Every summer, her family and the Creoles go on vacation to an island. This one particular summer, Edna falls in love with a young creole named Robert. This agonizing love affair between a married woman and a younger man propelled Edna to a series of self liberation. Kate Chopin throws in the idea of "the desire of the unabtainable", such as a nun would be a subject of desire, namely the more unreachable the more desirable. Edna, a married woman, is in this book, the unabtainable. Another issue about this book, which Chopin was very severly criticized (well.. it was the 1890s afterall, but the book was revived with acclaim in the 1950s during the woman's movement) was feminism. Edna says in the book the she will do anything for her children but she will not sacrifice herself...

However, the biggest controversy is the ending. Whether it is another awakening or something else (you should decide it for yourself), I think the book should have gone with its original title- A Solitary Soul.

We read this book for high school english class. Although it was written beautifully, and at times i could sympathize with Edna's character, i could not help but think she was a bad person by the end of the book. Although she did reach self-actualization, she did so without any responsibility shown towards the people close to her. She cheated on her husband, and then cheated on the man that she was having an affair with with someone else, hardly feeling any guilt for any of it. She also neglected her children, and treated them as if they were antagonists. Although I can understand her plight to become an independant woman and go beyond her society, the way that she attempted this made her a bad person, and she (arguably) failed at her task anyway. Her life, even though she said she was independent, ended when the man she was having an affair with left her. After that, she kills herself. Had she had the courage to separate from her husband (despite her society) and pursue Robert, or even if she didn't get him at the end, but still lived on just as much a woman then before rejection, THEN this book would be feminist. Otherwise its simply immorality disguised as feminism. If a man had done all the things she has in this novel, no one would be arguing whether the character was good or not.

besides the problem i had with the themes and plot, it was a very well written book, and i don't agree with it being censored. It was far ahead of it's time, and may be worth a read..Just don't expect too much out of it.

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2.0 out of 5 stars This is not feminism
When my friend and I ran across a list of 101 books that were recommended to be read before college, we realized we had only read a small percentage of the books and made a vow to... Read more

Published on Jun 8 2004 by Lauren

5.0 out of 5 stars an interesting read
I was forced to read this book in AP English my senior year, but I actually found it intriguing once I got into the plot and became familiar with the characters. Read more

Published on May 26 2004 by tessa_9876

2.0 out of 5 stars Dispensable
In this brief novel, Kate Chopin tries to depict the spiritual awakening of a privileged young woman. Unfortunately, the book doesn't make much sense. Read more

Published on May 16 2004 by -_Tim_-

4.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece
I believe Kate Chopin's "Awakening" is a masterpiece. The way in which Chopin depicts the life of women strikes upon the ideals of women being an equal to men in a time... Read more

Published on May 11 2004 by Amanda Fox

2.0 out of 5 stars Utterly out of Sympathy
I read this book as a senior in highschool and I am not going to complain but ...

When I began the Awakening, I expected to enjoy it. Read more

Published on April 5 2004 by Maggie Morrison

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly not heavy-handed
I've finally gotten around to reading this book, in the original, without editorial intervention. It was worth it. Read more

Published on April 1 2004 by spacellama

4.0 out of 5 stars Awakening To Forbidden Desires
Today this book is a minor classic of American literature and hailed by feminists all over the country. Read more

Published on Mar 29 2004 by I ain't no porn writer

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than I remember
I've been re-reading many novels and short fiction from the turn of the century and THE AWAKENING was a pleasant surprise. Read more

Published on Mar 29 2004 by The Reading Ape

4.0 out of 5 stars the awakening
The Awakening was a book that was way ahead of its time. Kate Chopin's ideas about feminism were new and fresh, although not always popular in 1899. Read more

Published on Mar 29 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
I'd say 4.5 stars. The characters are intricately and finely drawn; I found Mademoiselle Reisz especially interesting. Read more

Published on Mar 20 2004

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