The Awakening

The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle between her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. The novel's blend of realistic narrative, incisive social commentary, and psychological complexity makes The Awakening a precursor of American modernist literature. Other Short Stories in this book: BEYOND THE BAYOU MA'AME PELAGIE DESIREE'S BABY A RESPECTABLE WOMAN THE KISS A PAIR OF SILK STOCKINGS THE LOCKET