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    The Awakening and Other Short Stories
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    The Awakening and Other Short Stories
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    The Awakening and Other Short Stories
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Awakening and Other Short Stories

    Written by Kate Chopin

    Narrated by Susie Berneis

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

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    About this audiobook

    One of the earliest feminist works in American literature, "The Awakening" tells the story of Edna Pontellier. Unsatisfied with societal expectations and unhappy with her family life, she begins to fall in love with the dapper Robert Lebrun. Lebrun's flirtations, along with the lifestyle of renown musician Mademoiselle Reisz, rejuvenates Edna's sense of freedom and independence. However, an affair with the womanizer Alcee Arobin provides Edna with a taste of the danger that comes from living outside of social convention. Trapped between the life she is expected to live and the one she longs to lead, Edna struggles to find happiness.

    Also included are eight of Chopin's most celebrated short stories: "A Pair of Silk Stockings", "A Reflection", "A Respectable Woman", "Beyond the Bayou", "Desiree's Baby, Ma'ame Pelagie," "The Kiss", and "The Locket."

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateJul 10, 2018
    ISBN9781974903559
    Author

    Kate Chopin

    Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri,In 1851. She began writing shortly after herHusband's death and, from 1889 until her ownDeath, her stories and other miscellaneousWritings appeared in Vogue, Youth's companion,Atlantic Monthly, Century, Saturday EveningPost, and other publications. In addition to The Awakening, Mrs. Chopin published another novel, At Fault, and two collections of short stories and sketches, Bayou Folk and A Night at Acadie. The publication of The Awakening in 1899 occasioned shocked and angry response from reviewers all over the country. The book was taken off the shelves of the St. Louis mercantile library and its author was barred from the fine arts club. Kate Chopin died in 1904.

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    Reviews for The Awakening and Other Short Stories

    3.5/5

    171 ratings42 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I always knew that this book is considered a feminist classic. What I did not know, however, is that Chopin writes with such flair, genuine emotion, and amazing local color. Even her earlier, less polished short stories shine with an amazing sincerity and clarity of energy. She was ahead of her time and continues to be relevant, and it's a shame that she wasn't able to become properly renown in her lifetime.
    • 5/5
      One of the most amazing experiences it was reading is this masterpiece of women's literature about a woman struggling to find her own place in a world of men, where not only her public view but also essentially her needs are exclusively dictated by her social roles, in this case as a wife and mother. It is not that it was a marvellous read, with such beautiful writing, it was the shock of thinking how little has actually changed since the 19th century status of a woman. Because even today women have to struggle with their roles as mothers, wives and workers. And if they so happen as to also have intellectual or artistic concerns, like painting in the case of Chopin's protagonist, Edna, then it is a constant battle with time and decision making, what to leave behind. Edna only understands that she can rely on no one else but herself in the end, and it is devastating to discover that not even her so called liberators would allow her the freedom they allegedly lead her to find. Although I am not in favour of suicide as a road to emancipation, I like to believe that Edna's drowning is not out of despair but an ultimate act of free will, a declaration of self-determination, a statement that she is eventually mistress of herself and, if she chooses, it is her prerogative to take away from her "rulers" the very object of their rule. The Awakening is really among the books I would like to have been able to read again for the first time, but it is also a book that you can read again and again, each time discovering something new to contemplate on.
    • 5/5
      I always knew that this book is considered a feminist classic. What I did not know, however, is that Chopin writes with such flair, genuine emotion, and amazing local color. Even her earlier, less polished short stories shine with an amazing sincerity and clarity of energy. She was ahead of her time and continues to be relevant, and it's a shame that she wasn't able to become properly renown in her lifetime.
    • 4/5
      I read this book in either junior high or high school and, even though my circumstances were very different than the protagonist's, I identified so strongly with the feeling of being confined and restricted and just wanting to break free.
    • 3/5
      Good read. A woman trapped in a role as mother and wife and is not content. Taking into consideration that it was first published in 1899, this novel speaks volumes on women and self identity.
    • 3/5
      I absolutely hated the way this novel ended! While the novel, I suppose, provided an interesting character study, the ending was like that one piece of garlic in an otherwise tasty apple pie. It ruined this novel for me.
    • 4/5
      This book is always a bit difficult for me to read, but it's just so touching. Chopin really makes me feel Edna's confusion. The end always makes me cry.
    • 5/5
      Required reading in too many English classes, normally I would hate such a text, but this actually is pretty good, and has always been very relevant. It stands the test of time like few do. Not my favorite period or writer, but among the best of each. Recommended.
    • 2/5
      Really did not sympathize with the protagonist.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. I didn't expect to. The language used and the character pictures painted were really good. The only thing that stopped me from another half star was the ending. I didn't see it coming so it was good from that aspect but it left me high and dry and unhappy. I guess that makes it good too, a good novel should extract emotion from the reader. However, this old romantic would have liked something a bit more positive.
    • 3/5
      I found this to be a frustrating story. There were no characters that I really liked. The women were snobby and self-absorbed, the men distant and self-absorbed. I never really felt any empathy for Edna until close to the end of the story, and then, the story was over. Very unsatisfying.
    • 2/5
      First posted on bellesbeautifulbooks.blogspot.comI didn't finish this book at about 70 pages. I just couldn't get into the writing, and story. The characters were very blah. I can't side with a woman who cheats on her husband, and I can't side with a husband who treats his wife as his property. I don't like reading about a cheater.I can see why people love this book, but it just wasn't me. It is a feminist piece of literature, and I'm not a feminist. I did not like reading this for school.
    • 4/5
      I know this book supposed to be about the woman's sexual awakening and her awakening to the fact that, as a good wife and mother she's expected to subsume herself in the happiness of her family and she refuses to do such a thing. I was a little disappointed, though, that the only way she could think of expressing herself and asserting her individuality was through romance which I find to be many a woman's downfall and far from the meaning of life.
    • 3/5
      The Awakening? The ending is more like The Darkening (not to mention "The Hours" and "Madame Bovary.") My edition included some reviews from the 1899 publication date which were interesting. Even Willa Cather trounced the book at the end of her review. I've been meaning to read this one for years, though. Certainly the ending was a surprise.
    • 2/5
      Dry and painful to read. The Awakening, a droll recounting of personal mistakes, will surely put anyone to sleep who attempts to read it.
    • 5/5
      This is a beautifully written brilliant story. An American classic about a woman's awakening to find her true self and her subsequent quest for independence.
    • 3/5
      This is a story of Edna Pontellier, a affluent middle aged woman who is depressed and is going through mid life crisis. She readily fall in love with younger men and encourages other men. This book when it was published in 1899 had created a great scandal but today it will just count as a sad story of a depressed woman.
    • 3/5
      Early feminist work. Important but depressing.
    • 4/5
      I really like this.
    • 3/5
      Regarded as highly scandalous when it was published in 1898, this story of a young wife who is bored with her lie as a proper wife and mother in late 19th Century New Orleans and seeks out her own independent life, seems fairly run of the mill in the 21st Century. It is, however, well written and held my interest from beginning to end.
    • 5/5
      Probably one of the most important books I've read... and I always forget about it! Forced to read in high school I fell in love with literature. And then, re-read as an adult... as a writer... simply unforgettable. I turn to it again and again for work with transitions and scenery. Brilliant.
    • 3/5
      This was somewhat difficult to read, mainly because of the writing style of the time period, I think. I was overly dramatic. There were some lovely passages of description and I understood the point of the story, but the style was a little clumsy.
    • 5/5
      i read this for school and really liked it. the metaphors are a little overboard but presented with nice images, the romance addictive (the love interest is my favorite character!), and the ending, well, i doubt you'd see it coming. It's very much about women's rights, and it's pretty old. People tend to either love or hate it-i loved it...
    • 1/5
      SHUDDER! Egads, I had to read this again and again in my undergrad literature career. Each time I found the main character not only unsympathetic, but revolting. Gah! And no, I'm not handing in my feminist card just because I hate this book!
    • 2/5
      This book is about the journey of a woman and how she struggles with trying to decide what is best versus what she is supposed to do or think according to society. This book brings attention to women's issues back in the day. The book is not really my style, therefore i really did not enjoy it.
    • 5/5
      As much as I enjoyed "A Doll's House," I actually enjoyed this one even more. It is amazing to me to read about women who finally decide to leave their gilded cage and in turn do something so dramatic. I don't want to give the ending away for those who haven't read it yet, but suffice it to say that it is very intense and a beautiful tragedy. I have read this many times and I still enjoy it each time.
    • 1/5
      If only we might all be so irresponsible in the name of emancipation.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely fell in love with book when I first read it in 11th grade. I love Edna and her persistence to become independent from her family. She goes on to live by herself and leave her family behind, which was considered sacrilegious during Edna's life.
    • 4/5
      It's been a few years since I've read this, but my overall impression of it was very dreamlike. The entire (rather short) book felt like a dream sequence. Yes, it's depressing, but it's also very powerful and moving. Give it a read if you haven't done so!
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. Edna is such a bold character. It really shows the beginnings of marrying for love instead of money and social status. Even though it was wrong of Edna to leave her husband, Robert opened her mind to a different kind of love.