Title | : | The Awakening and Selected Stories |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | - |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Paperback |
Number of Pages | : | 296 |
Publication | : | First published January 1, 1899 |
The Awakening
Beyond the Bayou
Ma'ame Pelagie
Desiree's Baby
A Respectable Woman
The Kiss
A Pair of Silk Stockings
The Locket
A Reflection
At the 'Cadian Ball
The Storm
The Awakening and Selected Stories Reviews
-
I first read The Awakening some years ago, I think in a cheap edition with a couple of her other stories. It made an impression on me as an archetypal nineteenth century story of an upper class woman achieving a degree of personal liberation and then finding in typical nineteenth century style that there was no place for her apart from in the graveyard .
Anyhow last year I read a small collection of five of her short stories:
A pair of Silk stockings, I was pretty impressed by them and so keen to return to The Awakening which I had only vague languid memories of, and perhaps I had seen a review here on Goodreads that roused me from my sleepiness - I am particularly interested in those reviews which draw out the comparison with Aphrodite, because it is there and it works and does not work, I wonder if this image is more linked with a broader idea of transcending and escaping human constraints rather than more narrowly than that Edna is an avatar of the Goddess cruelly marooned in Louisana. I checked the catalogue of the local library and found that thy had a copy but curiously I could not find in on the shelves - and it is a very small branch library a hard place to hide anything , well towards the end of the lockdown we were permitted to write in requests to the library for books which we would be summoned to collect. So I requested this book thinking that either I get it, or the library would discover it was missing.
It was not missing. And I discovered that I had forgotten a lot of the story, particularly the entire lengthy middle section. the Awakening is a long story, 125 pages, this edition has 347 pages of fiction, none of the other stories here is any where near as long and mostly they made little impression upon me, but collectively they were more interesting. Apparently Chopin was a commercially acute writer, the footnotes to this volume record some the amounts that she earned for her stories - five dollars here, six dollars fifty there, which really changed my reading of the story a pair of silk stockings in which the main character finds herself with fifteen dollars. I got the feeling that it took a while for Chopin either to find the journal or editors who were prepared to publish more daring stories.
I was tempted to split off the Awakening and ramble on about it separately, but being both lazy and certain that I'd wind up rambling on about it in any case, I determined against doing that.
The Awakening is extremely rich, and languid, I found it a dreamy read. My imagination was dominated by a sense of waves rolling in upon the shore, sand under the feet, and a lazy warmth. There are lots of interesting points about it, subtle shifts, like currents within the tide, for example how for a just few pages Edna is described as strong which contributes to a sense as readers we experience an awakening ourselves, everything is in flux, it is a story that progresses in subtle gradients. Where Edna is at the beginning, is not where she is in the middle, or at the end, perhaps artistically Chopin had to end Edna because otherwise there would be no reason to stop the process of awakening?
I am curious that some readers are still upset that Edna abandons her children, but my impression was that Edna was not really banded with her children in the first place, invariably when the children are mentioned so is the quadroon woman responsible for caring for them, all the same towards the end of the story Edna herself sees the children as fettering her, her freedom in opposition to their needs. Perhaps that is still a bit shocking, a bit too honest and close to the bone.
Although the ending of The Awakening seems typical, her stories deal with marriage and relations between men and women in many different ways. Sometimes a wife leaves her husband, sometimes she leaves and then returns, sometimes she avoids marriage, or she might marry but preserves part of her life and all of her passion private from her husband. In a very nasty story a woman has a responsible job and an independent life but is tricked out of it by manipulative men. Once a husband throws the wife out, and once a woman goes on a spree with all of fifteen dollars.
Race is always there as a reality though occasionally even a poor black character is presented with dignity and agency - though that does not mostly seem to be her main concern. Race and a near infinite number of degrees of caste come across more as matters of fact than of interest, or that was my impression.
I found The Awakening more powerful than
The Yellow Wallpaper, Edna I felt was not just controlled by her husband, but was barely human to him, just a tool for advancing his business interests just one unfortunately not as reliable as his pocket watch. Edna's awakening, for me, was not about rejection or rebellion from him, but something more fundamental, an awakening and discovery of herself, and because that must be an open ended process, the novella must end as it does.
Curious how similar Edna is described as physically being to her lover Robert Lebrun, leaving me with the question of whether The Awakening was a story or a fable like Cupid and Psyche. The Anima and Animus in search of some other way of being beyond the confines of the page. -
For the first time in her life she stood naked in the open air, at the mercy of the sun, the breeze that beat upon her, and the waves that invited her.
~ 'The Awakening'
Written in 1899, 'The Awakening', the main story/novella in this collection, is the radical tale of a married woman's 'awakening', not just to sexual desire ('It was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire') but also to a sense of self-hood ('But I don't want anything but my own way') and independence ('I am no longer one of Mr Pontellier's possessions to dispose of or not. I give myself where I choose').
The aspect that I found most unexpected is not so much Edna's embracing of her sexuality but the way she contests society's view that motherhood is the only route to fulfilled femininity - Edna loves her children, she just doesn't think that her life should be solely confined to them, and that she will be a better mother, the happier she is in herself.
Chopin writes with precision, with some passages of lyricism, but mainly in a straightforward way: we're not left in any doubt about her message here and while there's some use of symbolism (birds, the sky, the sea, the claustrophobic interior of Edna's family home), there's nothing difficult, obtuse or oblique about her style - it's there on the surface.
Despite that, it's easy to see this as a founding feminist text: it may not have the complexities of Edith Wharton or Virginia Woolf, say, but it makes a bold statement all the same.
The other stories are less powerful and with open, ambiguous endings: 'The Storm' (a sequel to 'At the 'Cadian Ball') is especially interesting for the explicit (for the 1890s) language of female sexual experience, and the fact that this desire is extra-marital, drawing a dotted line to 'The Awakening'. -
5/5stars
2019 update:
I actually meant to update my rating for "The Awakening" AGES ago because I ended up using the novella as my main piece of literature in my gigantic English Major Writing Seminar essay and I really found myself enjoying it the more I worked with it and its become my go-to novel when discussing American literature.
that being said, this semester i had to read a handful of the selected short stories by Chopin and I enjoyed this just as much as her novella! Chopin has just a wonderful, unapologetic way of writing that makes her and her stories incredibly relevant even 120 years after most of them were published. She's an OG feminist and I love her works.
2018:4/5stars
I actually really enjoyed this? This book is seriously revolutionary considering it was written in the 1800s and still explored women's feelings and sexuality more than 90% of books nowadays lol (I literally have a note being like "WOW this book talks about a woman pooping while books nowadays can't even mention any character going to the bathroom") but yeah wow Edna is an incredible character and incredibly real and her feelings and emotions and thoughts are very powerful. The ending of this book I'm now questioning if it was the first to do this cause I've seen it done multiple times in contemporary books.
But yeah I really ended up enjoying this! -
8.0/10
The Awakening 7.0/10
An interesting, if somewhat meandering tale of a Victorian woman's "awakening". Chopin's prose is clear and precise so it becomes easy to fall into the trail of Edna Pontellier's slow emergence into self-hood, but I couldn't help but feel that Chopin's abilities were much more suited to the shorter fiction she wrote. There isn't enough magic in her "grand reveal" for one knows exactly what's going to happen to Edna from the end of the second chapter, and there isn't enough complexity in the tale to make it compelling. I found it to be a good, light read without having to think too much. There were a number of petty annoyances along the way, but I reined myself in to concede each time that Chopin, after all, was only a privileged white woman writing at the end of the Victorian era, and so what else could she do? The Awakening may be her own story, in a sense, without the rather dramatic ending.
Beyond The Bayou 7.0/10
A different kind of awakening, but this time with a much more measured response by the protagonist. La Folle dares to reach beyond the bayou to find it is not as terrifying as she once imagined.
Ma'me Pelagie 7.5/10
A poignant, but not overly sentimental narrative on the misplaced self-sacrifice that war demands; and the effects of "new eyes" on an old problem.
Desirée's Baby 9.0/10
I knew the answer to this problem the moment Desirée had her baby -- yet it was an eminently satisfying, captivating little story of poetic justice being achieved. This is Chopin at her best.
A Respectable Woman 5.0/10
Respectable women are quite boring, imo, -- and in Chopin's opinion too, it would seem.
The Kiss 5.0/10
A misplaced kiss, to a different kind of poetic justice. Barely worth the writing of it I would think.
A Pair of Silk Stockings 9.5/10
You would read this collection for this story alone for it captures, beautifully, how longing and desire will always have their day in the sun, if only for the briefest moment. Chopin reveals her deep understanding of the hungry heart.
The Locket 9.5/10
Another startlingly beautiful and poignant message on the spoils of war. The impact is the greater for being so brief. A poem in prose.
A Reflection
I transcribe it here in its entirety. You be the judge.
Some people are born with a vital and responsive energy. It not only enables them to keep abreast of the times; it qualifies them to furnish in their own personality a good bit of the motive power to the mad pace. They are fortunate beings. They do not need to apprehend the significance of things. They do not grow weary nor miss step, nor do they fall out of the rank and sink by the wayside to be left contemplating the moving procession.
Ah! that moving procession that has left me by the road-side! Its fantastic colors are more brilliant and beautiful than the sun on the undulating waters. What matter if souls and bodies are failing beneath the feet of the ever-pressing multitude! It moves with the majestic rhythm of the spheres. Its discordant clashes sweep upward in one harmonious tone that blends with the music of other worlds--to complete God's orchestra.
It is greater than the stars--that moving procession of human energy; greater than the palpitating earth and the things growing thereon. Oh! I could weep at being left by the wayside; left with the grass and the clouds and a few dumb animals. True, I feel at home in the society of these symbols of life's immutability. In the procession I should feel the crushing feet, the clashing discords, the ruthless hands and stifling breath. I could not hear the rhythm of the march.
Salve! ye dumb hearts. Let us be still and wait by the roadside.
The End. -
I did not enjoy this story, and I did not see why Edna's life was so bad. I can understand feeling restricted, but I think Edna was a very selfish woman. If anything, she should have thought of her children. I am not here to say that women don't have existences outside of their marriages, their children. I disagree strongly with that. But a woman has a choice to make. When she brings children into the world, it changes the decisions that she can make. She can be happy and she can have joy, but she has to make sure that her children are loved and cared for.
Edna was a pampered woman with an indulgent husband, and got to go on a nice vacation every year. She had servants, and friends. A lot of women don't even have those things, but manage to get up out of bed everyday and live their lives. Yes, she felt that she was denying her inner self, and had to marry, although maybe she didn't want to. I cannot deny that must have caused some emotional angst, but there is no either/or. There is, okay this is what I have, let's see what I can do with it. Make the best of what you have. Edna continually made bad choices. She made a mistake and had an extramarital affair. Not the end of the world. I believe her husband would have forgiven her. Or she could have even lived apart from him and hopefully still be a mother to her children. (Maybe I'm being naive about this for the time period, maybe not). She could have stayed with her husband and had a friendship marriage with no physical involvement and painted. Even carried on her affairs as long as she was discreet. She had some choices. A lot of women, a lot of people don't. I just didn't buy the option that she took. I think she was a drama queen.Sorry, I just didn't have much sympathy for this woman.
I'd love to read Kate Chopin's other stories because she sounds like a phenomenal women. I hope that her other female characters have a maturity that Edna lacked. -
This collection of Chopin’s short fiction has been languishing on my shelves for years. I had previously read, and not much cared for, one of the short stories featured here and it inhibited me from eagerly returning to the rest of this author’s work. I decided to space out this book’s contents over the course of a fortnight and am a little sad to say that I am not convinced, after reading them, that Chopin is the author for me.
I adored the longest tale collected here, which was the title novella, ‘The Awakening’. Perhaps the extended page length is what caused me to so fully love this creation, but the rest failed to appeal in anywhere close to the same way. In fact, I found most ultimately proved a little forgettable or pointless, to me. I could appreciate Chopin’s craft in their construction, but the contents and the direction were rarely for me, personally.
Here is a breakdown of my ratings for each story:
The Awakening - 5/5 stars
Wiser Than a God - 3/5 stars
A Point at Issue! - 3/5 stars
The Christ Light - 3/5 stars
The Maid of Saint Phillippe - 3/5 stars
Doctor Chevalier’s Lie - 3/5 stars
Beyond the Bayou - 3/5 stars
Old Aunt Peggy - 1/5 stars
Ripe Figs - 2/5 stars
Miss McEnders - 3/5 stars
At the ‘Cadian Ball - 3/5 stars
The Father of Desiree’s Baby - 2/5 stars
Caline - 3/5 stars
A Matter of Prejudice - 3/5 stars
Azelie - 3/5 stars
A Lady of Bayou St. John - 3/5 stars
La Belle Zoraide - 3/5 stars
Tonie - 3/5 stars
A Gentleman of Bayou Teche - 3/5 stars
In Sabine - 3/5 stars
A Respectable Woman - 4/5 stars
The Dream of an Hour - 3/5 stars
Lilacs - 4/5 stars
Regret - 4/5 stars
The Kiss - 2.5/5 stars
Her Letters - 3.5/5 stars
Athenaise - 3/5 stars
The Unexpected - /5 stars
Vagabonds - /5 stars
A Pair of Silk Stockings - 3/5 stars
An Egyptian Cigarette - 2.5/5 stars
Elizabeth Stock’s One Story - /5 stars
The Storm: A Sequel to “The ‘Cadain Ball” - 3/5 stars -
The Awakening - 4.5*
I want to save and savor the other short stories for another time since I don't have other Kate Chopin works to read. -
"Forse è meglio svegliarsi, dopotutto, anche se per soffrire, piuttosto che rimanere vittima delle illusioni per tutta la vita."
Il risveglio è un romanzo di Kate Chopin, scrittrice statunitense di origini irlandesi famosa per i suoi romanzi ambientati sullo sfondo della Louisiana creola. Questo è probabilmente la sua opera più famosa ed era nella mia wishlist da moltissimo tempo. La meravigliosa edizione di Storie senza Tempo mi ha dato l'opportunità di recuperarlo. Questo volume poi non contiene solo Il risveglio, ma anche altri brevi racconti dell'autrice, cosa che permette di fare letteralmente un viaggio tra le sue opere di maggior pregio. Il romanzo ha come protagonista Edna Pontellier, una giovane donna sposata e con due bambini. La storia inizia un'estate in Louisiana, tra le cittadine di New Orleans e Grand-Isle. Apparentemente la vita di Edna è perfetta, ha un marito che la ama, due bei bambini, una vita agiata e una bella casa. Il risveglio che dà il titolo al romanzo è per l'appunto il risveglio di Edna, che capisce che quella vita la costringe a sottostare a tutta una serie di regole, di confini, di barriere che la limitano e la rendono in qualche modo prigioniera.
Il risveglio di Edna parte dal comprendere che, prima di essere moglie e madre, è una donna, un essere pensante dotato di una propria indipendenza. Edna inizia così a liberarsi di quei confini che la intrappolano, inizia a prendere decisioni che mettono in primo piano il suo benessere e non quello degli altri. Le vicende che la vedono protagonista la rendono simile per certi versi ad altri personaggi che si trovano ad affrontare lo stesso risveglio, come le più famose Emma Bovary e Anna Karenina. Ma il percorso di Edna è anche molto diverso, perchè la consapevolezza che pian piano acquista arriva in modi inaspettati.
Appena pubblicato questo romanzo destò moltissimo scalpore, solo in seguito è stato rivalutato ed è stato apprezzato come meritava. Il racconto della Chopin viene definito come uno dei primi romanzi femministi. E in effetti, almeno per certi versi, la storia lo è, così come è prettamente femminista la presa di coscienza di Edna. Lo stile del racconto è molto scorrevole ed elegante, alcuni passaggi sono davvero bellissimi e lasciano senza fiato. Il ritmo del racconto è lento, perchè alla fine non succede molto in questo romanzo. Edna è protagonista principale e il suo risveglio è esso stesso protagonista e tiene banco per le quasi 200 pagine di questa storia. Ho trovato molto interessanti anche i brevi racconti riportati alla fine del volume, credo che aiutino a comprendere meglio l'autrice e a valutare in modo più completo la sua opera.
Devo ammettere che, nonostante la lentezza del racconto e alcuni atteggiamenti della stessa Edna, ho trovato il romanzo molto bello e interessante. Mi è piaciuta moltissimo l'ambientazione, che ho trovato particolarmente affascinante, e ovviamente anche l'aspetto psicologico della vicenda, che è quello centrale e più importante. Edna si risveglia, letteralmente, da un sonno profondo che la vede prigioniera, e inizia ad acquistare sempre più consapevolezza di sè stessa, sia fisicamente che mentalmente. Più che la storia in sè o la sua protagonista, quello che colpisce è il periodo storico in cui la Chopin lo scrisse, cosa che lo rende davvero avanti con i tempi e quasi rivoluzionario. -
"El pájaro que quiere remontarse por encima del nivel ordinario de la tradición y los prejuicios debe tener las alas fuertes."
— Kate Chopin, 'El despertar' 🕊
Por desgracia, las alas de Edna Pontellier no fueron lo suficientemente fuertes para sostener sus ansias de libertad e independencia...
Todo empieza en la estación balnearia de Grand Isle, en la costa de Luisiana. Un idílico lugar de retiro veraniego frecuentado por la buena sociedad criolla de Nueva Orleans.
Cuando conocemos a Edna, joven esposa de un acaudalado comerciante y madre de dos niños, su vida parece transcurrir de forma plácida y previsible entre amigos y conocidos de su misma clase.
Uno de ellos es Robert Lebrun, un atractivo joven que coquetea inocentemente con las respetables señoras de la estación balnearia.
Más, en ese verano de finales de siglo, el encuentro entre Edna, Robert y el mar no tendrá nada de inocente. Unas sensaciones, hasta ahora desconocidas, harán presa de la joven y serán el catalizador de un placentero y a la vez doloroso despertar.
No puedo desvelaros más detalles de la trama, porque os estaría privando del placer de descubrir por vosotros mismos esta bella y delicada novella.
Un relato que se abre dulcemente, entre el rumor de las olas, el sonido de un piano y el roce de los vestidos de muselina, para terminar culminando en un grito, largamente contenido. Un grito ahogado que trae consigo el escándalo y la tragedia.
'El despertar', publicado en 1899, causó gran indignación en su época y, pese al paso del tiempo, una entiende perfectamente porqué.
En sus páginas se cuestionan instituciones 'sagradas' por aquel entonces como el matrimonio y la maternidad. En él queda expuesta la difícil dicotomía entre la realización individual de una mujer y la sumisión a los roles impuestos de esposa y madre.
Como bien dice Kate Chopin 'el pájaro que quiere alzarse contra la tradición debe tener alas fuertes y resistentes'. La misma autora lo vivió en carne propia y también lo haría Edna, su heroina. ¿Cómo iba a salir airosa la mujer que osa anteponer sus propios deseos al cuidado de sus hijos y a los dictados de su marido?
Otros relatos, como el espléndido 'Historia de una hora', en el que la infelicidad en el matrimonio también es protagonista, acompañan a 'El despertar' en este volumen.
En conjunto forman una maravillosa puerta de entrada a aquel mundo de los criollos (descendientes de franceses) que poblaban aldeas y ciudades de Luisiana tras la Guerra de Secesión.
Un mundo de costumbres ancestrales y de anhelos frustrados que Kate Chopin recrea con maestría. -
This is a short novel, published in 1899. It caused such a scandal that it was banned for decades afterward. The furor over this book was so upsetting to Kate Chopin that she gave up writing altogether.
The story is about Mrs. Edna Pontellier, a Kentucky girl married to Leonce, a New Orleans Creole. One summer, When she is twenty-eight, something inside her starts to shift. She's not fully aware of what's happening, but she knows she feels different. Gradually she stops obeying social conventions and begins to do and say what she wants. Because she's a woman, everyone dismisses it and says, "Leave her alone and she'll get over it." But she doesn't. She becomes more and more independent and willful, unwilling to play the game anymore.
It's a good read, and paints an interesting picture of New Orleans life and customs of that time. My copy (Bantam Classics) has an intro by Marilynne Robinson that really made me mad! She gives away the conclusion of the story in the second paragraph of the intro! So I read the entire book knowing how it would end, which I never would have guessed on my own. Mad, mad, mad!!!
From a modern perspective, it's hard to see what could be scandalous about this story, but it was written in the Victorian age.
The book also has a small collection of excellent short stories at the end. As far as storytelling, some of them are almost better than the novel.
I especially liked:
Beyond the Bayou
Ma'ame Pelagie
The Locket -
"She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before."
This short but impassioned novel, first published at the turn of the 19th century, portrays a new way of thinking; a dissension among the women of North America and Europe, which caused excitement and consternation in equal measure.
Kate Chopin's clever, lyrical story, set on the Louisiana Gulf coast and in New Orleans, draws on the lives of the Franco-Creole beau monde, using their apparently sparkling lives as a backdrop to highlight the strict social conventions of the day.
The young Edna Pontellier, an attractive, seemingly happily married woman, dreams of putting her needs before those of her husband and children. She is far from contented with her cosseted but strictly controlled existence, and becomes wilful and defiant. Her subsequent behaviour is considered unacceptable and unwomanly in such a patriarchal society.
Chopin is a magnificent storyteller. Her frank portrayal underscores the very real frustrations experienced by her contemporaries and vividly depicts the tremendous courage required for a woman to slip her shackles. -
"In breve, Mrs. Pontellier non era una donna-madre. Le donne-madri sembravano prevalere quell’estate a Grand Isle. Era semplice riconoscerle, fluttuavano con le loro grandi ali pronte a proteggere il loro prezioso nido qualora un male, reale o immaginario che fosse, lo minacciasse. Erano donne che idolatravano i loro bambini, veneravano i mariti, e consideravano un privilegio sacro annullare loro stesse come individui e farsi crescere ali da angeli custodi"..
-
Hacer una reseña de este libro va a ser más complicado de lo habitual porque no es una novela sino una colección de relatos, y aunque todos compartan temas y elementos en común, no puedo hacer una crítica específica de cada uno.
A rasgos generales destacaría la prosa de Chopin, una autora que no entiendo porque no es más conocida cuando sus descripciones y cada pasaje del libro están llenos de lirismo, de metáforas y de sutileza. Es una delicia leer sus relatos por lo bien escritos que están y la forma que te envuelve la naturaleza, la mente del personaje y sus apasionados sentimientos.
Otro punto clave a destacar es la temática absolutamente feminista que aborda en todas las historias, donde tenemos como protagonistas a mujeres que se sienten oprimidas por el matrimonio y que solo quieren ser libres e independientes. No esperaba para nada encontrar un libro tan adelantado a su época en este sentido.
Si tengo que resaltar algún relato sería el de "El despertar", que tiene 150 páginas y es un 5/5 en toda regla: tiene una protagonista brutal, una ambientación fascinante y una historia bastante convencional pero narrada con total maestría. Y otros relatos que no han llegado al nivel de adoración de "El despertar", entre otras cosas porque son más cortos, pero que sin duda he amado son "Sus cartas", "Aténaïse" y "Historia de una hora".
Un punto que creo que es importante mencionar antes de que alguien decida leer el libro es que fue escrito a finales del s.XIX, en el sur de Estados Unidos, por lo que hay presencia de esclavos en todos los relatos y está visto totalmente normalizado. Así que os advierto que os vais a encontrar con eso, con una visión normalizada y aceptada de algo tan horrendo como la esclavitud.
Como conclusión diré que el libro ha sido una gran sorpresa y no esperaba que "El despertar" fuera a convertirse en una de mis mejores lecturas del año, teniendo en cuenta que no soy muy de relatos, y tampoco esperaba encontrar una pluma tan perfecta ni una voz tan feminista. Os lo recomiendo encarecidamente porque merece estar valorada como una autora clásica excelente y como una de las voces más feministas de su tiempo. -
Yaaaaas, Queen Edna! Do you or die tryin, girl. Hero all the way. This is why one must always live near water.
-
Ya había leído "El despertar" hace unos años y me encantó. Esta relectura, sumada a sus cuentos (que no conocía), me ha gustado aún más.
-
Wooow Chopin must have created some real scandal in her time. The general theme of all of these stories is empowering women and often embarrassing and emasculating men in some regard WAHOO. There’s a lot of desire and passion and general horniness which- big shock for 1800s men- women feel too! Another shocker: not all women want to be sweet meek and mild dutiful mothers and wives, quelle surprise. Some great early feminism here which still feels relatable and radical, paired with exceptionally beautiful writing. Big up Kate Chopin!
-
Since discovering this gem while studying, it has become a firm favourite and a rarity in that I can reread it many times and it never loses appeal. I’m certainly not surprised it figures on most ‘best novella’ lists – even the heavily male-author orientated ones – as Chopin created not just a compelling story set in southern america during the late 1890s, which can be savoured in its own right, she also produced an iconic tale that challenges the perceptions and expectations of a woman’s ‘place’ in society.
Full review:
https://poppypeacockpens.com/2015/11/... -
dnf -
I have trouble reading through the writing -- I don't enjoy the sparseness of her prose. -
I loved these stories so much. My faves are obviously The Awakening, Desiree's Baby, A Pair of Silk Stockings, and The Kiss.
-
As it is currently impossible to a degree in English literature in North America without reading "The Awakening" there is little need for me to write a review of this admirable book which is very well known. I will say simply that it most certainly deserves its place in the American canon. It is indeed feminist but it is extremely good feminism rather than merely politically correct.
As a tale of adultery, I found "The Awakening" more like "Anna Karenina" than "Madame Bovary" not because of the heroine's suicide but because of the brilliant portrayal of the society in which the drama occurs.
It was a serendipitous act on my part to choose an edition that included a sample of Chopin's stories. All they are of uneven quality, they collectively allow the reader to better understand Chopin. In particular, they show that she was a progressive on all issues including race. -
This book just didn't do it for me 😬 I couldn't get into it and I just forgot what I'd read previously whenever I'd stop. I can see the appeal in the book and why people would like it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.
It didn't have anything that appealed to me. -
it’s just boring and i don’t care what happens
-
OG i don’t need a man
-
A well-written collection of tales, mostly focused on women and their desire for freedom to do as one wishes rather than constrained societal expectations
-
“I suoi figli le apparivano innanzi come avversari che l’avevano sconfitta; l’avevano sopraffatta e tentavano di trascinarla in una schiavitù dell’anima fino alla fine dei suoi giorni. Ma lei conosceva un modo per eluderli.”
-
Definitely ahead of it’s time and full of great insights and passion. Apparently it caused quite the scandal in 1899 and Chopin never wrote again. The short stories were good as well.
-
yass women yass
-
p.19 A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her.
p.78 But it's just such seeming trifles that we've got to take seriously; such things count.
p.128-9 She felt as if a mist had been lifted from her eyes, enabling her to look upon and comprehend the significance of life, that monster made up of beauty and brutality.
An instructive story and rather interesting read.
Symbolism runs deep throughout the text. The layers to peel back within the story are scattered throughout the novel: the sea, the birds, masculine versus feminine, the dream upon the beach, the lady in black... There are probably a fair number I missed or failed to mention, but they add an intrigue for the reader. Following the surface story, the novel is about Edna Pontellier trying to carve a wider niche within a society full of obstacles. However, Mrs. Chopin introduces and develops a range of techniques throughout the novel to deepen the story. There story presents a well rounded inspection of many of the obstacles an independent woman faced more than a hundred years ago.