1899Naturalism
The Awakening
Kate Chopin · 1850–1904 · United States
Why it matters
A Louisiana wife and mother discovers desires (artistic, sexual, existential) that her marriage and society cannot accommodate. Denounced as immoral on publication, later reclaimed as an early landmark of feminist fiction.
At a glance
psychological novel
Difficulty 5/10medium pace195 pagesSpare prose carries considerable symbolic and emotional weight.
Deep dive
Chopin gives her heroine an awakening on three fronts at once — aesthetic, sexual, and metaphysical — and refuses to say which one costs her the most.
Where to go next
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