New Essays on The Awakening

The American Novel

by Wendy Martin (Editor )

When The Awakening was first published in 1899 it was an extraordinarily controversial book. One of the first American novels to concern itself with themes of adultery and divorce, it was widely attacked as 'vulgar' and 'unhealthy'. In her introduction to this collection, Wendy Martin discusses the historical background of the novel and analyses the heroine's evolution from a role of traditional femininity to one of autonomous individualism. The essays that follow explore other central themes of the novel, as well as locating Chopin in the tradition of American women novelists and discussing her status as a pre-modernist writer.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published July 29, 1988

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well now! I certainly know a lot about other people’s opinions about the meaning of and symbolism in “The Awakening.” Whole bunch of themes and interesting theories of just what exactly Kate Chopin was trying to say/share with the world in her groundbreaking novel.