Synopsis: |
The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin. Set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century, the plot centers around Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism. The novel's blend of realistic narrative, incisive social commentary, and psychological complexity makes The Awakening a precursor of American modernism. The novel's protagonist. The wife of Leonce and the mother of two boys, she is presented as a complex and emotionally dynamic character (a rarity for female characters of the period). Her "awakening" forms the core of the plot. |