TheAwakening


 * **//Published// : April 22, 1899**
 * **//[|Plot Summary]// : A woman (Edna Pontellier) realizes that she needs not only to be a mother and wife, but an individual; to use her own mind and be independent. Tired of being treated more like an object than a person, she sets out on her very own awakening.**
 * **//Symbols and Themes// : __The Awakening__ is based on the portrayal of characters and the social and physical settings in which they lived. [|Kate Chopin wrote this book to show the roles of women and the fact that they need their independence.] Chopin's recurring theme was theconflicts between social constraits placed on women and their desire for independence.**
 * **//Time Period and Style// : the time period was the seventeenth century. She wrote in the "local color" movement and wrote in realism.**
 * **//Critical Response// :** **When the novel was first published,** **the fact that Edna** **left her husband to find independence and in doing so got involved in an affair was considered to be rebellious. Many critics found it repulsive and unjust. Thought __The Awakening__ got such a bad reviwe at first, many find it a critical work to feminist literature.**
 * **//Awards and/or [|Literary Significance]// : When __The Awakening__ was first published, critics found its subject matter repulsive and rebellious and it recieved a very harsh reception. Though the novel sold so poorly in its own day, many find its message a mastrerpiece of feminist and realist literature.**