The Awakening
Kate Chopin • 1899
Devastation Rating
women marriage identity freedom
Our Take
Edna Pontellier wakes up to herself and there is nowhere to go with it — not in Louisiana in 1899. Chopin's novel was suppressed for decades because Edna refuses to be what marriage requires. The final swim is not defeat; it is the only freedom available. You will be angry at everyone in this book on her behalf.
Appears In
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