The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Blurb (on back of book): When first published in 1899, The Awakening shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity. Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken aback by Chopin's daring portrayal of a woman trapped in a stifling marriage, who seeks and finds passionate physical love outside the confines of her domestic situation.
Aside from its unusually frank treatment of a then-controversial subject, the novel is widely admired today for its literary qualities. Edmund Wilson characterized it as a work "quite uninhibited and beautifully written, which anticipates D. H. Lawrence in its treatment of infidelity." Although the theme of marital infidelity no longer shocks, few novels have plumbed the psychology of a woman involved in an illicit relationship with the perception, artistry, and honesty that Kate Chopin brought to The Awakening.
MY OPINION: ***
To be quite honest, I could not tell you what happened in this book. I finished it a few weeks ago and I listened to it on an audiobook on my walk to campus every morning. I'm not going to lie, sometimes I found myself spacing out and missing some bits of information and being forced to go back and rewind, which made the book a lot more tiresome. It may have just been the person reading the book, though...
Everyone seems to have this on the list of books you have to read at least once so I decided now is as good a time as any. For some reason, I was never forced to read this one in high school, though a lot of my friends did. I think I could have gone without it but I didn't hate this one.
A lot of people hate on Edna for her shocking marriage fidelity or whatever but personally, I supported her through and through. I can only imagine the reactions in the time period when this book was published. Yes, she shouldn't have betrayed her kids like that and yes, her husband, no matter how dowdy, didn't deserve to be cheated on, but she did what she had to do to feel happy. Edna, through her "crime" of adultery, learns to break away from the constricting societal expectations for women and unlocks her real self. I am in full support of a woman finding the real version of herself, even if it does mean the ending of a (bad) marriage.
Society seems to accept bad husbands all the time... but the second a woman is a "bad wife" then she is exiled and disgraced and shamed and mocked and experiences bouts of uncalled for cruelty. I think that's a very unfair double standard and those of you hating on Edna for doing what she did should take a look at that inner misogyny you might be holding. I don't support cheating. But in this case, in this period, in this situation, Edna doesn't deserve such harsh censure.
The "bad mother" situation is a whole other thing in and of itself. The dad is literally worse. He does nothing for the rather aggravating kids except buy them candy and stuff and leaves that all up to his wife. He conforms with that nasty stereotype that women should be the domestic child-raisers while the man goes out and does all the work. He also had the AUDACITY to lecture Edna about her "bad way" of raising the kids as if he did ANYTHING at all.
I am not making excuses for Edna in any way. I would like to clarify I do not support adultery or cheating or abandoning one's kids. HOWEVER, I think a deeper conversation about the double standards held for husbands/wives and fathers/mothers should really be examined, especially in the context of a book like this. You guys are all haters because of how bold the author was to try to portray some rebellion against the patriarchy.
The ending... Well. I didn't like it because it felt unrealistic but at the same time, I could definitely understand why what happened happened.
The writing itself left much to be desired, I cannot lie. I did listen to it on an audiobook, which I don't know if that just made it easier to understand or something, but it was very simplistic. Simplistic, however, is not bad. I will just say I was expecting something much more profound at times and it seemed to fall just a little flat.
I would recommend this book to readers looking for an interesting take on the patriarchal society we STILL live in today (albeit, a "little" better).
Main Character: Edna
Sidekick(s): Robert, friends, etc
Villain(s): Patriarchy, misogyny, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.
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