Customer Reviews

The Awakening and Selected Stories of Kate Chopin (Signet Classics)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Stories include: (Wiser Than a god, A Point at Issue!, A Shameful Affair, Miss McEnders, At the 'Cadian Ball, Desiree's baby, Madame Celestin's Divorce, A Lady of Bayou St. John, La Belle Zoraide A Respectable Woman, The Story of an Hour, Regret, The Kiss, Athenaise, A Pair of Silk Stockings, The Storm, Charlie). Some of the short stories seem repetitive, but The Awakening is wonderful, especially considering when it was written and how much Chopin went through as a result of publishing this scandalous tale. She tells the story of a woman realizing her sexuality and the feminist ideas she conveys are far ahead of her time.

At the start of the novel, Mrs Pontellier is experiencing the awakening of her consciousness: she is beginning to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her. Her husband, a man of forty, regards her as a valuable piece of personal property. And yet she is the sole "object" of his existence. Why does she seem so little interested in things which concern him? Does she not value his conversation? A vague anguish in Mrs Pontellier is a symptom of something dark developing within. Is this unfamiliar feeling the sign of an inner revolt against Fate? What is the force behind the creation and the dispelling of our moods?

As a young woman of twenty-eight, Edna Pontellier finds herself pondering on the nature of female wisdom. Is it about posing as a mother-as-angel in the home or is there something more? Can a new world be created in front of her, different from the one in which she had been living? Can a woman have access to a kind of wisdom belonging to the spirit, that only men had been previously vouchsafed? Edna is learning the pleasure of getting lost in the maze of inner contemplation. She wants to learn whether life has been the result of accident or the decree of Fate.

The moon, the sea water and Chopin seem to cast a mystic spell upon her soul. Exulting with these feelings, she aims to conquer her own self, a feat prohibited to women at the time. The winter after the summer holidays at Grand Isle, and after her "friend" Robert has gone to Mexico, Edna Pontellier has already given certain steps towards the delirium of selfhood she craves for: she will only do as she pleases, and what she pleases the most is art. Is she not growing a little unbalanced mentally? For her, art is ultimately related to the rights of women. But, does she possess the "absolute" gifts, those which are not acquired by one's effort?

Edna Pontellier considers that it is not to late for her to accomplish her fight for freedom and independence. She plans to move to a tiny house and live by herself. She has resolved never again to belong to anyone but herself. And yet when she does surrender it is not to love but to a momentary passion, perhaps as a consequence of her ennui: "the hopelessness which so often assailed her, which came upon her like an obsession, like something extraneous, independent of volition". Yet every step which she takes towards relieving herself from obligations adds to her strength and expansion as an individual. Can we be indifferent to the consequences of abandoning ourselves to Fate? "She was blindly following whatever impulse moved her, as if she had placed herself in alien hands for direction, and freed her soul of responsibility."

Five stars! This book was wonderfully priced and came within two days! In 'like new' condition. No regrets at all. I will definitely buy again.

Imagine being a woman living in the south in the late 1800's. You are married, have two children and very comfortable life style--one might argue your life is near perfect. Overtime you come to realize that your life is not fulfilling. Reading Kate Chopin's short story The Awakening will take the reader through a personal passage in a woman's life when options were very limited. Even more astounding is the story was written and published during the time when the story takes place--scandalous.

The other stories in this book will also give the reader insights into the life and times of people living in New Orleans. They too are engaging.

This is a very interesting novel. It came at a time when women were breaking out of traditionally ascribed roles in the male-dominated society. Published in 1899 it still captivates and challenges the reader.

Critics during the 1899 gave Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" bad reviews. They were shock at the novel because of the issues that Chopin wrote about. Chopin was devasted; she died never writing again. "The Awakening" was revived by feminist critics that knew the work was facinating, also beautifully written and compose. Now, high schools and college across America read "The Awakening".

The Awakening is about a woman named Edna Pontellier. Edna is unhappy in her life as a mother and wife. She starts to "awaken" from her conventional role of mother and wife to a woman that desires independence to become an individual. Edna does not love her husband nor she wants to be a mother to her two sons.

Edna falls in love with Robert Leburn; Robert goes away to Mexico because he wants to stay away from Edna. He knows that they both have feelings for each other, and he leaves because Edna's reputation will be destroyed if they have a love affair. After Robert leaves, she purchases a quaint little house on the corner; she decides that she needs space away from her wifely and motherly duties. While Robert is gone, Edna has an affair with womanizer, Alcee Abouron.

Robert comes back from Mexico; Edna is glad to see him and wants to rekindle the love that they discovered before he left. Edna is called by her friend, Adele, because she is having her baby.

Edna discovers that she cannot awaken fully from society conventions and restraints that are placed on her. She realizes if there was a way that Robert and her could be together, eventually, he would stop loving her. She realizes during her time society will not let her be the woman that she wants and needs to be.

"The Awakening" is about a woman that experiences and realizes that her life is complexed. As Edna struggles to find her identity, she has a wall against her, and it is called conventions.

Kate Chopin's The Awakening is one of my favorite pieces of literature and I thought it was finally time to re-read it.
The New Orleans coastal setting during the nineteenth century is at the heart of this novella. Chopin sets the mood just right and as I read, I felt like I was in Louisiana by the coast. I could almost smell and hear the ocean.

The story is about a woman named Edna Pontellier who is in her late twenties. Edna is a married mother of two small boys. Her husband Leonce gives her a seemingly satisfying lifestyle. Yet Edna is unhappy, often feeling restless and unfulfilled.
As the story unfolds, Edna falls in love with a man named Robert Lebrun while on summer vacation at the Grand Isle resort in the Gulf of Mexico.

She begins to awaken to feelings and thoughts within herself she never knew existed. In an attempt to resist temptation and heartache from an affair that can lead nowhere, Robert leaves abruptly for Mexico.
When the summer is over, Edna and her family return to New Orleans. While Robert is gone, Edna misses him and finds herself beginning to feel even more dissatisfied. She begins to paint, considering herself an artist.

Edna's husband leaves on a business trip and while he is away, she ends up moving out of their home and renting an apartment by herself. Edna meets a man named Alcée Arobin, who is known for his womanizing. She enjoys flirting with him and the two eventually have an affair.

When Robert returns to New Orleans, he and Edna both confess their feelings for one another. At this point, Edna knows she no longer loves her husband and wants to be 'free'.

I like how Kate Chopin broke convention and wrote stories that challenged the norm. Her stories dealt with issues that weren't openly accepted or spoken about when she was alive.

In this story, a married woman decides she no longer wants to be tied down by her husband and even by her own children. She takes a lover and moves into her own apartment, all with no remorse. Although I didn't agree with Edna's behavior, I found myself almost mesmerized while reading Chopin's beautiful prose.

"The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.
The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace."

I admire how Chopin pushed the envelope. The ending is harsh and poignant and not something I would think the reader is expecting.
The story that caused so much uproar in Chopin's day, is now considered a classic of feminist fiction. That counts for something.

Excellent book of short stories from historic New Orleans with details on the social order of the time and loving descriptions of the city and the surrounding environs. Rich in exploration of the inner life of people as well as day to day living. Not afraid to venture into dark emotions. Not for everyone.

The edition is well done since it has a pretty good introduction to the themes and notes as well as excerpts from critics and suggestions for discussion.

What makes ist 4 instead of 5 stars is actually that the information concerning the stories included in the edition did not correspond to the actual book which was kind of a deception because I was expecting to find "The story of an hour".

Kate Chopin was very ahead of her time. When women were supposed to be quiet and entertain their husbands, Chopin had the guts (desperation?) to speak her mind through the characters in many of her short stories and novels. The Awakening pulls the reader into the mind of a woman realizing her spirit and potential... only to end up with the knowledge that she can never be what she wants to be- free and independent. One has to wonder if this is the desperation felt by Chopin as she tried to support her children alone after the death of her husband.