The Awakening $7.95 $7.15

The Awakening, Kate Chopins most famous work, was greeted with cries of outrage and charges of immorality upon its publication in 1899. Its frank portrayal of a womans emotional, intellectual, and sexual awakening shocked the sensibilities of the time and destroyed the authors reputation and career. Many years passed before this short pioneering novel was recognized as a major achievement in American literature.

Set in and around New Orleans, The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother. While on vacation, Edna meets the son of a Louisiana resort owner, with whom she gradually falls in love. As she pulls away from her husband, Edna begins to develop a sense of herself as a whole person with unique wants, interests, and desires. Determined to control her own life, she flouts convention by moving out of her husbands house, indulging in an adulterous affair, and becoming an artist.

Beautifully written, with incredibly sensuous imagery and vivid local descriptions, The Awakening has lost little of its power to provoke and inspire.

Additionally, this edition includes thirteen of Kate Chopins short stories: Emancipation: A Life Fable, A Shameful Affair, At the Cadian Ball, Dsires Baby, A Gentleman of Bayou Tche, A Respectable Woman, The Story of an Hour, Athnase, A Pair of Silk Stockings, Elizabeth Stocks One Story, The Storm, The Godmother, and A Little Country Girl.