The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories

Vacationing on the Louisiana coast, the young wife and mother Edna Pontellier undergoes a sensual and spiritual awakening that leads her to question marriage, motherhood, and the narrow role society allows her. As she pursues independence, art, and desire, she collides with the rigid expectations of her time, moving toward a shattering conclusion. Frank about female sexuality and selfhood, the novel was condemned on publication and nearly ended Chopin’s career, only to be rediscovered decades later as a masterpiece. Now a landmark of American and feminist literature, The Awakening is a beautifully written, quietly radical study of a woman’s yearning to belong to herself.