The Awakening

When \'The Awakening\' was first published in 1899, charges of sordidness and immorality seemed to consign it into obscurity and irreparably damage its author\'s reputation. But a century after her death, it is widely regarded as Kate Chopin\'s great achievement. Through careful, subtle changes of style, Chopin shows the transformation of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother, who - with tragic consequences - refuses to be caged by married and domestic life, and claims for herself moral and erotic freedom.