Study Guide to The Awakening by Kate Chopin

A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension.


As a feminist novel of the American South at the end of the nineteenth century, The Awakening highlights individual expression and freedom and what the desire for it can cost the person who wants it. Moreover, Chopin was reviled and ostracized by polite society in St. Louis because of the actions of The Awakening’s main character. This Bright Notes Study Guide explores the context and history of Chopin’s classic work, helping students to thoroughly explore the reasons it has stood the literary test of time. Each Bright Notes Study Guide contains:


- Introductions to the Author and the Work

- Character Summaries

- Plot Guides

- Section and Chapter Overviews

- Test Essay and Study Q&As


The Bright Notes Study Guide series offers an in-depth tour of more than 275 classic works of literature, exploring characters, critical commentary, historical background, plots, and themes. This set of study guides encourages readers to dig deeper in their understanding by including

essay questions and answers as well as topics for further research.