Customer Reviews

The Awakening

5 star:		(133)
4 star:		(75)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

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.

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. One of the books on the list was "The Awakening," and as we had studied Kate Chopin in school and it was readily available online, we decided to both read it. Both of us had read it by the next day, and we both reached the same conclusion: Chopin's protagonist, Edna, was a selfish woman who was not strong at all, as a truly strong woman would have continued on even after the man she loved left her.

The book is written beautifully, hence the two stars. But Edna is completely unidentifiable. She is twenty-eight, yet she seems to do everything on impulse. Yes, maybe she did rush irrationally into an ultimately loveless marriage -- but her husband is not a monster, so doesn't she at least owe him some consideration? Not to mention her children -- she seems to not have the slightest regard for them, only showing affection in fits and starts.

This book should be read, if only to show what strength is not -- strength is not what Edna does in the end of this story. However, you may find yourself struggling to get through it, as Edna is often very frustrating. In conclusion -- this is NOT feminism. In fact, before reading this story I had immense respect for Kate Chopin, respect gained from reading her short stories. I lost some of that respect after seeing what she apparently believed was the solution for Edna's problems.

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. What I really liked was how Chopin had every setting match the mood that the character felt; everything that surrounded the characters was symbolic of their emotions or what they were feeling, especially when it focused on Edna. Anyone could identify with her situation if they concentrate on the book with an open mind, and it is basically a look at the thoughts/emotions of a Creole woman who finds herself in an affair, but the book has many more elements to it that make it mean much more than a typical love & infidelity story. I would suggest reading it slowly and thinking about the reasons behind the characters' actions and dialogue, everything means something and this way the reader gets more out of the book. :)

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. When Edna, the protagonist, casts away her public self to become her true self, we might suppose that her quality of life would improve. Instead she exercises poorer and poorer judgment, ultimately destroying herself. Edna is not a likeable or even an authentic character, and the supporting cast is almost as unattractive. In this novel, even New Orleans seems to have no attractions. The Awakening is not terrible; it just has little to offer.

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 period when women living their own lives wasn't acceptable. This book portrays life through a woman's point of view, which in my opinion should set an example for all women. Edna Poniteller, the main character, begins to realize the way the world worked and with this she found herself not just as a woman but a human being with rights and equality.
Her newfound self came due to simple boredom. She feels as though her life has no meaning and she can only hope that there is more to life than what she has experienced thus far. She is no longer interested in the "high-class" business life of her husband Leonce.
Throughout the French New Orleans setting of life Edna compares herself to two women in hopes to find her place in the world. One of the women is Madame Ratignolle who is the perfect motherly housewife. The other woman is Mademoiselle Reisz who is the free-spirited type who can and will do what she pleases. Edna finds herself idealizing Reisz for her domineering ways rather than a simple housekeeper.
All though this book does not keep you on the edge of your seat , it is written in a way that really keeps your attention. The book has many details in it regarding Edna's life and her different relationships. The book also comes to an extremely ironic end where Edna Poniteller ends up drowning herself, which goes to show how people will go to great lengths for what they believe in. All Edna really wanted in life was love through equality and when that didn't come to be she felt as though her life as she knew and wanted, was over.

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. The opening description of the resort and Loisiana were wonderfully lush - beautiful simple language. But the book was really ruined for me because I could find absolutely no sympathy or even interest in the protagonist. In the end, I felt that she was rather selfish and petty. Her awakening to me wasn't much.

I've finally gotten around to reading this book, in the original, without editorial intervention. It was worth it.

Kate Chopin wrote this story of female self-actualization back in the late 19th century, but it's as applicable today as it was then. I think we all feel trapped by decisions we've made capriciously, and we all consider, even briefly, escape. The main character in this novel not only realizes that she has trapped herself, but she actively seeks to free herself. Her action, rather than just emotion and despair (a la Goethe), is what separates her from the herd.

Here's the low-down: Edna is a woman, probably in her 30s or so, married to a successful financier and mother to two charming children. She summers on an island, probably to escape summer diseases in the city, New Orleans. One summer she acquires a friend, Robert. Although married women in this society frequently have male friends, Edna is an outsider, and she takes Robert's attentions far too seriously. Apparently, he is similarly infatuated. Basking in Robert's attention, Edna understands at last that she has discarded her youthful dreams and hopes and that her current life is unfulfilling. She takes small steps toward freeing herself, and Robert seems a willing accomplice for a while.

But Robert sees the hopelessness of such an infatuation: Edna is married, after all. Abruptly, Robert leaves the island and heads off to Mexico, presumably to seek his fortune. Edna is devastated. Even after she returns to town, her emotions are in turmoil. But loneliness actually proves helpful. She relearns who she is, reclaims the dreams of her youth, and abandons her husband and children. The author is careful with this last, making it seem tragic and irresponsible, yet ultimately unavoidable. By the last 20 pages, Edna is free.

And then Robert returns. Edna says that she does not feel obligated by their mutual love; she says that she is an independent woman now who is not the property of any other person. But she's lying. Her actions show that she is dependent on Robert, needy for his love and attention. I still can't decide if the author created this break between words and behavior on purpose, or if she really intended us to believe that Edna was wholly independent.

In fact, the only weak part of the story, in my opinion, is that Edna does not take responsibility for her own awakening. She claims that Robert "awoke" her.

Edna does in the end devise a solution that proves her ultimate freedom and independence, and it is the only solution that works. But I won't spoil it by writing it here.

The thing that makes this book so lovely is that it isn't preachy. So many modern girl-power novels just sort of slam you over the head with the girls-first-and-men-suck mantra. This book is about Edna; it doesn't purport to be about all women. It's a very personal work, and the narrative hand is light. It leaves us, the readers, free to recognize the little bits of Edna in us all, and although the rest of us may not ultimately choose Edna's course, it gives us hope that such freedom is possible, even after the fact.

Today this book is a minor classic of American literature and hailed by feminists all over the country. Many women identify with the main character Edna and her lack of fulfillment with marriage and motherhood. It was this and the theme of adultery in the book that enraged conventional Victorian sensibilities when it was published in 1899, occasioning shock and angry response from book reviewers all over America. The book was even taken off some library shelves and the author was barred from the prominent literary club of which she was a member. All of this caused her humiliation. Unfortunately, author Kate Chopin lived to write only one other novel, and died a few years later.

By today's standard, "Awakening" is a tame portrayal of the "new woman" who struggles to be free of traditional fetters, traditional roles, to be her own individual, a woman longing to satisfy her hidden dreams and forbidden romantic passions.

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"