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Rating: 
Summary: AP LIT Review -CAS
Review: The Awakening is a very worthwhile read. Although a bit slow in some areas, Kate Chopin did a wonderful job of presenting Edna Pontellier, the main character, as a woman who struggles in a society where women are the property of men. Her love for art and music enabled her to gain a form of independence that only she and an older lady named Mademoiselle Reisz could understand. Mademoiselle Reisz has decided to be an individual, and not follow society's rules. She acts as mentor or idol for Edna. Reisz was very knowledgeable in both music and art witch also inspired Edna to take interest in her own hobbies. Edna, came from a family of Presbyterians, and purposely married a Catholic named Leonce Pontellier to get back at her father. Edna constantly faces many awakenings throughout her life as she struggles for independence from the control of men. She defies her husband and lets him know that she is not his property. This leads to a conflict between the two. Leonce believes that Edna is not a good mother and cares little for both her children and their marriage. Edna, on the other hand, believes that it is Leonce who cares little for his family and more about his wealth, property and popularity. To her husband, Edna is an object, something necessary for him to possess in society. As Edna spends more time with Robert, a friend who stays with her during the days at Grand Isle, her attitude towards Leonce begins to get stranger. This enabled Chopin to introduce a middleman between the Edna and Leonce; a physician named Doctor Mandelet. Mandelet met with the two on separate occasions and formulates a diagnosis to "cure" Edna from such strange behavior. As the days pass, and Leonce is on a business trip, Edna begins having strong feelings for Robert Lebrun. Their hidden love is not something they admit, but they can sense it through each other's actions. Trying to avoid falling in love with a married woman, Robert leaves town and heads for Mexico, trying to clear his head from thinking about Edna. While Robert is away, Edna begins to feel an even stronger love for him, and also get depressed. Kate Chopin developed a wonderful plot in which the story constantly circles around Edna. While Edna has Robert on her mind, the author did an incredibly brilliant choice by introducing another character by the name of Alcee Robin. Alcee enjoys making conquests of married women and eventually goes for Edna. After meeting Alcee through the horse races, Edna begins to get intimate with Alcee. Edna doesn't feel enough independence from her husband, so she decides to move into a tiny birdcage-like house to be on her own. The climax began to increase when Robert finally came back from Mexico. Edna begins to play mind-games with Robert by interacting with him less and less. Her deep love for Robert is not returned in the way that she had hoped, so she makes a decision to for a walk along the coast. Edna's choice to go for a swim is her final awakening. She looks upon her sons as the only bond that ties her to a life of being a slave to society. Moments later after extreme exhaustion, Edna drowns and dies. This book does a remarkable job telling about society during this time, and how women were viewed. It makes me curious to read another novel by Kate Chopin.
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Summary: The Awakening Review
Review: The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, details Edna Pontellier's growing independence from the acceptable role of mother through her interaction with other characters and heavy usage of symbolism. Edna, born to a Presbyterian family, rarely has intimate friends. This changes, however, when she spends a summer in Grand Isle, Louisiana. There she meets numerous Creole families, including Robert Lebrun, and grows accustomed to their casual and affectionate ways. at the same time, Edna begins to realize her discontent with her role of wife and mother in Society. To escape the burdens that Society has placed on her, Edna focuses on her talent as an artist and removes herself from her previous duties of catering to her husband and children. Edna starts to appreciate solitude, and this, along with the desire to free herself from Society, leads her to commit her last act of escapism. Kate Chopin illustrates Edna's universal relationship to Society with her use of symbolism. Nearly every word in The Awakening pertains to a symbol, namely the sea, a recurring theme for Edna. While this creates an intricate novel that is well-written, less careful readers may fail to see the importance of the passages that Chopin placed in the book. Although the novel is based more upon character development than action, The Awakening is highly enjoyable, especially for those who appreciate psychological tales or Sigmund Freud.
Rating: 
Summary: The Awakening
Review: The novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, takes place in Grand Isle, Louisiana and portrays the Creole culture in vivid detail. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, is a strong and beautiful character who believes that she is equal to a man and does not have to go around taking orders from her husband, which was almost unheard of at that point in time. The thought that a woman would ever think of such a thing was considered morally wrong which gives this charater the excitment that would have been greatly missed if she had been left out. The main antagonists are Edna's husband, Leonce Pontellier and a friend who visits the Grand Isle in summers, Robert Lebrun. The struggle over Edna and her feelings are between these two charaters. Either Leonce is treating his wife with great disrespect or Robeart is messing with Edna's feelings, which causes conflict betweeen Enda and her husband. Kate Chopin uses a lot of foreshadowing, using an array of things, from the weather to the background to the tone of voice used. Chopin gives hints throughout the book to what could be approaching in the future. This novel is not a book that you can sit down and read for just a few minutes at a time. It is a book that to be able to get into, you have to relax and take your time and spend good amounts of time on reading. If you do it any other way your won't enjot it as much.
If you enjoy reading about women activisits you will enjoy reading The Awakening because within the story that is what it is really about, a women who is trying to live her own, independent life through an environment which is made up of men and their thoughts which, at that time in history, made up the bulk and greatly overruled women.
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Summary: Trapped in a cycle
Review: This book was one of the best novels I have ever read in my life. There are many biblical allusions and hidden messages behind the authors words. I strongly disagree with the comments of the people that said it was boring...they didn't understand the book. In the beginning of the novel Kate Chopin starts with the parrot in the cage and Mr. Pontellier. Why did she start her novel like that-did you ever wonder? Kate Chopin mentions the parrot in the cage to symbolize Edna's entrappment and wanting her freedom. Mr. Pontellier wears glasses because he is blind to see how society works in the Victorian era. The lady in black and the lovers in the novel are the two different decisions that Edna has to make. The lady in black represents the spiritual love (marriage)and she is blind to everything that surrounds her-she is only concerned with her love for Christ. The lovers represent the individuality and concern only for themselves-they represent sin. Edna needs to make a decision between following the society's acceptance of her marriage or become an outcast and having an affair that can ruin Mr. Pontellier's reputation and her children's. A biblical allusion that Kate Chopin states is when Edna is having her dinner party. That party represents The Last Supper in where she is giving her good-bye to the old Edna and saying hello to the new Edna. She invites 12 guests just like the 12 disciples. She is dressed like a goddess and says "drink to my health"-'This is my blood'Jesus says. Robert, the man she plans on having the affair with is exactly like Mr. Pontellier. Edna is going through the same cycle and her only escape is death. The novel is very interesting and you just have to use your brains a little harder and ask "Why did the author write this? What was the purpose behind it? What meaning does it have?" If you ask these questions to every book you read you as a reader will understand and enjoy the book you are reading. By doing this your horizons will expand and you will be a better reader and writer which will make you a better thinker! I hope you agree with me.
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Summary: Awakening To Forbidden Desires
Review: Today this book is a minor classic of American literature and hailed by feminists all over the country. Many women identify with the main character Edna and her lack of fulfillment with marriage and motherhood. It was this and the theme of adultery in the book that enraged conventional Victorian sensibilities when it was published in 1899, occasioning shock and angry response from book reviewers all over America. The book was even taken off some library shelves and the author was barred from the prominent literary club of which she was a member. All of this caused her humiliation. Unfortunately, author Kate Chopin lived to write only one other novel, and died a few years later. By today's standard, "Awakening" is a tame portrayal of the "new woman" who struggles to be free of traditional fetters, traditional roles, to be her own individual, a woman longing to satisfy her hidden dreams and forbidden romantic passions. David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"
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Summary: This is not feminism
Review: When my friend and I ran across a list of 101 books that were recommended to be read before college, we realized we had only read a small percentage of the books and made a vow to read more. One of the books on the list was "The Awakening," and as we had studied Kate Chopin in school and it was readily available online, we decided to both read it. Both of us had read it by the next day, and we both reached the same conclusion: Chopin's protagonist, Edna, was a selfish woman who was not strong at all, as a truly strong woman would have continued on even after the man she loved left her. The book is written beautifully, hence the two stars. But Edna is completely unidentifiable. She is twenty-eight, yet she seems to do everything on impulse. Yes, maybe she did rush irrationally into an ultimately loveless marriage -- but her husband is not a monster, so doesn't she at least owe him some consideration? Not to mention her children -- she seems to not have the slightest regard for them, only showing affection in fits and starts. This book should be read, if only to show what strength is not -- strength is not what Edna does in the end of this story. However, you may find yourself struggling to get through it, as Edna is often very frustrating. In conclusion -- this is NOT feminism. In fact, before reading this story I had immense respect for Kate Chopin, respect gained from reading her short stories. I lost some of that respect after seeing what she apparently believed was the solution for Edna's problems.
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