The Awakening

About “The Awakening”

The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the story follows Edna Pontellier as she grapples with her evolving views on femininity and motherhood in conflict with the social norms of the time. The novel is one of the first American works to explore women's issues without condescension. It is considered a significant early feminist work and received a mixed response from readers and critics when it was published.