The Awakening

About This Book

Published in 1899, The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin (1850–1904) that follows Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother in late nineteenth-century New Orleans who begins to question the expectations placed on women by society, marriage, and motherhood. During a summer vacation at Grand Isle, Edna experiences a sexual and spiritual awakening that leads her to assert her independence — learning to swim, taking a lover, moving out of her husband's house, and pursuing painting. The novel's frank treatment of female desire and its devastating conclusion scandalized reviewers in 1899 and effectively ended Chopin's literary career. Rediscovered in the 1960s, The Awakening is now recognized as a landmark of American feminist literature. The novel is in the public domain.

Excerpt

A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: "Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That's all right!"— Opening of The Awakening

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