Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Awakening

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

22 reviews

sandsing7's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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reid23's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

i love this book. really gives insight into women’s roles and perspectives in 19th century america. you become really invested in the characters and plot

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elerireads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This sort of crept up on me - took me a while to get into the writing and weirdly I think something about the setting was a bit off-putting for me, but then as the second half went on I had this creeping realisation that it was absolutely brilliant. I'm tempted to reread it immediately and pay more attention to some of the details, because I suspect the knowledge of what's to come would make for a substantially different reading experience.

Honestly it's a book that begs to be studied and I'm not sure how to do it justice without writing a full-on essay. The title is perfect - Edna is basically sleepwalking through her life but then awakens to her own personhood and agency and starts making decisions for herself. The incomprehension and confrontation that this change evokes is a beautiful illustration of just how narrow the constraints were on 'acceptable' womanhood. It's heartbreaking because for a very short period of time she starts to experience the pure joy of being properly 'awake' and then almost immediately has to come to terms with the fact that no one else understands, and if everyone else is still beholden to the societal rules (she now sees through) and tries to enforce them on her then her newfound freedom is just an illusion anyway. At least, that's my take on it. Pretty sure I need to read some other reviews of this and then re-read it.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I appreciate this for what it represents in American Literature because it really was ahead of its time. There's a lot in here that moves feminist literature forward because a lot of the literature at the time didn't depict women in this way. Is the ending unfortunate? Yes, but it is expected, again because of the time it was written. But it will definitely make for interesting discussion at book club!

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thedisabledreader's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

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bibliocinephile's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

3.5!!

Chopin here crafts a beautiful story--a woman who defies societal conventions that are rooted in sexism in order to embrace what truly makes her happy. And for the most part, the beautifully described inner turmoil the protagonist faces is affecting. However pacing is an issue in this book--Edna frets and fritters in multiple locations, and revelations are repeated, which made me bored.

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