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    The Awakening
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    The Awakening
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    The Awakening
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Awakening

    Written by Kate Chopin

    Narrated by Susie Berneis

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Unsatisfied with the expectations of Creole society and unhappy with her family life, Edna Pontellier begins to fall in love with the dapper Robert Lebrun. Lebrun's flirtations, along with the lifestyle of renown musician Mademoiselle Reisz, rejuvenates Edna's sense of freedom and independence. However, an affair with the womanizer Alcee Arobin provides Edna with a taste of the danger that comes with living outside of social convention. Trapped between the life she is expected to live and the life she longs to lead, will Edna find happiness?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateMar 31, 2015
    ISBN9781633797581
    Author

    Kate Chopin

    Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri,In 1851. She began writing shortly after herHusband's death and, from 1889 until her ownDeath, her stories and other miscellaneousWritings appeared in Vogue, Youth's companion,Atlantic Monthly, Century, Saturday EveningPost, and other publications. In addition to The Awakening, Mrs. Chopin published another novel, At Fault, and two collections of short stories and sketches, Bayou Folk and A Night at Acadie. The publication of The Awakening in 1899 occasioned shocked and angry response from reviewers all over the country. The book was taken off the shelves of the St. Louis mercantile library and its author was barred from the fine arts club. Kate Chopin died in 1904.

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    Reviews for The Awakening

    3.5/5

    2,406 ratings92 reviews

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    • 2/5
      An appeasing novella, but dated and lacking in many instances. Altogether, did not enjoy very much.
    • 2/5
      This spare 19th century novel tells the story of Edna Pontellier of New Orleans, who discovers she wants something more out of life. She is married to a prosperous and respectable stockbroker, but takes a lover when her husband is away on business. The story isn't that simple of simplistic, but it's close. Chopin's evocation of place and person leave something to be desired, and takes our understanding of the mores of the time very much for granted.This doesn't seem like enough of a literary or social transgression to ruin its author's career, but that's what it apparently did. Perhaps it's the lead character's attitude throughout, that was just too much to countenance. Not recommended, not from this quarter.
    • 3/5
      The plot of this American classic revolves around Edna Pontellier, the wife of a New Orleans businessman during the cusp of the 20th century, who feeling restrained by feminine social roles of the times and rebels in unorthodox ways.Imagine if Lucy and Ricky slept in the same bed during their 1950s sitcom. Although this book pales in comparison to today's nightly entertainment, it would have been considered risque for the time because of the social commentary, which is why it has been included on the banned book list. Although several archaic words had me checking the dictionary from time to time, the dated language interfered little in my enjoyment of this paragon of feminist literature.
    • 3/5
      This was somewhat difficult to read, mainly because of the writing style of the time period, I think. I was overly dramatic. There were some lovely passages of description and I understood the point of the story, but the style was a little clumsy.
    • 4/5
      I really like this.
    • 3/5
      I loved this book when I first read it in college. I decided to reread it as my daughter was reading it for school and unfortunately it didn't move me this time. I found that the story moved very slowly. That I really didn't like the entitled characters. And the first time I read it I could identify with Edna. This time I really disliked Edna. Perhaps I could forgive her leaving a husband that she didn't like. But her disinterest in her children made me angry. And the ending really bothered me this time.
    • 1/5
      I don't remember the writing, only that I didn't like the story. It falls into a category of stories that I find problematic -- in which female characters who have affairs must somehow die.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely fell in love with book when I first read it in 11th grade. I love Edna and her persistence to become independent from her family. She goes on to live by herself and leave her family behind, which was considered sacrilegious during Edna's life.
    • 2/5
      First posted on bellesbeautifulbooks.blogspot.comI didn't finish this book at about 70 pages. I just couldn't get into the writing, and story. The characters were very blah. I can't side with a woman who cheats on her husband, and I can't side with a husband who treats his wife as his property. I don't like reading about a cheater.I can see why people love this book, but it just wasn't me. It is a feminist piece of literature, and I'm not a feminist. I did not like reading this for school.
    • 1/5
      Awfully dry and a chore to get through. We read this in a Literature class as an example of writing from a woman's perspective... but there are better examples of the female perspective. Opinions of this book seem to be pretty divided in my experience.
    • 3/5
      Started as a good read but totally disappointed me at the end. Well, if modern day married women had a life as Edna's, they would be at least joyful. Speaking for myself and I guess for millions of other women today, I have kids, husband, home and job to take care of. No servants, no nannies, no expensive gifts from husband and of course, not a single moment of spare time to myself. Literally, running all day long. On the contrary, Edna has servants to the house, a cook in the kitchen, nanny to her kids, money, and a lot of spare time. The choices that she makes, mostly regarding to her kids, simply made me angry.
      This is not feminism but resignation...
    • 4/5
      Well written romantic. feminist tragedy. Considered a classic. The main character needed a good therapist. :-)
    • 5/5
      Kate Chopin's [The Awakening] challenges the norm. For it's time--1899--the book flew in the face of acceptable classical writing. While I am sure there were dime novels which expressed scandalous behavior, this novel was clearly written for the more selective reader of the time. How shocking!! I immagine it made the rounds of the preferred social circles rather quickly. Much as did [Peyton Placce] during the lat 50s. I like a writer who steps out of the box, and I believe this is exactly what Chopin dared to do. Goodby Austen. Goodby Bronte. You've come a long way baby!
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. I didn't expect to. The language used and the character pictures painted were really good. The only thing that stopped me from another half star was the ending. I didn't see it coming so it was good from that aspect but it left me high and dry and unhappy. I guess that makes it good too, a good novel should extract emotion from the reader. However, this old romantic would have liked something a bit more positive.
    • 3/5
      I read this for Banned Books Week and I think that I enjoyed reading about Kate Chopin and her life far more than I enjoyed reading what she wrote. In "The Awakening" Edna Pontellier lives what was at that time an upper middle class life, I would think. She is married to a husband who treats her well, has two children, several servants and is rather comfortably well off. However she finds her life boring and wants to be more independent. She loves her children but is not emotionally connected with them. In trying to change her life to become what she feels she needs to be to become whole and independent, she looks to other men and in the end she turns out to be what appears to me a weak, feeble, simple minded and silly woman. The book just didn't work for me.
    • 5/5
      This is a beautifully written brilliant story. An American classic about a woman's awakening to find her true self and her subsequent quest for independence.
    • 5/5
      Edna Pontellier, a resident of New Orleans, is on holiday at a Louisiana holiday resort on Grand Isle. She is with her husband and children as well as the various other guests. Their summer time activities consist of swimming, sitting on the beach, dining and participating in evening social activities. The guests are all Creole and know each other from New Orleans. Edna strikes up some comfortable friendships, including spending a lot of time with Robert, the son of the resort owner. Eventually she realizes that she has gradually fallen in love with him. Not only that, but she has begun to recognize herself as an individual with her own unique sensibilities. "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."(p.112)Kate Chopin portrays her protagonist Edna as a woman who has a unique sensitivity to life and a particular appreciation for music. After the vacation the family moves back to their home in New Orleans. Now that she has awakened to her new sense of self she finds that she cannot settle back to her former life. So she moves out of her husbands home into a tiny cottage and pursues her desire to be an artist. She shuns all her responsibilities and delves into a life of freedom. It does satisfy like she had hoped it would though. Edna takes one last trip back to the resort where she notes that, "The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude."(p.154)This novel reminded me of Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, but it was a much easier and shorter book to read. It is a good choice if you are looking to read some 'true' classics but do not want something difficult. Chopin is not a 'wordy' writer who goes into great detail. She gives her impressions and ideas in such a way as to spark many questions in your mind rather than to cover all the themes thoroughly. The focus is on the inner psychology of the protagonists mind. I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the subtly of the writing, the interesting characters and the mysterious ending. Chopin's skillful writing captures the essence of the internal awakening of her protagonist without being too dramatic or obvious. The whole book portrays the development of Edna like a gentle unfolding as she opens herself to the influences of art, music, friendship and environment.The Awakening raises the interesting dilemma of being true to the self versus social responsibility. Chopin's character Edna goes so far as to state, "...she would give up the unessential, but she would never sacrifice herself for her children." When thinking of her husband and children she says, "They were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her body and soul."(p.155) Kate Chopin does not give a simple answer to this issue, leaving it open to the reader to interpret the nature of Edna and her choices.
    • 1/5
      I hated this book. I know, it's supposed to be the great feminist tome, but I think it was awful. If she was so unhappy, she should have left. She should have packed herself up and taken herself off. It just makes me crazy that anyone would think that suicide would be some great feminist gesture. Death preferred to the "awful" life she had. Give me a break! Life has possibilities - not all of them great, but at least there are options. Death, you're pretty much done. I don't even know why I still have this book. I'm going to have to get rid of it.
    • 2/5
      Really did not sympathize with the protagonist.
    • 5/5
      As much as I enjoyed "A Doll's House," I actually enjoyed this one even more. It is amazing to me to read about women who finally decide to leave their gilded cage and in turn do something so dramatic. I don't want to give the ending away for those who haven't read it yet, but suffice it to say that it is very intense and a beautiful tragedy. I have read this many times and I still enjoy it each time.
    • 2/5
      I'm more than a little annoyed. The first part of this book was just... well, you're just ambling along, and nothing is really happening. You get about halfway through, and then our main character, Edna, finally starts to--dun dun DUNNNN!--awaken. And it causes quite the stir and it makes things much more entertaining because she's doing what she wants, when she wants, and nobody can stop her or tell her otherwise what she can and can't do, or what she will and won't do. She follows no one else's desires but her own and it's only her judgment that reigns supreme. Hell, she goes so far as to almost have a lover even!

      But there's the flaw in Edna. She ALMOST does things, she never goes the full length, never completely embraces her decisions. Every single thing she does seems half-hearted! Oh wooow, you decided not to listen to your husband and to do what you like. Great! Good! Won't make a difference either way! But you didn't divorce him. You didn't give him a chance to remarry and get a new wife and mother for his kids if you didn't want to do either of those jobs anymore. And what about you moving out of the house, Edna? You took all your things and didn't use any of your husband's money. Nice move of independence! But you moved down the street, in the same neighborhood, perfectly in reach of your husband. If you REALLY wanted to leave this life behind, why not change towns? Change states? Heck, you didn't have to move DOWN THE BLOCK. What kind of person does that when they're trying to show their independence?! Down the block. SHEESH. Could ANYONE make a more pathetic move as a show of INDEPENDENCE? *Rolls eyes* On top of that! She tries to take a lover, twice. And yet, as far as we know, she never gets as far as even SLEEPING with them! Mind you, I'm not complaining about that. I think cheating on your husband is a despicable action, especially since in Edna's case it was HER choice to marry him. If you commit yourself to something like that, and then have two kids with the man, then you PROBABLY know what you're getting yourself into, and you should at LEAST have the dang decency to be RESPONSIBLE for it! D:< It annoys me that she just shrugs that off!! But come on, all this infidelity talk aside, if you're going to be "Oh so naughty~" as to take a lover to show your husband he means nothing to you, then COME ON. What kinda half-hearted effort is it to not even sleep with the man. -3-

      And she just does this over and over and over. All these pathetic efforts to rebel against whoever it is she's trying to prove a point to, and they never quite send the message. She never goes far enough, and I'm not sure if it's because she just doesn't have the capability to be that forward, or if she was never planning to be that obstinate in the first place. *Shrugs* It just leads to this ridiculous feeling of growing and peaking irritation at the end of the book with the STUPID decision she makes to "solve" everything once and for all. *Rolls eyes* I'm not going to tell you what the ending is, since I don't believe in spoilers, however, know this: Her solution is just as ridiculous as all her efforts have been before, and, in my eyes, it's the ULTIMATE STUPID ACTION A PERSON COULD TAKE. She ought to be slapped for being such an idiot!!!!

      This book, while I get the message it was trying to send, juts does a poor, POOR job of conveying a woman of any strength at all. The ending completely destroys whatever message that the book is trying to send, and Edna's overall determination to BE PATHETIC and make that choice is influenced by what? By the fact that the guy that she's loved for, oh, how long? Since... JUST THIS WEEK (if we're to go by how she felt at the start of the book, for not even a year passes from beginning to end)!! The point is, she makes a majorly LIFE-CHANGING, STUPID decision... JUSTBECAUSESOMEGUYDOESN'TWANTTOMAKEBABIESWITHHER. =__= .......my intense annoyance is RADIATING INTO A NUCLEAR BOMB.

      I am IMMENSELY upset at this book for the message it sends. For an author who was supposedly of the feminist persuasion, she sure does a pathetic job of arguing for her beliefs! What a crock!

      Listen, it's a decent book. It's short, it's easy to read, and it's really not hard to get through, regardless the way the main character acts. It's not as unbearably pathetic and moronic as are many of the books being written today with similarly half-assed main female leads. If you want to check it out, then I say go for it! It's a book that's a decent enough read, if you're not going to give any credit to storyline or the message it's sending, which, essentially beats the purpose for why the book is written, but hey, who's checking now-a-days anyway. It's still a far cry better written and less painful than some of the similar-in-theme stories written today, and at least Edna gets an ending that suits her pathetic nature, unlike in stories today where the Stupid Girls get the "Good Endings" and so on.

      Read it! But don't buy it before you've checked it out. It just may be your cup of tea, but then again, it also may not be. You'll have to experience it for yourself before you decide.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. Edna is such a bold character. It really shows the beginnings of marrying for love instead of money and social status. Even though it was wrong of Edna to leave her husband, Robert opened her mind to a different kind of love.
    • 4/5
      I know this book supposed to be about the woman's sexual awakening and her awakening to the fact that, as a good wife and mother she's expected to subsume herself in the happiness of her family and she refuses to do such a thing. I was a little disappointed, though, that the only way she could think of expressing herself and asserting her individuality was through romance which I find to be many a woman's downfall and far from the meaning of life.
    • 3/5
      A novel of growth, both personal and emotional, Kate Chopin's The Awakening follows the journey of Edna Pontellier, who after spending a summer vacationing with her husband and children, decides to give up the archetypical role of wife and mother and strikes out on her own, realizing there is more to life than what society deems appropriate for a woman. The principal reasoning for her "awakening" is the realization that she is in love with another man, and believes that he loves her in return. Feeling overpowered by her own life and obligations to family, she does what few women did in that time, and moved out of her home into another house, and begins a life that is her own.When The Awakening was first published, is was looked on as being "unwholesome," both in its independent attitude towards women and its rather frank attitude towards Edna Pontellier's sexual nature. In today's regard, the novel wouldn't be seen as being all that shocking, but it still speaks clearly for the need of independence and freedom in one's own life.To be frank, I had a hard time getting into the book. I think I found the flow of the writing to be distracting, and halfway through reading switched to an audio book, and was able to follow the story much more clearly this way. The story did prove to be powerful in its telling, and in how Edna finally moves forward with her life.
    • 3/5
      I wouldn't have read this book without needing to for my class, but I wasn't completely disappointed. As a book that is influential in the women's movement of the early 1900s, it's not the worst. I really like the short stories by Kate Chopin, but the novel just doesn't seem to go anywhere. The awakening that the main character goes through is not as entertaining as it could have been. Also, it was very controversial during the time that it was written because of the affair that the main character has, but for today's standards it's not as shocking and therefore not as interesting.
    • 4/5
      It's been a few years since I've read this, but my overall impression of it was very dreamlike. The entire (rather short) book felt like a dream sequence. Yes, it's depressing, but it's also very powerful and moving. Give it a read if you haven't done so!
    • 4/5
      Depressing and inspiring at the same time. A very enjoyable summer read for me. I am sure I've read something of Chopin before but I can't say what. That's unfortunate. After reading The Awakening I will read more of her work - and soon.What I found so amazing is how well I could identify with the main character, Edna. Her difficulty wrestling with the defined gender roles of society were the same, at the core, that many women today still wrestle with - and yet she spoke freely of them in a way that is still looked down upon today, more than a century later. What courage she had to speak to so frankly and what courage her publishers had to publish this work in 1899.
    • 4/5
      I'm pretty sure I read this earlier too, but I was impressed with how sweet I found it.
    • 3/5
      It is difficult for young women today to imagine a life in which they have virtually no control over their own lives, let alone power within the world. In the late 1800s, if you were not content with raising your children and managing your household, there was little that could be done about it. To break out of this mold was to break with convention and be viewed either as scandalous or unstable. Edna, a young discontent mother, finds her inner self during a summer vacation, when she discovers the freedom of swimming. She indulges a bit too far in a flirtation and can no longer live within the confines of her social setting.While I understand the historic significance of this novel, I'm afraid it read to my life a "True Confession" magazine, a la 1890s. Edna primarily finds herself in relation to the men in her life. Although she takes to paintiing for personal expression, this creative effort is not enough to sustain her. There are other pieces of fiction that address the difficult confines of traditional female roles during this time period, such as Madame Bovary, or, a bit later, the writing of Virginia Wolf. These alternatives may be more challenging reads, but well worth the effort.
    • 3/5
      This is a story of Edna Pontellier, a affluent middle aged woman who is depressed and is going through mid life crisis. She readily fall in love with younger men and encourages other men. This book when it was published in 1899 had created a great scandal but today it will just count as a sad story of a depressed woman.