A slow, short, but pretty amazing novel and I see why it's as influential as it is.

The plot focuses on a woman finding herself. Finding her individualism and rebelling against the conformative expectations of society. Infidelity is the plot vehicle this is done through, and I feel like people really get caught up on this, but ultimately, I don't think the crux of the book is about infidelity, rather marriage is just a symbol for conformity and female oppression. That being said, some moments of writing referring to the affair are beautifully written, Chopin really hits her stride when she was writing about their relationship.

Ending was powerful, but felt super rushed. Really wished it would have been expanded upon a bit.

Favorite Quote:

"She had tried to forget him, realizing the inutility of remembering. But the thought of him was like an obsession, ever pressing itself upon her. It was not that she dwelt upon details of their acquaintance, or recalled in any special or peculiar way his personality; it was his being, his existence, which dominated her thought, fading sometimes as if it would melt into the mist of the forgotten, reviving again with an intensity which filled her with an incomprehensible longing." ( )

The first half of this novel takes place on the seashore of the Gulf of Mexico, and Chopin vividly conveys the experience of spending leisure time on the coast in the summer: late-night dinners, midnight swims, watching the water for hours in the afternoon.

My other impressions of the novel pale in comparison to my pleasure at her understanding of the private beach scene, but I liked it. Edna awakens to become a self-absorbed, childish and alienated loner; the patriarchy proves resilient; fairy-tale endings are eschewed. ( )

There's a great chance this book could have been a five star read for me, but unfortunately my edition had a "prologue". It seemed like it was intended to be read prior to reading the book. It was in front of the first chapter. It was a very in depth analysis of the story, and within the first several pages of it, it immediately spoiled the ending.

Are you kidding me?

I immediately ceased reading the prologue and went right to the story, but the damage was done. I knew the ending, and I couldn't unknow it.

The story itself is of a woman who is constrained by the expectations of society. She's married with two small sons and living a traditional life. The Awakening tells the story of how she awakens and in some ways succumbs to her own yearnings to break free and follow her feelings toward another man, Robert. While I am sure at the time of its writing, this book was groundbreaking to some degree, I actually think the stress that Edna feels between duty and happiness, contraints and freedom, still hold true today. While this book is a piece of feminist literature, in reality, Edna's plight is just a human one. ( )

"But when she was there beside the sea, absolutely alone, she cast the unpleasant, pricking garments from her, and for the first time in her life she stood naked in the open air, at the mercy of the sun, the breeze that beat upon her, and the waves that invited her."

Peace and acceptance of the supreme loneliness of being human found in suicide... Truly not the story I should be reading, but definitely the story I needed. The ending is so happy to me—Edna finds her freedom and her peace in existing alone. I wish so desperately to find that one day too (perhaps with a bit less suicide). ( )

Apparently when The Awakening by Kate Chopin was first published in 1899, it shocked readers with it’s story of a wife’s marital infidelity. The author’s tale of a woman trapped in a stifling marriage who seeks outside fulfillment was considered extremely controversial.

Personally I wasn’t very engaged by this story. I really didn’t like the main character, Edna, finding her too wishy-washy, too unsure of herself and what she wants from life. It didn’t really bother me that was a rather neglectful mother and wife, but she seems to drift through life, expecting others to fill in her gaps. At first she has Robert who spends all his time with her while she is vacationing. She rather takes him for granted until he leaves for Mexico, then she decides that she loves him but when he doesn’t write or come back to her, she allows herself to fall into another relationship with a notorious womanizer. When Robert returns, she once again realizes that it’s him that she loves but when her friend begs her to think of her children, she realizes that society will never accept her leaving her husband and children for Robert.

There are a number of books written about this subject including Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina and I quite frankly had more sympathy for each of those characters. Edna Pontellier acknowledges her awakening and her urge to break free from restrictions placed on her by society, but when push comes to shove, she takes an entirely different route to freedom. For all of that, The Awakening is a classic of American Literature and a well done example of feminist writing. ( )