Description
Book SynopsisReaders and critics were scandalized by The Awakening when it was first published, but it is now regarded as among the boldest and earliest examples of feminist fiction. It is published here with a selection of Chopin’s strikingly perceptive short stories and introduced by Dr J. Michelle Coghlan, a specialist in American literature.
Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.
In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is on holiday with her husband and two young children at a sleepy resort town on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. There, she is pursued by the charming and unmarried Robert Lebrun. Edna doesn’t play by the rules; flirtation turns into an affair that awakens in Edna her desire to break away from her passionless marriage, her children and the strict conventions of nineteenth-century society.
Trade ReviewFrom the first pages of
The Awakening we are pulled into territory that feels utterly current and familiar, with an undercurrent more dangerous than romantic comedy * Guardian *
Kate Chopin is a pioneer in the treatment of sexuality in American literature . . . She does not speak only to women, but she speaks most powerfully about them * The Times *
A Creole Bovary is this little novel of Miss Chopin’s -- Willa Cather
Chopin’s deceptively slight novel is the kind of book revolutions are made of * Harper’s Bazaar *
This landmark feminist novel, first published in 1899, remains startlingly relevant -- Judy Blume
Table of ContentsIntroduction - i: Introduction by Michelle Coughlan Chapter - 1: The Awakening Chapter - 2: The Storm Chapter - 3: Lilacs Chapter - 4: Fedora Chapter - 5: Her Letters Chapter - 6: A Respectable Woman Chapter - 7: The Kiss Chapter - 7: A Shameful Affair Chapter - 8: Suzette Chapter - 9: A Mental Suggestion Chapter - 10: A Point at Issue! Chapter - 11: A Vocation and a Voice Chapter - 12: Madame Célestin's Divorce Chapter - 13: A No-Account Creole Chapter - 14: A Pair of Silk Stockings Chapter - 15: An Egyptian Cigarette Chapter - 16: Miss Witherwell's Mistake Chapter - 17: Wiser Than a God Chapter - 18: Elizabeth Stock's One Story Chapter - 19: A Matter of Prejudice Chapter - 20: Ozème's Holiday Chapter - 21: Miss McEnders Chapter - 22: The Story of an Hour Chapter - 23: The Recovery Chapter - 24: Désirée’s Baby Chapter - 25: La Belle Zoraïde Chapter - 26: Regret Chapter - 27: The Locket Chapter - 28: Athénaïse
