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A review by saritaroth
The Awakening: And Selected Stories by Kate Chopin
3.0
Favorite Quote Of The Book - "For the first time she recognized the symptoms of infatuation which she had felt incipiently as a child, as a girl in her earliest teens, and later as a young woman. The recognition did not lessen the reality, the poignancy of the revelation by any suggestion or promise of instability. The past was nothing to her; offered no lesson which she was willing to heed. The future was a mystery which she never attempted to penetrate. The present alone was significant; was hers, to torture her as it was doing then with the biting conviction that she had lost that which she had held, that she had been denied that which her impassioned, newly awakened being demanded.”
I read this book at my son's urging; he didn't much care for it, but he still thought I should read it. I have to say that the language that the author used is superb; it was difficult to pick only one favorite quote, but I thought that the above quote fully encompassed the awakening of Edna Pontellier's senses, which is really mainly what the book was about.
Kate Chopin's The Awakening begins with a vacation at the beach and centers around Edna Pontellier, a housewife who is feeling oppressed by her husband and her lot in life. She falls in love with a Creole man named Robert LeBrun, but he then leaves her briefly, and she lapses into despair. She then has a brief dalliance with Alcee Arobin at which time Robert returns and stays for a short time before departing again, presumably more permanently, leaving Edna with only a note, saying, "I love you. Good-by--because I love you." This abandonment causes Edna to fall even more deeply into despair.
Although the writing itself was outstanding, I am only giving the book three stars because nothing much happened. It was frankly boring; I know it is considered a classic, but not all books, even classics, are for everyone. And this book just wasn't for me.
It is worth noting that it was also made into a movie entitled Grand Isle, named after the beach that the protagonist visited. It starred Kelly McGillis, Adrian Pasdar, and Ellen Burstyn. Unfortunately, there was another movie with the same name starring Nicolas Cage, although it does not have the same storyline. I was able to find the Nicolas Cage movie to watch, but I was unsuccessful in tracking down the other. Therefore, I had to content myself with only reading the book, writing my review, and detailing my rating accordingly.
I read this book at my son's urging; he didn't much care for it, but he still thought I should read it. I have to say that the language that the author used is superb; it was difficult to pick only one favorite quote, but I thought that the above quote fully encompassed the awakening of Edna Pontellier's senses, which is really mainly what the book was about.
Kate Chopin's The Awakening begins with a vacation at the beach and centers around Edna Pontellier, a housewife who is feeling oppressed by her husband and her lot in life. She falls in love with a Creole man named Robert LeBrun, but he then leaves her briefly, and she lapses into despair. She then has a brief dalliance with Alcee Arobin at which time Robert returns and stays for a short time before departing again, presumably more permanently, leaving Edna with only a note, saying, "I love you. Good-by--because I love you." This abandonment causes Edna to fall even more deeply into despair.
Although the writing itself was outstanding, I am only giving the book three stars because nothing much happened. It was frankly boring; I know it is considered a classic, but not all books, even classics, are for everyone. And this book just wasn't for me.
It is worth noting that it was also made into a movie entitled Grand Isle, named after the beach that the protagonist visited. It starred Kelly McGillis, Adrian Pasdar, and Ellen Burstyn. Unfortunately, there was another movie with the same name starring Nicolas Cage, although it does not have the same storyline. I was able to find the Nicolas Cage movie to watch, but I was unsuccessful in tracking down the other. Therefore, I had to content myself with only reading the book, writing my review, and detailing my rating accordingly.