Ready Reference Treatise: The Awakening

“The Awakening” by Kate Chopin is considered to be her best work. It was first published in 1899.

The story is set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the 19th century.

The story revolves around Edna Pontellier. The story depicts her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn of the century South. The story very deeply explores the changing attitudes of the people with the changing times.

“The Awakening” very boldly focuses on women’s issues. It is one of the earliest American novels that talks about this topic. It is definitely a landmark work of early feminism.

“The Awakening” is said to be a precursor of American modernism because the story prefigures the works of American novelists like William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. The novel also echoes the works of the contemporary writers like Edith Wharton and Henry James.

The narrative is highly realistic, and the social commentary is quite incisive. There is psychological complexity in the story. These things blend together perfectly in the novel.

“The Awakening” is said to be the source of inspiration for many contemporary and future novelists. The book still retains its appeal in the modern world.