Synopsis
“When The Awakening was first published in 1899, charges of sordidness and immorality seemed to consign it into obscurity and irreparably damage it’s author’s literary and social 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.”
-Synopsis from back cover
Review
This post was written prior to my taking an extended hiatus from the blog. I will still be participating in the Classics Club and the Rory Gilmore Book Club from the sidelines just for the summer until I am ready to return to the blog. Thank you all for your patience and kind words and I hope to be back soon.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin was my spin pick, and also my pick for the Rory Gilmore Book Club for May, the prompt of which was to read a popular book. Many readers have recommended this classic novel to me over the years and I was excited to finally have the chance to read it.
When we meet Edna Pontellier, she is on vacation with her family at the Gulf of Mexico. It is the end of the 19th Century and Edna”s role as a wife and a mother are strictly outlined by the rules of society. Edna is beginning to feel stifiled by her life when she begins to develop a friendship, and something more, with Robert Lebrun.
“Sailing across the bay to the Cheniere Caminada, Edna felt as if she were being born away from some anchorage which had held her fast, whose chains had been loosening – had snapped the night before when the mystic spirit was abroad, leaving her free to drift whithersoever she chose to set her sails.”
Edna’s relationship with Robert is more lively and comfortable than it is with her husband, Leonce Pontellier, who treats her the way most men at the time viewed their wives: as if she is nothing more than a wife and mother who should behave according to his liking.
At the end of their vacation, Edna and her family return home to New Orleans where Edna’s feelings of despondancy only grow and she beings to withdraw from her social life.
“She let her mind wander back over her stay at Grand Isle; and she tried to discover wherein this summer had been different from any and every other summer of her life. SHe could only realize that she herself – her present self – was in some way different from the other self. That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment, she did not yet suspect.”
Edna’s apathy towards her husband and her daily life prompts him to seek medical help on her behalf. The doctor he consults advises Leonce to let Edna be and do as she wishes. Edna desires time to work on creative endeavors and space from her husband and family, both of which she accomplishes by smoving into a new home and setting up her own studio.
All the while Edna has been plagued by concerns for Robert, who left New Orleans unexpectedly and has not written to her since he has been gone. Edna strikes up a friendship with a man named Alcee Arobin, but every time they are together she can only think of Robert. It seems every time Edna manages to get a sliver of what she craves, it turns out to not be enough.
I don’t want to reveal the ending for anyone who hasn’t read it, but I will share a few of my thoughts on how things unfolded, with mild spoilers.
One thing that struck me while reading was that Edna did not lack support. Her friend Madame Ratignolle sensed what Edna was going through and tried to encourage her to think of her children. Even though Edna did not feel her purpose in life was to be a mother, I thought it was good of Madame Ratignolle to try to remind her that there was more in the world than she was feeling in those moment of despair.
Then there was Doctor Mendelay who also wanted to help Edna, first indirectly by telling Leonce Pontellier to let her be, and then more directly by encouraging her to come see him. He explicitly expressed to her that he believed he would be able to help her more than she realized. Ultimately Edna’s depression overcomes her and she feels she is left with no choices to move forward with her life. It is a tragic ending I did not expect.
This is such a beautifully written story. I read and reread passages multiple times so I could absorb each word. I truly felt Edna’s pain while reading and I think it was strong enough that men who read this book will be able to grasp Edna’s experience and why she made the decision she made at the end.
I was not surprised to learn after reading that this novel was heavily censored on its publication and considered immoral. It is clear that it was a groundbreaking rebuke of social standards at the time and it was brave of Kate Chopin to publish this knowing how polarizing it would be and the inevitable harsh reactions she would receive.
The Awakening has left a lasting impression on me and might just be one of my favorite books of this year.
Hannah's Library 