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north_elliot's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is okay for the most part, but in some places, the writing quality goes down. Certain parts are slightly confusing. Sometimes, the narrator goes out of character, but it's not too bad. Edna has some mental illness. I'm not sure what Robert sees in her. Also, there is a lack of details, especially at the abrupt end. Edna's suicide is really pathetic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
eminent_reader's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
ccorliss's review against another edition
reflective
5.0
hm …
the description of langor and ennui, of a painful longing, of the richness of items around her, of object’s decadence … of her deepest desires, desire she had not known before, of *female* desire … for something which is out of her reach; a life which is not to be hers … a freedom which does not exist in her own physical body … in her own tangible life … the oscillation of colorful euphoria, of exhilaration and joy and love in life, in independence, in this mental conception of her own *person-ness*, with the deep lulls of depression, that creeping magnitude of vast despair, of destitution at ownership of her each passing day …
and so i am left to dwell with the conclusion of this story. has she succeeded in killing herself? what if she failed? i am inclined to hold out hope that she was not successful, that her naked body was found sputtering ashore, that some visceral human desire of another sort—for survival with no other thought above it—overcame her, and she comes back to life, in some new way.
the used copy i read from, the previous reader left the most rank annotations throughout that maybe made me reactively root for edna pontellier even more than maybe i would have without their dumb, judgmental notes. but i think that edna is a compelling character, regardless. you yearn to see her free enough in her life, enough to have had an option of another life, one where she can be “”mannish”” and like her father, perhaps without kids, perhaps with a man she truly lusted for and loved and was able to stay in love with, maybe have children with that man and still experience the joy she had with her kids toward the end of this story. i’m not blind to the suggestions at something between her and mademoiselle reisz. and perhaps that would be a door in a different world for edna. but i’m not that stuck on that possibility—a lesbian story would unfold if it were meant to unfold. rather, i am struck by the feeling that mademoiselle reisz is special because she understands edna like no one else has understood her before. and that this elemental understanding is something profound. perhaps she senses these lurking feelings edna possesses, or perhaps at times posses edna … and she knows of this love, lust, whatever it may be that is regardless deep and apparent in its attractive pull, between edna and robert. and so she understands this part of edna which no one else does; she sees edna in a more complete way, embracing her urges and whims for her personal expression and ability to embody freedom, for joy in her own person, to bring these rich feeling in to her own life.
and so i do not know that i like the ending per se, i mean, who could? but in the way i hope it goes beyond the last page, i am still drawn to how chopin writes of how this montage brings about the sensual feelings of freedom. the freedom of being a new born adult all over, baptized by the sun, embraced by the ocean’s endless bounty of salt water, to be brought in contact with a feeling of humanness that comes with her being naked before the sky. it is so sensual it is in some ways euphoric. but her numbness is haunting, and i hope, deeply, that the story we are left to continue off the page is one where she is brought to live a new kind of life, however hard or outcast, where she may live as she wishes, where she may feel free and be both excited by feeling, and at peace with being, alive.
the description of langor and ennui, of a painful longing, of the richness of items around her, of object’s decadence … of her deepest desires, desire she had not known before, of *female* desire … for something which is out of her reach; a life which is not to be hers … a freedom which does not exist in her own physical body … in her own tangible life … the oscillation of colorful euphoria, of exhilaration and joy and love in life, in independence, in this mental conception of her own *person-ness*, with the deep lulls of depression, that creeping magnitude of vast despair, of destitution at ownership of her each passing day …
and so i am left to dwell with the conclusion of this story.
the used copy i read from, the previous reader left the most rank annotations throughout that maybe made me reactively root for edna pontellier even more than maybe i would have without their dumb, judgmental notes. but i think that edna is a compelling character, regardless. you yearn to see her free enough in her life, enough to have had an option of another life, one where she can be “”mannish”” and like her father, perhaps without kids, perhaps with a man she truly lusted for and loved and was able to stay in love with, maybe have children with that man and still experience the joy she had with her kids toward the end of this story. i’m not blind to the suggestions at something between her and mademoiselle reisz. and perhaps that would be a door in a different world for edna. but i’m not that stuck on that possibility—a lesbian story would unfold if it were meant to unfold. rather, i am struck by the feeling that mademoiselle reisz is special because she understands edna like no one else has understood her before. and that this elemental understanding is something profound. perhaps she senses these lurking feelings edna possesses, or perhaps at times posses edna … and she knows of this love, lust, whatever it may be that is regardless deep and apparent in its attractive pull, between edna and robert. and so she understands this part of edna which no one else does; she sees edna in a more complete way, embracing her urges and whims for her personal expression and ability to embody freedom, for joy in her own person, to bring these rich feeling in to her own life.
and so i do not know that i like the ending per se, i mean, who could? but in the way i hope it goes beyond the last page, i am still drawn to how chopin writes of how this montage brings about the sensual feelings of freedom. the freedom of being a new born adult all over, baptized by the sun, embraced by the ocean’s endless bounty of salt water, to be brought in contact with a feeling of humanness that comes with her being naked before the sky. it is so sensual it is in some ways euphoric. but her numbness is haunting, and i hope, deeply, that the story we are left to continue off the page is one where she is brought to live a new kind of life, however hard or outcast, where she may live as she wishes, where she may feel free and be both excited by feeling, and at peace with being, alive.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
gabbygarcia's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Suicide
Moderate: Infidelity and Mental illness
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
emrosch's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It was okay. I think my expectations were too high. I liked the beginning and end, but the middle was really boring. Edna's development throughout the story was interesting.. although I personally thought it was too shallow. I would've wished for it to be discussed more or simply more prominent in the story itself.
Also not the biggest fan of Kate Chopin's writing style.
Also not the biggest fan of Kate Chopin's writing style.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
mx_mistoffolees's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
murdrmagpie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Racism, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Classism and Racial slurs
suzanneelsa's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Suicide, and Infidelity
marageorge's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicide, and Misogyny
luwa963's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Interesting story of a woman finally waking up to the limitations of (her) womanhood, and trying, clumsily, to push against them. Whether or not she succeeds is up to the individual reader I think.
The book is FULL of racist anti-Black slurs which kept jarring me out of the narrative.
Also I don't know if it's the story or the edition I read, but there seemed to be weird jumps in the narrative and things that weren't explained at all.
The book is FULL of racist anti-Black slurs which kept jarring me out of the narrative.
Also I don't know if it's the story or the edition I read, but there seemed to be weird jumps in the narrative and things that weren't explained at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, and Racism
Moderate: Infidelity