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    The Awakening
    The Awakening
    The Awakening
    Ebook201 pages2 hours

    The Awakening

    By Kate Chopin

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    Edna Pontellier is a wife, a mother, and a member of the Presbyterian Church, but has never felt comfortable being defined by any of these roles. Edna yearns for freedom, independence, and self-fulfillment—all of which seem antithetical to the life she has fallen into. When she departs to Grand Isle with her husband and children for a vacation, Edna’s quiet dissatisfaction becomes more problematic, as she gets a glimpse of what life free from obligation and social constraints could be like.

    The Awakening is one of the earliest examples of feminism in literature, and the book’s criticism of acceptable female social roles and emphasis on women’s sexuality caused it to be received with a mixture of praise and criticism. Set in Louisiana, The Awakening is also an early example of Southern literature, a category which would later be made popular by authors like William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams.

    HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 14, 2015
    ISBN9781443446921
    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

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    • 1/5
      Couldn’t bring myself to finish the book. I became more and more annoyed with the characters the more I read. I was really looking forward to this book after watching the TV series but was kind of let down.
    • 3/5
      Find this review and more at On The Shelf!Well, this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting it to be. I watched the first 3 seasons before I read this book. I love the TV series, but I wasn’t in love with the book. At least not this first one. It is quite different from the show!Elena was very different between the book and the show. In the show she is a caring person who puts others before herself, but in the book she was the queen bee at school and manipulated people to get whatever she wanted. I just didn’t like her very much.And this book was the worst I have read on insta-love. It was unreal how fast the insta-love was. There was no real connection between Elena and Stefan for me. I understand why Stefan would want Elena, but I don’t know why she wants Stefan other than she feels the need to take whatever she wants. There was no relationship development.Stefan on the other hand I actually did like. He is very mysterious and wants to protect Elena. We get a good history on him and he is a deeper character than Elena and has a better attitude.There was soooo many things that were different between this book and the show, I really wouldn’t know where to start with it. There are characters in the book not in the show and vice versa, characters who have totally different personalities and names where changed and mixed around. Gotta say I like the TV show better than what I have read so far. I will keep reading however because I want to see more of Damon (I’m Team Damon all the way) and hopefully I won’t be so annoyed with Elena past the first book.Annoying main female character, good writing, major insta-love, enjoyed the TV show better.
    • 1/5
      did not like it at all
    • 3/5
      This was pretty unimpressive. It wasn't awful but it didn't really have a whole lot of substance. It started off pretty good- I quite liked the beginning. However, Elena and Stefan were declaring their love for each other after literally one conversation and it all got a bit silly after that and I found myself rolling my eyes a few times. One minute they had never spoken two words to each other and the next minute they were 'in love'. It was just kind of silly. The writing was easy and light and it was a quick enough read which made up for the lack of everything else.
    • 3/5
      16 years before Twilight, there were the Vampire Diaries! Seriously, they are SO much alike. I still prefer Twilight though, and it wasn't really my own choice to reread this so shortly after my first read of it, but it's being translated to Danish, so I was asked to review it for my publisher. Thankfully it's a quick read! It's not bad - just nothing special either.
    • 3/5
      I have a great deal of nostalgic fondness for L.J. Smith's Night World series, which was my introduction to vampire fiction, and which remains - to this day - my favorite expression of the genre. With strong female leads, appealing romantic heroes, and well-developed supporting characters, the Night World books often featured stories of overcoming obstacles and bridging differences on the road to true love, and I gobbled them down like candy. But despite that enthusiasm, which extended to Smith's Forbidden Game trilogy as well, I never got around to reading The Vampire Diaries, written a few years earlier. Recently, prompted by the recommendation of a friend, as well as curiosity about the forthcoming television adaptation of the series, I decided to correct that omission.The first of four volumes, The Awakening follows the story of Elena Gilbert, the proverbial "Queen Bee" of her high school in Fells Church, Virginia, who becomes entangled in a supernatural love triangle involving vampire brothers. Bitter rivals since their boyhood in Renaissance Florence, Stefan and Damon Salvatore are as different as two vampires can be. Tortured by guilt, and determined to do as little harm as possible, Stefan comes to Fells Church looking for a new life. There he meets Elena, who reminds him of his lost love. But Damon - reveling in his powers, and ruthlessly intent on getting what he wants - is not far behind...An entertaining supernatural love story for teens, this first entry in The Vampire Diaries is the kind of riveting melodrama sure to appeal to romantic girl readers. Elena is a somewhat unusual heroine, in that she first appears to be something of a snobby brat - the typical popular girl. Fortunately, Smith's penchant for writing strong girls wins out, and the character grows and deepens as the novel progresses. More episodic than the Night World series, where every book is a stand-alone story, The Awakening ends with a cliffhanger, so it's difficult to make any conclusive statement about characters or plot at this point. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed this installment, and look forward to the next!
    • 3/5
      I approached this book primarily from two perspectives: a more generic point of view that judges this book stacked up alongside every other book I have ever read and one that judges it primarily within the genre that it was written in and the audience its meant to serve. I think the second perspective is probably the one that is the most fair to criticize it through, and from that perspective it is at least an average-to-fair quality book, but it's very hard to look past the glaring faults and nonsense that litters the pages. Then again, I'm not coming, perhaps, from the audience that the author intended to market to.If you're looking for an easy teen paranormal romance I can see how this would be incredibly satisfying. The characters, while not immediately likeable, do grow and change significantly considering the short word count, and yet not so much that it is hard to get a grip on. Elena, the main character, begins the book somewhat selfish and spoiled, and while she has begun to develop a sense of empathy and concern for others by the end of the story, she is STILL a very self-centered and egotistical person. Stefan, the obligatory reluctant vampire, seems to move through waves rather than undergo actual changes as he fluctuates between being cold and emotional responsive to Elena despite feelings for her that apparently drive him to uncharacteristic behaviors. He was perhaps the least likeable character in the story.The side characters are more charming than the protagonists. Elena's friends are kind and have distinct interests and personalities that I would like to see developed further. Damon, though his appearances are brief and he only receives any real attention in the last 10% of the book, hints at a depth of character that Stefan, so far, touches only superficially. The romance scenes are forced and quick to the point of embarrassment, quaint enough to carry a reader that doesn't expect much more than a suggestion of emotional weight but not capable of eliciting much more excitement than that. Smith is good, however, at creating a sense of mood and atmosphere. This slim book abounds with fantastic, melodramatic descriptions of scenery and Fell's Church begins to acquire a characterhood that is not often attained by the settings of most YA romance novels. This book is worth a read for those that are interested in getting a grip on this past decade's fascination with vampire romance or YA supernatural romance in general. If you're able to put aside your harshest expectations it may even provide some occasional moments of legitimate enjoyment.
    • 4/5
      A very enjoyable read. The plot had enough of a difference to keep me enthralled and the multilayer characters were exciting to get to know. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.
    • 2/5
      The only reason I picked up this book was because I LOVE The Vampire Diaries TV show. I cannot believe that the book like this could give an inspiration to create such a great show... But I am glad that the show is based on this book very loosely. I am not sure if the book is worth even two stars, it's cheesy and annoying, and I finished it just because I didn't have to read it, I got it as an audiobook. Since I don't have anything better to listen right now and I really enjoy listening to the audiobooks (even as lame as this one), I am planning to continue with the book series. Hopefully it will get better.
    • 1/5
      When I finished reading this book I thought two things:

      1. This is the book that Kevin Williamson read that convinced him to turned it into a show?

      2. Stephenie Meyer is a clever plagiarist!

      Ladies and gentleman, this is where the horrible series known now as "The Twilight Saga" got its beginnings. This book was horrendous. I couldn't believe it because I once loved the show. Terrible characterization and plots.

      Basically, I blame this book for starting Twilight. Read The Awakening and then read Twilight. The similarities are uncanny!

      But there is good news, it does get better in the next three books.
    • 3/5
      Ok, so I started watching the Vampire Diaries TV series for a few friends and my sister, and I really liked it! So I got really excited when I found out that they were a book series before they were a TV show, and of course I hunted them down. I was pretty disappointed because this book was by far different from show and not in a good way. I found Elena irritating, self centered, selfish, and annoying. I couldn't get into the book.
    • 2/5
      I started reading this series because I enjoyed the show so much I just had to read the books. What a disappointment. I know these were written pre-Twilight, but while reading this I felt like I was reading Twilight. It’s basically the same story, but the characters are not as likeable. Clearly Meyer ripped this one off but somehow she made the story more interesting, for me at least.

      The main problem I had with this story was that Elena was a hard character for me to like. She came off very bratty and selfish. Stephan never became a crush for me. He was way too aloof. The romance scene where both characters decide they like each other was not well developed. All of a sudden they went from avoiding each other to “I’ll die for you”…bleh! I just couldn’t help rolling my eyes as I got to the end of the story. Thankfully, the show made some changes to make the characters more likeable.
    • 3/5
      This was a good read, but I thought is was nothing like the TV show. I mean I know that book and their TV shows will be different but there was a lot of differences that I notices from the books and the TV shows. No offense to the author, but I kind of liked the TV show better. In the book, I believe Elena is a blonde and I don't picture her at a blonde. In the TV show she had dark hair. I think that Elena looks better in the show. Same with some of the other characters: Bonnie, Caroline, etc. I enjoyed reading this book though, because I love vampire stories. I would recommend this to anyone who likes vampire stories but just be aware of the changes if you have read the books AND watched the TV show.
    • 4/5
      Wonderful fluff. Series that the Vampire Diaries TV show is based on. I enjoyed the novel but it's VERY high in teenage girl drama.
    • 5/5
      This first one takes a short while to get going as it gives some necessary introductions, but as YA fiction goes, it's good, and by the far the best I've read that deals with Vampires. The series as a whole is strong, and this book sets a good tone for it with believable characters and an engaging story.
    • 4/5
      High school queen falls for Mr Tall Dark and Mysterious and vows to get him, not realizing he's a 600 year old vampire and she's the perfect likeness of his long lost love.
    • 1/5
      This was easily the worst book I have ever read in my life. Just like with the Sookie Stackhouse novels, I watched True Blood first. This have me unrealistic expectations, and left me very disappointed with the book. The same applies here. I've been watching Vampire Diaries since it first started. I found the first book on my nook on sale so I figured I would read it. Well that was the worst decision I've ever made. The entire first part of this book is dedicated to making the reader understand just how popular, and perfect Elena is. It just continuously reiterates that she can have every boy in the entire school, her life is amazing, she gets whatever she wants, oh but of course she's vulnerable because her parents are dead. I completely understand this is a YA novel, but this book is so high school it pained me to read it. I had to force myself to read the last 60 pages. I will never ever ever read this again. I don't even want to remember I ever read it.
    • 3/5
      I have to admit I didn't finish this book which is a rarity. I just was hung up on how self absorbed Elena's character was in the book vs the series. The show's writers have done a good job softening up her character.

      Book starts out with her coming back from a stay in France to start school back at her old high school. She hasn't even officially met Stefan but is already telling her friends that "I will have him" sooo yeah not interested. Sorry everyone I wish I could give it more.
    • 5/5
      this book was slow in the beginning, but in the end i loved it. i thought it was wayy better than twilight. i like it better because i think this book has more action. this is definetly one of my favorite books.
    • 3/5
      Fairly typical beginning of a vampire saga although with the love triangle element. The downside of this volume is the high school atmosphere (although admittedly the youthfulness of the characters is necessary to carry the passion). I am the wrong gender and age to enjoy accounts that include the pettiness of girls' rivalry and the fluttery expressions of feeling.
    • 4/5
      vampire falls in love with human. love can come over everything such as dead and enemy. it's a romantic and adventurous story..
    • 3/5
      I loved this book when I was about 13 and it actually holds up surprisingly well. It's not as dated as I thought it would be, more sensual than I remembered, and I think the TV show's doing a nice job of adapting the plot and characters for today's teens.
    • 3/5
      Usually I say that the book is better than the movie/TV show but not in this case: the TV show is actually one of my favorites, but this was disappointing. Good, but Elena was really shallow, and I couldn't believe that for someone who had just lost her parents.......still good though.
    • 2/5
      Elena, the most beautiful and popular girl in high school, becomes fascinated by the new and mysterious Italian boy in school, Stefan; however, she can’t believe that Stefan isn’t interested in her. What Elena doesn’t know is that Stefan is trying to protect her from what he is—a vampire. The two fall in love anyway, but problems arise when Stefan’s dangerously attractive brother, Damon, arrives in town and decides he wants Elena for himself. The book has numerous similarities to the Twilight series, which readers might enjoy. The author does not seem to develop the characters well and most of them seem shallow, selfish, and weak, even the heroine. That makes it difficult for the readers to sympathize with the characters and engage with the plot. The Awakening is only book one in the Vampire Diaries, therefore, the storyline and characters might develop more as the series progress. Young adult readers might be drawn the darkness, mystery, and suspense if they like vampires-themed literature; however, there are better vampires books out there. Additional Selection.
    • 4/5
      While I'm not entirely certain I've forgiven the author for making such utterly shallow and somewhat materialistic characters, I have to admit, I really loved the story and it kept me glued to the book.
    • 3/5
      I started watching the series before reading the books. I think I prefer the series to the books, only because they picked some pretty delectable vampire men to star in it.
    • 1/5
      I don't say this often, but I am going to say it now: The television show is SO MUCH BETTER than the book.There. That makes me feel better after reading this horrible book. In fact, I probably never would have given the television show a chance if I had read the book first, so I am very, very glad that I didn't bother with the book before jumping into the show. The show has issues, don't get me wrong; but the book is awful.Elena is relatively likable in the television show; at least I can understand where she is coming from most of the time. Elena in the book, however, is a vapid, shallow creature who only thinks of herself and her social position. Here is a quote that sums up book!Elena beautifully:After all, what was more important than boys? [HEAD MEET DESK] They were the mark of how popular you were, of how beautiful you were. And they could be useful for all sorts of things. Sometimes they were exciting, but usually that didn't last long. Sometimes they were creeps from the beginning. Most boys, Elena reflected, were like puppies. Adorable in their place, but expendable.So she USES people to shore up her self-worth and ultimately views them as expendable. Nice.Elena's ex, Matt, who was one of the "adorable yet expendable puppies" in Elena's life, tells her like it is at one point."You only want everybody and everything revolving around Elena Gilbert," [Matt] said bitterly. "You only want everything you don't have."Yep.And even Matt, who appears to be quite long-suffering, later says when he's pretty sure that Elena may be in danger from a classmate that he was rather apathetic about her safety and that part of him thinks she deserves whatever she gets. Oh, but it doesn't matter. Because Stefan ended up "saving" Elena. And how does Elena say thanks to him? Oh, she doesn't. Instead, she says: "I know I should be grateful to you for saving me tonight, but I don't care about that, either. I didn't ask you to save me."LOL. Okay then!And that's Elena, a selfish person who doesn't give a shit about anyone. At least she's consistent; she doesn't seem to give much of a shit about herself, either.Throw in some instalove, whitebread characters (the book has none of the diversity that the show has), and some more yawn-inducing moments from Elena, and I'm done with the series. I'll keep watching the television show, and each episode I will be thankful that it's not as horrible as this crappy book.
    • 1/5
      Decided that I can't *stand* the character of Elena in the book and therefore this series is not worth finishing.
    • 3/5
      Actually, the Vampire Diaries is kind of a nice series. Elena is definitely nicer than Bella for one thing. The story is more or less the same and that's because there is only a limited amount of things that can be told about vampires at high school. The comparison with Twilight is therefore inevitable.Twilight is defnitely the better, more romantic series. LJ Smith does not hook me as much. That being said, LJ Smith dares to go a bit further and makes the story more gruesome, and is not as goodygoody as Stephenie Meyer.
    • 3/5
      I appreciate that L.J. Smith was writing young adult vampire novels twenty years before it became over-popular and overdone. This book started out like addictive candy that I couldn't get enough of, but quickly became less and less interesting. Stock characters, flat plot, and the whole thing felt inevitably dated. I had to force myself to finish, and now I'm done . . . I'll still finish out the trilogy, though. I'm that dedicated.

    Book preview

    The Awakening - Kate Chopin

    Chapter I

    A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over:

    "Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That’s all right!"

    He could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood, unless it was the mockingbird that hung on the other side of the door, whistling his fluty notes out upon the breeze with maddening persistence.

    Mr. Pontellier, unable to read his newspaper with any degree of comfort, arose with an expression and an exclamation of disgust. He walked down the gallery and across the narrow bridges which connected the Lebrun cottages one with the other. He had been seated before the door of the main house. The parrot and the mockingbird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished. Mr. Pontellier had the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining.

    He stopped before the door of his own cottage, which was the fourth one from the main building and next to the last. Seating himself in a wicker rocker which was there, he once more applied himself to the task of reading the newspaper. The day was Sunday; the paper was a day old. The Sunday papers had not yet reached Grand Isle. He was already acquainted with the market reports, and he glanced restlessly over the editorials and bits of news which he had not had time to read before quitting New Orleans the day before.

    Mr. Pontellier wore eyeglasses. He was a man of forty, of medium height and rather slender build; he stooped a little. His hair was brown and straight, parted on one side. His beard was neatly and closely trimmed.

    Once in a while he withdrew his glance from the newspaper and looked about him. There was more noise than ever over at the house. The main building was called the house, to distinguish it from the cottages. The chattering and whistling birds were still at it. Two young girls, the Farival twins, were playing a duet from Zampa upon the piano. Madame Lebrun was bustling in and out, giving orders in a high key to a yard-boy whenever she got inside the house, and directions in an equally high voice to a dining-room servant whenever she got outside. She was a fresh, pretty woman, clad always in white with elbow sleeves. Her starched skirts crinkled as she came and went. Farther down, before one of the cottages, a lady in black was walking demurely up and down, telling her beads. A good many persons of the pension had gone over to the Chênière Caminada in Beaudelet’s lugger to hear mass. Some young people were out under the wateroaks playing croquet. Mr. Pontellier’s two children were there—sturdy little fellows of four and five. A quadroon nurse followed them about with a faraway, meditative air.

    Mr. Pontellier finally lit a cigar and began to smoke, letting the paper drag idly from his hand. He fixed his gaze upon a white sunshade that was advancing at snail’s pace from the beach. He could see it plainly between the gaunt trunks of the water oaks and across the stretch of yellow chamomile. The gulf looked far away, melting hazily into the blue of the horizon. The sunshade continued to approach slowly. Beneath its pink-lined shelter were his wife, Mrs. Pontellier, and young Robert Lebrun. When they reached the cottage, the two seated themselves with some appearance of fatigue upon the upper step of the porch, facing each other, each leaning against a supporting post.

    What folly! to bathe at such an hour in such heat! exclaimed Mr. Pontellier. He himself had taken a plunge at daylight. That was why the morning seemed long to him.

    You are burnt beyond recognition, he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage. She held up her hands, strong, shapely hands, and surveyed them critically, drawing up her fawn sleeves above the wrists. Looking at them reminded her of her rings, which she had given to her husband before leaving for the beach. She silently reached out to him, and he, understanding, took the rings from his vest pocket and dropped them into her open palm. She slipped them upon her fingers; then clasping her knees, she looked across at Robert and began to laugh. The rings sparkled upon her fingers. He sent back an answering smile.

    What is it? asked Pontellier, looking lazily and amused from one to the other. It was some utter nonsense; some adventure out there in the water, and they both tried to relate it at once. It did not seem half so amusing when told. They realized this, and so did Mr. Pontellier. He yawned and stretched himself. Then he got up, saying he had half a mind to go over to Klein’s hotel and play a game of billiards.

    Come go along, Lebrun, he proposed to Robert. But Robert admitted quite frankly that he preferred to stay where he was and talk to Mrs. Pontellier.

    Well, send him about his business when he bores you, Edna, instructed her husband as he prepared to leave.

    Here, take the umbrella, she exclaimed, holding it out to him. He accepted the sunshade, and lifting it over his head descended the steps and walked away.

    Coming back to dinner? his wife called after him. He halted a moment and shrugged his shoulders. He felt in his vest pocket; there was a ten-dollar bill there. He did not know; perhaps he would return for the early dinner and perhaps he would not. It all depended upon the company which he found over at Klein’s and the size of the game. He did not say this, but she understood it, and laughed, nodding goodbye to him.

    Both children wanted to follow their father when they saw him starting out. He kissed them and promised to bring them back bonbons and peanuts.

    Chapter II

    Mrs. Pontellier’s eyes were quick and bright; they were a yellowish brown, about the color of her hair. She had a way of turning them swiftly upon an object and holding them there as if lost in some inward maze of contemplation or thought.

    Her eyebrows were a shade darker than her hair. They were thick and almost horizontal, emphasizing the depth of her eyes. She was rather handsome than beautiful. Her face was captivating by reason of a certain frankness of expression and a contradictory subtle play of features. Her manner was engaging.

    Robert rolled a cigarette. He smoked cigarettes because he could not afford cigars, he said. He had a cigar in his pocket which Mr. Pontellier had presented him with, and he was saving it for his after-dinner smoke.

    This seemed quite proper and natural on his part. In coloring he was not unlike his companion. A clean-shaved face made the resemblance more pronounced than it would otherwise have been. There rested no shadow of care upon his open countenance. His eyes gathered in and reflected the light and languor of the summer day.

    Mrs. Pontellier reached over for a palm-leaf fan that lay on the porch and began to fan herself, while Robert sent between his lips light puffs from his cigarette. They chatted incessantly: about the things around them; their amusing adventure out in the water—it had again assumed its entertaining aspect; about the wind, the trees, the people who had gone to the Chênière; about the children playing croquet under the oaks, and the Farival twins, who were now performing the overture to The Poet and the Peasant.

    Robert talked a good deal about himself. He was very young, and did not know any better. Mrs. Pontellier talked a little about herself for the same reason. Each was interested in what the other said. Robert spoke of his intention to go to Mexico in the autumn, where fortune awaited him. He was always intending to go to Mexico, but some way never got there. Meanwhile he held on to his modest position in a mercantile house in New Orleans, where an equal familiarity with English, French and Spanish gave him no small value as a clerk and correspondent.

    He was spending his summer vacation, as he always did, with his mother at Grand Isle. In former times, before Robert could remember, the house had been a summer luxury of the Lebruns. Now, flanked by its dozen or more cottages, which were always filled with exclusive visitors from the "Quartier Français," it enabled Madame Lebrun to maintain the easy and comfortable existence which appeared to be her birthright.

    Mrs. Pontellier talked about her father’s Mississippi plantation and her girlhood home in the old Kentucky bluegrass country. She was an American woman, with a small infusion of French which seemed to have been lost in dilution. She read a letter from her sister, who was away in the East, and who had engaged herself to be married. Robert was interested, and wanted to know what manner of girls the sisters were, what the father was like, and how long the mother had been dead.

    When Mrs. Pontellier folded the letter it was time for her to dress for the early dinner.

    I see Léonce isn’t coming back, she said, with a glance in the direction whence her husband had disappeared. Robert supposed he was not, as there were a good many New Orleans club men over at Klein’s.

    When Mrs. Pontellier left him to enter her room, the young man descended the steps and strolled over toward the croquet players, where, during the half-hour before dinner, he amused himself with the little Pontellier children, who were very fond of him.

    Chapter III

    It was eleven o’clock that night when Mr. Pontellier returned from Klein’s hotel. He was in an excellent humor, in high spirits, and very talkative. His entrance awoke his wife, who was in bed and fast asleep when he came in. He talked to her while he undressed, telling her anecdotes and bits of news and gossip that he had gathered during the day. From his trousers pockets he took a fistful of crumpled bank notes and a good deal of silver coin, which he piled on the bureau indiscriminately with keys, knife, handkerchief, and whatever else happened to be in his pockets. She was overcome with sleep, and answered him with little half utterances.

    He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation.

    Mr. Pontellier had forgotten the bonbons and peanuts for the boys. Notwithstanding he loved them very much, and went into the adjoining room where they slept to take a look at them and make sure that they were resting comfortably. The result of his investigation was far from satisfactory. He turned and shifted the youngsters about in bed. One of them began to kick and talk about a basket full of crabs.

    Mr. Pontellier returned to his wife with the information that Raoul had a high fever and needed looking after. Then he lit a cigar and went and sat near the open door to smoke it.

    Mrs. Pontellier was quite sure Raoul had no fever. He had gone to bed perfectly well, she said, and nothing had ailed him all day. Mr. Pontellier was too well acquainted with fever symptoms to be mistaken. He assured her the child was consuming at that moment in the next room.

    He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with his brokerage business. He could not be in two places at once; making a living for his family on the street, and staying at home to see that no harm befell them. He talked in a monotonous, insistent way.

    Mrs. Pontellier sprang out of bed and went into the next room. She soon came back and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her head down on the pillow. She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her. When his cigar was smoked out he went to bed, and in half a minute he was fast asleep.

    Mrs. Pontellier was by that time thoroughly awake. She began to cry a little, and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her peignoir. Blowing out the candle, which her husband had left burning, she slipped her bare feet into a pair of satin mules at the foot of the bed and went out on the porch, where she sat down in the wicker chair and began to rock gently to and fro.

    It was then past midnight. The cottages were all dark. A single faint light gleamed out from the hallway of the house. There was no sound abroad except the hooting of an old owl in the top of a water-oak, and the everlasting voice of the sea, that was not uplifted at that soft hour. It broke like a mournful lullaby upon the night.

    The tears came so fast to Mrs. Pontellier’s eyes that the damp sleeve of her peignoir no longer served to dry them. She was holding the back of her chair with one hand; her loose sleeve had slipped almost to the shoulder of her uplifted arm. Turning, she thrust her face, steaming and wet, into the bend of her arm, and she went on crying there, not caring any longer to dry her face, her eyes, her arms. She could not have told why she was crying. Such experiences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life. They seemed never before to have weighed much against the abundance of her husband’s kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be tacit and self-understood.

    An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul’s summer day. It was strange and unfamiliar; it was a mood. She did not sit there inwardly upbraiding her husband, lamenting at Fate, which had directed her footsteps to the path which they had taken. She was just having a good cry all to herself. The mosquitoes made merry over her, biting her firm, round arms and nipping at her bare insteps.

    The little stinging, buzzing imps succeeded in dispelling a mood which might have held her there in the darkness half a night longer.

    The following morning Mr. Pontellier was up in good time to take the rockaway which was to convey him to the steamer at the wharf. He was returning to the city to his business, and they would not see him again at the Island till the

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