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A review by schinko94
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
4.0
It's shocking to me that there's a growing contingent of Americans that would like the social conditions of the Victorian era to return. Everything about the social expectations of the society surrounding Edna's life drove her to the eventual ending of this book, because there were simply no alternatives other than the path she chose.
The ending scene is particularly beautiful in my opinion, even if it's tragic. The bird with a broken wing flying above the water calls back to the words of Mademoiselle Reisz earlier in the book, who examines Edna's shoulders and says she must be strong to fly away (and that it was a pity to see weak birds fall to the ground in their brokenness).
Part of me wonders if Mademoiselle Reisz experienced something similar to Edna's predicament earlier in her life, which is why she saw through her pretensions so clearly. We never get that clarification in the book, but it seems to me that her situation (as a small old woman scorned by society) is indicative of what was to come for Edna if she continued her affair with Robert. Edna doesn't have the strength of an artist like Mademoiselle Reisz, though, as exemplified by her numerous failed attempts at sketching.
The woman in black at the beginning of the story is also an interesting character, because she's depicted as following the lovers from behind, for the whole summer that Edna is at Grande Isle. It seems to me that she's the personification of death, or perhaps the personification of Victorian religious and social conventions, which might as well be equivalent to death. She's a beautiful foreshadowing of what's to become of Robert and Edna's relationship, which was doomed from the very start due to Edna's marriage.
This novella was fascinating all around. The plot was a little slow at times but the prose is excellent, and the descriptions of New Orleans Creole life transport you to another place and time. Kate Chopin was very clearly influenced by her contemporary Virginia Woolf, who was one of the grandmothers of modern feminism. In summary, this book should be on every feminist's shelf. Four stars.
The ending scene is particularly beautiful in my opinion, even if it's tragic. The bird with a broken wing flying above the water calls back to the words of Mademoiselle Reisz earlier in the book, who examines Edna's shoulders and says she must be strong to fly away (and that it was a pity to see weak birds fall to the ground in their brokenness).
Part of me wonders if Mademoiselle Reisz experienced something similar to Edna's predicament earlier in her life, which is why she saw through her pretensions so clearly. We never get that clarification in the book, but it seems to me that her situation (as a small old woman scorned by society) is indicative of what was to come for Edna if she continued her affair with Robert. Edna doesn't have the strength of an artist like Mademoiselle Reisz, though, as exemplified by her numerous failed attempts at sketching.
The woman in black at the beginning of the story is also an interesting character, because she's depicted as following the lovers from behind, for the whole summer that Edna is at Grande Isle. It seems to me that she's the personification of death, or perhaps the personification of Victorian religious and social conventions, which might as well be equivalent to death. She's a beautiful foreshadowing of what's to become of Robert and Edna's relationship, which was doomed from the very start due to Edna's marriage.
This novella was fascinating all around. The plot was a little slow at times but the prose is excellent, and the descriptions of New Orleans Creole life transport you to another place and time. Kate Chopin was very clearly influenced by her contemporary Virginia Woolf, who was one of the grandmothers of modern feminism. In summary, this book should be on every feminist's shelf. Four stars.