The Awakening

The Awakening

Summary

The Pontellier family are spending a hot, lazy holiday on the Gulf of Mexico. No-one expects that Edna Pontellier should be preoccupied with anything more than her husband and children. When an illicit summer romance awakens new ideas and longings in Edna, she can barely understand herself, and cannot hope for aid or acceptance in the stifling attitudes of Louisiana society.

Kate Chopin's compelling, candid portrait of a woman attempting to break free caused an outcry when first published in 1899.

Reviews

  • The novel expresses women's diffuse desire for personal and social change
    Guardian

About the author

Kate Chopin

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