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The Awakening

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 69,395 ratings · 3,155 reviews

First published in 1899, this beautiful, brief novel so disturbed critics and the public that it was banished for decades afterward. Now widely read and admired, "The Awakening" has been hailed as an early vision of woman's emancipation. This sensuous book tells of a woman's abandonment of her family, her seduction, and her awakening to desires and passions that threaten t...more

Paperback, 190 pages

Published February 10th 1982 by Avon (first published 1899)

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May 04, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 1 of 5 stars

(**SPOILERS in the comments**)

One of the earliest sleep-with-whoever-you-want feminist rhetoric books. I think much of what feminists fought for and accomplished was vital for protecting women. Women have never lived with such freedom. I stand behind many of the advances. This book, however, as part of the general 60’s feminist philosophy(not the major thinking of the early feminists), I believe has had a destructive effect. Instead of promoting a philosophy that men should be more honest about...more

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Erica Mazzola Is it understood that the book was written for any particular purpose? I read it also as required reading for a class, and I really liked it. It has b...more
Feb 11, 2013 09:06pm

Ronald Think on Robert's role: his autonomous actions, even if seen in a larger social context, have harsh consequences for Edna (who, by the way, the text t...more
Feb 20, 2013 11:42pm

Jul 08, 2011 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, kindle

Why so many ugly one star reviews? All about as insightful as the ubiquitous one star reviews of Lolita which call Nabokov the man a child molester, raving morons who can't distinguish a character from an author and go beyond simply missing the point. And how ironic that all these reviews seem to be from women raging that this book (which they all obviously read for their 'gender theory' class) features a character who abandons her children. Ugh, women who criticize this as a feminist novel beca...more Why so many ugly one star reviews? All about as insightful as the ubiquitous one star reviews of Lolita which call Nabokov the man a child molester, raving morons who can't distinguish a character from an author and go beyond simply missing the point. And how ironic that all these reviews seem to be from women raging that this book (which they all obviously read for their 'gender theory' class) features a character who abandons her children. Ugh, women who criticize this as a feminist novel because the main character isn't a good mom and then base their ratings solely on how much they like the main character. Do these people only give high ratings to books with characters they like? Do they think women characters in fictional books shouldn't have flaws, ennui, and basically everything that makes a character good? They want the character to be human but lack any flaws, they want her to be a feminist hero but denounce her for not putting her children before herself. Is it that they would have accepted it in a male character but not from a 'wife and mother' because when I read these reviews that is what it looks like to me. Why is she in all those one star reviews held up and judged as a woman and not a human being? Is that not the essence of feminism? If so these dumb broads are the ones who are anti-woman, not Chopin, who wrote this in 1899 for fuck sake!

The whole point of the book is about her discovering herself as an individual, and that even as an individual we exist in a society and as humans have to balance being an individual with the fact we are social animals. Her failure isn't that she abandoned the children but that she abandons herself. If this has a failure as a feminist novel it is the formulaic ending where she is punished for her desires. I'd like to see a story when the woman runs away and is not punished by death, as is the always the ending, now that would be progress!

Not that it's a great book, my few friends who rated it gave in mostly 3 stars, and that's about right, I'm adding an extra star out of spite.

Also, this is my first book read on my new kindle, so that was pretty exciting!

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Apr 02, 2013 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers Sensitive to Despondent Seekers of Freedom

Shelves: women-voices, freedom, marriage, new-orleans, 19th-century, american-literature, pov-third-person-singular

A woman awakens. Edna Pontellier, like Eve, awakens to the knowledge of desire--she awakens to the knowledge that she is not free. Before the end, she awakens to the knowledge that freedom will be expensive but resolves to pay the price. “The artist must possess the brave soul. The soul that dares and defies.” Patriots warn us that -- “freedom isn’t free!” Kate Chopin tested the limits of our acceptance of the consequences of that slogan in the dilemma of Edna Pontellier, who lives in New Orlea...more

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Jan 08, 2010 Brother Odd rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd like to give this book ZERO stars, but it's not an option. This is hands down the worst book that I've ever read. I will never say that again in a review, because this one wins that prize.

BIG SPOILER AHEAD - Be warned.

I had to read this thing twice in college, and it is a horrible story. We are supposed to feel sympathy for a selfish woman with no redeemable qualities. Just because her marriage is bad it does not give her the right to be a lousy, despicable person. Get a divorce? Yes. Find n...more

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Nov 13, 2007 Houston rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

“It sometimes entered Mr. Pontillier’s mind to wonder if his wife were not growing a little unbalanced mentally. He could see plainly that she was not herself. That is, he could not see that she was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world.”(p. 79)

“What have you been doing to her, Pontillier?”
“Doing! Parbleu!”
“Has she,” asked the Doctor, with a smile, “has she been associating of late with a circle of pseud...more “It sometimes entered Mr. Pontillier’s mind to wonder if his wife were not growing a little unbalanced mentally. He could see plainly that she was not herself. That is, he could not see that she was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world.”(p. 79)

“What have you been doing to her, Pontillier?”
“Doing! Parbleu!”
“Has she,” asked the Doctor, with a smile, “has she been associating of late with a circle of pseudo-intellectual women—super-spiritual superior beings? My wife has been telling me about them.”(p. 91)

“Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard; the only way to manage a wife.” (p. 99)

“Conditions would someway adjust themselves, she felt; but whatever came, she had resolved never again to belong to another than herself.” (p. 110)

These quotes sum up for me the difficulty Edna faced as she became herself, or discovered herself. The book is her journey, inward and then outward as well, to finding who she is and how she wants to be. I love the image of ‘daily casting aside’ her old self like a ‘garment.’ Of course, the trouble was that her husband and the men around him all thought that she was losing her mind. The Doctor even accuses the husband of being too lenient. Blame is directed not only at the husband, but also at other women, unnamed ‘pseudo-intellectual’ women. These men cannot understand or explain Edna’s behavior or change in attitude. At this time, and even now, women struggle to gain independence from the role of wife and mother. Trying to figure out where the self is within the confines of those roles, and how to manage the three successfully is still difficult. The last quote is so strong, Edna finally recognizing that she owns herself, that she is not property—not just someone’s wife, mother or even lover or friend—she is her own person and she grows stronger, finding her resolve. This resolve is what leads her to her final decision, becoming absolutely her own person to the exclusion of any other role. The end is somewhat disturbing, though poetic. The struggle between Edna and her environment, her time and those around her—her inner struggles—all seem to lead her to that final point of no return.
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Feb 20, 2008 Sanjina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I guess I can understand why The Awakening is considered so important in the development of the feminist canon. At the same time, I can understand why it was rejected so adamantly in its own time. Chopin is an okay writer. Her work, however, seethes ignorance. Her work was ignored in its time because it really was not worth the recognition. Anyway, that’s my humble, and not so intellectual, opinion.

The protagonist, 29, seems to awaken into an adolescence of sorts in this book. In the guise of d...more

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Sep 09, 2011 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: unsympathetic-main-characters, women-s-issues, classic, required-reading

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. For starters, I did not enjoy this story, and I did not see why Edna's life was utterly miserable. I didn't care about her, really. And her plight didn't speak to me at all.

Everything is subjective, however, Edna has many more options and choices than some women ever have. More than anything she has safety and the ability to protect herself and her children. That in itself is more than many women have, even today. I can understand feeling restricted, but I think Edna was a very selfish woman. I...more For starters, I did not enjoy this story, and I did not see why Edna's life was utterly miserable. I didn't care about her, really. And her plight didn't speak to me at all.

Everything is subjective, however, Edna has many more options and choices than some women ever have. More than anything she has safety and the ability to protect herself and her children. That in itself is more than many women have, even today. I can understand feeling restricted, but I think Edna was a very selfish woman. If anything, she should have thought of her children. I am not here to say that women don't have existences outside of their marriages, their children. I disagree strongly with that. But a woman has a choice to make. When she brings children into the world, it changes the decisions that she can make. She can be happy and she can have joy, but she has to make sure that her children are loved and cared for.

Edna was a pampered woman with an indulgent husband, and she had the means to go on a nice vacation every year. She had servants, and friends. A lot of women don't even have those things, but manage to get up out of bed everyday and live their lives. Yes, she felt that she was denying her inner self, and had to marry, although maybe she didn't want to. I cannot deny that must have caused some emotional angst, but there is no either/or. There is: Okay this is what I have, let's see what I can do with it. Make the best of what you have.

Edna continually made bad choices. She made a mistake and had an extramarital affair. Not the end of the world. I believe her husband would have forgiven her. Or she could have even lived apart from him and hopefully still be a mother to her children. (Maybe I'm being naive about this for the time period, maybe not). She could have stayed with her husband and had a friendship marriage with no physical involvement and painted. Even carried on her affairs as long as she was discreet. She had some choices. A lot of women, a lot of people don't. I just didn't buy the option that she took. I think she was a drama queen. Sorry, I just didn't have much sympathy for this woman.

I can see how this must have been an important work at the time it was written. However, it fails to speak to me of female empowerment in a world that allows women less power, choices, and equality. My rating is based moreso on this novella's failure to demonstrate what it set out to accomplish than my dislike of the story. I would read more Chopin, and I intend to do so.(less)

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Jul 07, 2011 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 02, 2010 Alison rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: feminists

"But they need not thought that they could possess her, body and soul."

If there ever was a Feminist Manifesto, it truly is Kate Chopin's "The Awakening."

Edna Pontellier is a 28-year-old wife and mother in New Orleans, 1900. Her husband is well-off, and Edna's days consist of watching the nanny take care of her two young boys, scolding the cook over bad soup, giving and attending champagne-filled dinner parties, and receiving formal calls from high society New Orleans ladies on Tuesdays. Also, t...more "But they need not thought that they could possess her, body and soul."

If there ever was a Feminist Manifesto, it truly is Kate Chopin's "The Awakening."

Edna Pontellier is a 28-year-old wife and mother in New Orleans, 1900. Her husband is well-off, and Edna's days consist of watching the nanny take care of her two young boys, scolding the cook over bad soup, giving and attending champagne-filled dinner parties, and receiving formal calls from high society New Orleans ladies on Tuesdays. Also, the Pontelliers spend every summer on the coast of Louisianna, in a beach house. (The nanny goes with, while Edna is free to spend her days as she likes--which happens to be boating and swimming with the unmarried son of the beach home's proprietor--Robert).

But there's an anguish growing within Mrs. P. Her inability to connect with her husband and her children leaves her feeling oppressed. Gradually, and with the aid of young Robert, however, a spark is lit. "In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her." In other words, after seven years of marriage, Edna's finally getting "schooled" on what it really means to be a wife and mom. And she's not feeling super cut-out for the job.

Mrs. Pontellier is at a crossroads. Reminded of walking aimlessly through a meadow as a child, Edna yearns for the time (pre-loveless marriage, pre-kids) when she didn't have to calculate every step. She longs to be lifted from the weight of her "blindly assumed" responsibilities and to be allowed to wander purposelessly. Edna aches for solitude, but fears she doesn't possess the courage to defy social constraint and become a free entity--free to leave behind her husband, home, and children and follow her heart.

Edna's duality and transformation reminded me of several in fiction--from Frankenstein's monster to Kafka's cockroach. The new, sexy Edna recognizes herself as different from her former self--a new creation. Like the monster, she is a "newly awakened being." The old world is now "alien" and "antagonistic." She has cast aside the mask that she has been wearing for the world. New Edna is bold and frisky, like "an animal waking in the sun."

Big sigh, because here's where I try to fit myself into Edna's way of thinking. I guess somewhere on the feminist spectrum, like all theoretical spectrums, I fall somewhere in the middle. Yes, I can see how Edna might feel trapped and oppressed. Domestic life can surely be repetitious, mundane, and exasperating. I can imagine yearning for something to happen to break the monotony. I can imagine how it would feel to a woman to be regarded as a piece of property--hand picked to run a household and bear children, with no hope of variation, peering out on the rest of her life and seeing very few choices ahead--outside of what will be next for dinner.

But toward the other end, I can see things that Edna failed to see--the gratification that comes from growing a family...what you get when you give...the inner peace that comes from never doubting your purpose and the course of your life. Edna felt her children were robbing her of her soul, I give mine away freely, every day.

Although I don't 100% identify with Edna, I can still appreciate works like this. Because women like Chopin were bold enough to write characters like Edna, the way women were perceived was drastically changed. Books like The Awakening paved the way for modern women to choose where we fall on the spectrum (the CHOICE is the key), to chart our own course, to soar and not sink.

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Jul 11, 2007 Dolly rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: women older than 25

Shelves: thought-provoking

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...more 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. (less)

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May 23, 2008 Crystal rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Recommended to Crystal by: Michelle Fendrick

Shelves: books-i-didn-t-enjoy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 20, 2007 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

A few of my all time favorite excerpts are from this book ...

When Mlle Reisz asks Edna why she loves him, when she shouldn't and she says:

"...Because his hair is brown and grows away from his temples; because he opens and shuts his eyes, and his nose is a little out of drawing; because he has two lips and a square chin, and a little finger which he can't straighten from having played baseball too energetically in his youth. Because '"

"Because you do, in short."

And ... "...when I left her today,...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-challenge2013, women-s-issues, short-stories

It is nineteenth-century New Orleans. Twenty-something-year-old Edna Pontellier is realizing that she does not want to be a wife or mother--at a time when women are seen as property. Edna takes a vacation with her controlling, albeit very successful husband, Mr. Pontellier (I don't recall his first name ever being used...) to the Gulf of Mexico where she suddenly finds her heart's desires?...Ok, maybe more like where she discovers herself. She goes from dutiful to insolent, from loyal to self-fu...more It is nineteenth-century New Orleans. Twenty-something-year-old Edna Pontellier is realizing that she does not want to be a wife or mother--at a time when women are seen as property. Edna takes a vacation with her controlling, albeit very successful husband, Mr. Pontellier (I don't recall his first name ever being used...) to the Gulf of Mexico where she suddenly finds her heart's desires?...Ok, maybe more like where she discovers herself. She goes from dutiful to insolent, from loyal to self-fulfilled. She runs across one man, and then another, and then moves out of her home...but alas, it is young Robert who captures her heart.

When she refuses to be ordered around like a child, it is so disturbing to her husband, that he wondered if "his wife were not growing a little unbalanced mentally."

Things get a bit humorous when her husband consults his doctor regarding his wife's mental condition:

"She's got some sort of notion in her head concerning the eternal rights of women; and--you understand--we meet in the morning at the breakfast table."

The old gentleman lifted his shaggy eyebrows, protruded his thick nether lip, and tapped the arms of his chair with his cushioned fingertips.

"What have you been doing to her, Pontellier?"

"Doing! Parbleu!"

"Has she," asked the Doctor, with a smile, "has she been associating of late with a circle of pseudo-intellectual women-super-spiritual superior beings? My wife has been telling me about them."

After all this speculation, however, what ends up happening to Edna in the end seems to work against her character.

Putting aside Edna's condemnation of the conformist society she lives in alongside the husband whose sole concern is "keeping up with the Joneses," it is interesting to see the alloy of Anglo and Creole cultures. I also loved some of Chopin's descriptions: (i.e.: "The stillest hour of the night had come, the hour before dawn, when the world seems to hold its breath. The moon hung low, and had turned from silver to copper in the sleeping sky.")(less)

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Mar 12, 2012 Marzie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 100-radcliffe, 1001-books, fiction, classics, novella

Chopin's work The Awakening, despite its age is still relevant to women as a reminder from where we have come. This was a re-read, the first many years ago when it was often cited in the new stages of feminism as one of the first feminist novels. I am not sure if that is wholly accurate but it was a breakout piece at the time it was written. I thought it was a good time to read this again as it seems there are so many issues that directly effect women in the current cultural dialogue. It is the...more

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Jan 04, 2008 Skylar Burris rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, feminism

This book is considered a classic partly, I think, because it is considered to be one of the earliest feminist novels. It seems to me to have a lot more to do with the contrast between two cultures, Anglo and Creole. I guess it must be a feminist novel, though, because the main character engages in a profound and courageous assault on the domineering patriarchal establishment: she gets bored with her average life to her mostly decent husband, commits adultery, and then kills herself. How liberat...more

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Aug 12, 2007 Teresa Jusino rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: readandreviewed

"He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation."

This line is typical of this novel. While I respect its place in history as one of the first books to openly address the issue of feminism within a marriage, I can't help but think it could have been written a little less....obviously. Everything felt like a "The More You Know" moment. Also, the whole Woman-Has...more

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Dec 17, 2009 Christy B (Readin' and Dreamin') rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, feminism-and-gender-studies, fiction, belle-époque

I loved this story for the beautiful writing and the intricate way of exploring the life of a tragic woman. I saw this as a tragic story, not as the example that feminists having been using it as for decades.

The feminist themes are there, no doubt, but I don't think that Chopin intended it to be used as an example of what a woman in a similar situation should do.

The Awakening is a story of a woman who feels bound and oppressed by her marriage and by motherhood. This stuff was never for her and s...more

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May 21, 2013 Nenia Campbell rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: x-1890s, 1001-books, literature-i-do-not-like, heroine-is-too-stupid-to-live, bad-and-boring, bad-and-unreedemable, feminism-but-not-really, pretentious, whiny-whiny-angst-angst-angst

FEMINISM 101

Protagonist: I am a feminist.

Me: YAY

Pro: I am in a sad marriage.

Me: D:

Pro: I can do better, though!

Me: Yes, yes you can!

Pro: This doesn't have to be the life I choose!

Me: *stands up from chair* No, it doesn't! You ro-

Pro: I AM GOING TO HAVE AN AFFAIR, DAMMIT.

Me: *collapses in chair* What? Now just a sec-

Pro: NOTHING SAYS FEMININITY LIKE WHORING MYSELF OUT LIKE A CRACK-ADDLED PROSTITUTE.

Me: NOOOOOOOO. DON'T DO IT. YOU HAVE CHILDREN.

Pro: FUCK THE CHILDREN.

Me: I realllllly hope you don'...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: required-for-high-school, list-ap-literature, 2008-reads, classics, list-college-readers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Awakening is a well-crafted, articulate novel that is considered a classic. {Why else would I be reading it for AP Literature?} But it's a classic not only because it is considered to be one of the earliest feminist novels, but because this is feminist literature at its finest. Chopin's story of a housewife who, feeling unhappy and unable to continue in her current course of action, takes the steps necessary to forever break the ties that bound her to the life she loathed, is way better than...more The Awakening is a well-crafted, articulate novel that is considered a classic. {Why else would I be reading it for AP Literature?} But it's a classic not only because it is considered to be one of the earliest feminist novels, but because this is feminist literature at its finest. Chopin's story of a housewife who, feeling unhappy and unable to continue in her current course of action, takes the steps necessary to forever break the ties that bound her to the life she loathed, is way better than those with moaning, groaning, and a "whoa is me" mentality. A part of me, though, shutters to think that The Awakening is sold as a Feminist novel to students who are still working to define what Feminism is. Feminism does not involve throwing duty, responsibility, your marriage, and your children to the wind to go "find yourself."

I very much enjoyed Chopin's writing style. I would be leisurely reading along, watching the plot develop, and then she would suddenly surprise me with a very profound statement about society, identity, or duty. If an author who wrote in 1899 can still connect with a reader of 2008, that's skill.

"I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I ain't make it more clear; it's only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me." {pg. 80}

The Awakening is also a very personal work. The novel is about Edna, not all women. It may raise questions about the identity of women and their role in society, but the novel is, ultimately, about Edna.

Yet, what worries me about The Awakening is that it's the first "Feminist" introduced to students, at least at my school. There's no denying The Awakening is a Feminist text because it does challenge the vastly unquestioned (in 1899 and still, by some, today) belief that a successful woman must marry, have children, stay home, and love it. Edna is unsuited for and unhappy in this lifestyle, suggesting, very forcibly, that not all women are Adeles, beaming at their husbands and planning when to have their next child. {Two years apart at all times!}

My problem is, in Edna, feminism takes the form of self-absorption. She throws duty out the window, and compassion and consideration too. She reaches the point where she lacks any consideration for others outside of what others can do for her. She cares only for herself.

Apart of me can understand how a woman unfit for the domestic family life, under extreme pressure from society, can choose to hide away in herself but I fear that, rather than encouraging my fellow students awakening, it hinders it and they will dismiss Edna as mad. And that will only continue to lead to a feminism is bad mentality.(less)

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Dec 07, 2008 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 16, 2008 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

7/16: This is my second time reading this book. It definitely went a lot smoother the second time and I was able to pay more attention to the characters, particularly Edna. I was able to see and understand how certain words were able to convey feelings of a person "waking up their senses" and being aware of their own feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Although the ending was not what I expected (from the first reading), I was able to understand why Edna did what she did, not that it makes it okay...more 7/16: This is my second time reading this book. It definitely went a lot smoother the second time and I was able to pay more attention to the characters, particularly Edna. I was able to see and understand how certain words were able to convey feelings of a person "waking up their senses" and being aware of their own feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Although the ending was not what I expected (from the first reading), I was able to understand why Edna did what she did, not that it makes it okay, definitely a selfish act.

Just thinking out loud here but there needs to be a middleground in life when it comes to doing things for one's self (aka selfishness) and doing things out of obligation (aka serving others). Edna spent a life doing things for others and never herself and when she finally, and slowly, starts taking pleasure and joy into her own hands, she discovers emotions, feelings, thoughts that are her own and not what society and what others tell her. I think this book illustrates what happens when a person swings to one side of the pendulum and then to the other. The time era this book was written demonstrates that society was not ready to deal with or acknowledge a women's right to their own thoughts, feelings and emotions. This is demonstrated by a couple of characters in the book. The first one obviously being is Edna's husband. He gets very upset with Edna when she stops following social protocals (i.e.taking callers on Tuesday). Madame Ratignolle "Think of the children", tortured Edna too.

Edna's determination for independence and the attitude of "doing whatever I please" is frowned upon in her society and yet her friends, her husband, and doctor are patient with her. They say this phase she is going through will pass. But Edna does not want it to. She gets to a point where there is no turning back but life keeps trying to force her to do so. She becomes so headstrong that instead of facing and dealing with choices of others she has no control of, she takes life into her own hands and does what only she can do, and no one else.

The sad thing is that Edna never truly found joy or pure happiness in her life. Even though she was married to a decent man, had two children, a beautiful home, money, wonderful meals, good company of friends, music, and vacationing - all these material things did not bring her pure happiness. I bring this up because she probably thought in her mind she was happy with life but then life dealt her a blow she could not turn away from but get sucked into. Her relationship with Robert, although innocent at first, awoke her senses and she got glimpses of true joy and pure happiness. These feelings would grow stronger and more important the more time she spent with Robert and then he went away. The taste was so sweet that when it disappeared, she did everything in hew power to bring back those feelings, those sensations of joy and happiness. She dove into art, she kept company with Mademoiselle Reisz, would walk instead of taking a cabbie, and would day dream of Robert. She found company with another man, Alcee Arobin, who replaced the void of Robert, physically but not emotionally. When Robert returns, she is willing to do whatever she wants to do but Robert, who understands propriety (if I may use this word, I know this is not a Jane Austen novel, but it still fits), walks away in the end.

I think what I am trying to get at is don't settle in life. Try to find true joy and pure happiness before it's too late. I don't know why but it makes me sad when I think how Edna did not find pure happiness with her children. Was it because she was not truly raising them (she had a nannie do all the work) so she did not have a strong bond with them? I think of my nieces and nephews and how much joy and happiness they bring into my life, I can't imagine what it would be like without them. Maybe Edna's problem was that she never found true joy or pure happiness in any of her relationships until Robert and that is what arounsed her senses within.

You know, it's like they say. Once you've found/tasted the good stuff, it's hard going back to mediocre. (If you need help at getting what I'm saying, think about hair products you use today verses what you used 10 years ago, face products, nail polish, food, chocolate, frostings, jewelry, shoes, pants, etc.) We all do it. We are all looking for the sweet taste in life - in whatever form we can get it in.(less)

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Apr 20, 2008 Claudine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Women who want to know where their freedoms began in this country

Read this book for a study/essay...didn't pick it out to read for fun. The writing style is strange and very romantic...sometimes I assumed I was reading a poor romance novel (and I'm not a fan of those).

However, this wasn't for fun, so I had to really read it and let it sit for a while. No, I don't like Chopin's writing, but understand where she was coming from in 19th Century America as a female -- and although I don't agree with her heroine's actions (three in particular) that essentially rui...more

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May 24, 2007 Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: women

Shelves: fiction, to-reread, for-school, own, just-like-a-woman, the-power-of-love, women-writers

Books like this make me both angry and happy. They make me upset, because I hate that there was a time when women and men weren't considered equals, but they make me happy because somebody had to point the finger and say "this is fucked up," and Kate Chopin was unafraid to do just that.

When we first started reading this book in my frosh year literature course at Hofstra, I was pissing and bitching and moaning about it. I was not remotely interested in reading it. But I plowed on, knowing that it...more

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Sep 22, 2010 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 50book-challenge, classics, feminism

This wasn't a book that caught my interest right away- I picked it up only to read a few pages and then put it down again several times.

However, as the protagonist came more to life so too did the book. I found Edna both more interesting and more sympathetic as the book progressed.

Chopin's style was interesting, too- sometimes lushly descriptive, sometimes spare- and generally quite Modernist in tone.

I can see why some people loathe this book: there isn't much in the way of external action, an...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Tracy Kendall rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brilliant portrayal of a woman's refusal to lose her own self among marriage and children.
One of the most insightful comments in the book was about why marriage is not what we expect: "The trouble is, that youth is given up to illusions. It seems to be a provision of Nature; a decoy to secure mothers for the race. And Nature takes no account of moral consequences, of arbitrary conditions which we create, and which we feel obliged to maintain at any cost."

Also loved some of the short stories at t...more

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Jan 10, 2010 Linds rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1800-s, child-care, empowered-women-or-characters, this-book-sucks, read-in-2010, south, classic, feminism

This is supposedly a milestone in feminist literature. It's important on a historical level, but it was impossible for me to for me to get this book. The "heroine" Edna is naive at best, and a selfish spoiled brat at worst.

I love historical romance novels set during the 1800's. While those books are fun, I realize that this situation was much more realistic. Women were married to men they were very distant to and trapped in a world of ennui and as the author put it, a "quiet, vague anguish." I...more This is supposedly a milestone in feminist literature. It's important on a historical level, but it was impossible for me to for me to get this book. The "heroine" Edna is naive at best, and a selfish spoiled brat at worst.

I love historical romance novels set during the 1800's. While those books are fun, I realize that this situation was much more realistic. Women were married to men they were very distant to and trapped in a world of ennui and as the author put it, a "quiet, vague anguish." I would sympathize with Edna if not for these (numerous) reasons.

1.) She's spoiled. She says ridiculous things like "she doesn't care a whit about money." Of course she doesn't. She's never worked a day in her life and she has a houseful of servants. She'd care about money quickly enough if she didn't have any.

She's also lazy. I would love to be free of responsibilities too. I'd love nothing better to do than have a beach cottage where all I did was hang out with my boyfriend and friends, eat, drink, read, and make art. But that's vacation, not life. Edna thinks that's how her life should be.

2.) She's racist and classist. I know she is a product of her environment but she's just awful. She wants to be seen as a "real" person with independent thoughts and feelings but she doesn't extend the same courtesy or respect towards the servants, white or black. She has one servant that I don't think she ever calls by name. She just always calls her the quadroon. (For those of you that don't know, it was a term in the south for someone three quarters white and one quarter black.) She's ridiculous.

3.) She's a terrible mother. She abandons her husband that she never loved. That's sad but it happens. She abandons her kids and wants a life where she can pop in on them when and if she feels like it. No excuse for treating children like that.

This was an audio book I listened to in my car and the actress was actually very good. The writing itself is good but unless you're into classic literature or the history of feminism this book is a big donut.(less)

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Feb 16, 2009 Yulia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: here-chicky-chicky

Bravo! I was very won over by this. I only held back in rating it a five because I thought it occasionally melodramatic, but then people can be naturally and sincerely melodramatic, so I shouldn't hold that against Chopin and the stakes were so much greater than they are now, yet the story still resonates so much with me. Inspiring and thought-provoking, over a century later. What a feat that is. I see why this is timeless, though it's so sad to think of how it's outlives New Orleans itself. I t...more Bravo! I was very won over by this. I only held back in rating it a five because I thought it occasionally melodramatic, but then people can be naturally and sincerely melodramatic, so I shouldn't hold that against Chopin and the stakes were so much greater than they are now, yet the story still resonates so much with me. Inspiring and thought-provoking, over a century later. What a feat that is. I see why this is timeless, though it's so sad to think of how it's outlives New Orleans itself. I thought most often of Ibsen's "The Doll House" and The Moviegoer" while reading it, though perhaps I should have been thinking of To the Lighthouse had Woolf made a greater impression on me. All I can recall of that is the letter R and a definitive brush stroke. I'm probably very unsubtle and sentimental to prefer this. Still, I can't help but regard this as an accomplishment.

****************************************************************

The dialogue is occasionally embarrassing in its awkwardness and many descriptions are best left only in one's mind (like Edna's describing herself in the third person running through an ocean of tall grass), but it still does pull me on to find out what happens to this awkward heroine.

Take note, all who love only those whom they cannot be with: "The persistence of the infatuation lent it an aspect of genuineness. The hopelessness of it colored it with the lofty tones of a great passion."

"The pigeon-house pleased her. It at once assumed the intimate character of a home, while she herself invested it with a charm which it reflected like a warm glow. There was with her a feeling of having descended in the social scale, with a corresponding sense of having risen in the spiritual. Every step she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her str3ength and expansion as an individual. She began to look with her own eyes; to see and apprehend the deeper undercurrents of life. No longer was she content to 'feed upon opinion' when her own soul had invited her." (less)

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Sep 28, 2011 bup rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1980s, 1001, novel

I barely remember anything about this except how it ends, but I know I read it, and someday my biographer will need this information, dammit!

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Jun 15, 2012 Rob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

Wow, not the book a financial advisor should read right before leaving his wife to go on a business trip. This is another novel where it seems more important (well timed) than it is actually good (well written). Don't get me wrong, I think this is a fine (and important) piece of literary fiction, but it just isn't great fiction. Chopin, to me, is a little like a shaky bridge between Leo Tolstoy and Virginia Woolf that isn't as perfected as Tolstoy and not as consuming as Woolf, but feels like an...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Amanda L rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 2011

Chopin was undoubtedly a revolutionary and possessed insight well advanced of her era, as demonstrated in her ideas behind The Awakening, but her delivery and the novel as a whole fall far short of expectation. The characters, aside from the main character, Edna, were pretty one-dimensional, so much so that it was often difficult to keep track of them. They all seemed disposable and, honestly, the story would have been more striking without them. Cluttered, yet this book isn't even terribly lo...more

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About Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin was an American novelist and short-story writer best known for her startling 1899 novel, The Awakening. Born in St. Louis, she moved to New Orleans after marrying Oscar Chopin in 1870. Less than a decade later Oscar's cotton business fell on hard times and they moved to his family's plantation in the Natchitoches Parish of northwestern Louisiana. Oscar died in 1882 and Kate was suddenl...more

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