Rating: 
Summary: The Awakening is Timeless
Review: Although written long ago, this book is still meaningful today. Everyone awakens to the mean of their own life at some point. Sometimes it is over time and for other it can be pinpointed to a moment or an occurence. This story help us each better understand our own life story.
Rating:
Summary: American Victorian Woman in a Guilded Cage
Review: A century ago Kate Chopin shocked the literary establishment and the world of Creole society with her controversial short novel: she dared challenge the rigid rules of Victorian America in 190 pages. THE AWAKENING is perfect for a classroom discussion on emerging Feminism or for Women's Studies in general. One hundred years later this book still promotes heated debate among readers, for it can be considered on various levels. Chopin's style is deliberately ambiguous at times--leaving readers with many unanswered questions. Set in Creole America (New Orleans and the steamy Gulf Coast waters), this tale appears simplistic on the surface, dabbling along with little discernable advancement of plot. But do not be deceived by the apparently calm surface, for beneath the lazy days and lifestyle of the idle rich lurk hidden currents of treacherous temptation, as a young woman comes of Emotional age and resents her caged existence. While vacationing with other members of New Orleans Society on Grand Isle, Enda Pontellier feels the faint stirrings of her own sexuality, chafing in her prescribed role as obedient wife and devoted mother. There must be more to life than just this vaapid stagnation of the soul. Her attraction for a perennial beach beau--assumed harmless by all husbands--leads her to desire more from life. The men may be portrayed as stereotypes, but Edna emerges as a sensuous and intelligent young woman who attemps to deal with her frustrations. Yet as she struggles to become a woman, she often surrenders her will, seemingly content to float with the fluctuating tides of fate and chance. No longer satisfied to serve as a mere ornament in a casual marriage, Edna sacrifices her reputation, her family and even more--to prove to herself and one other that she does possess the courage to be an "artist." But does the cost prove too great?
Rating: 
Summary: One of the most irritating books I have ever read
Review: Well, I had to read "The Awakening" for school, which never helps. And I had to write a paper on it, which is worse. It's a very important book, not a bad read, and Chopin's writing is beautifully clear, but just about everything is on the surface. There's not a lot of analysis possible, because the themes are so clearly spelled out. It's not very subtle, nor is it layered. It's frustrating.
Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
Summary: Spiritual/Existential/Feminism
Review: I know, I know. It's been heralded again and again as one of the best books of the century. But as literature, I find it problematic. Historically, it is a landmark. It is a woman writing clearly, honestly, and powerfully about women's identity in a time when that wasn't only NOT the fad it's become, but it just wasn't done. So it gets major kudos for that, for being a fresh voice a hundred years ago and still having some relevance today. Few books can do that. But as literature, it's problematic. The spirituality of Edna's awakening is often way heavy-handed. The journey of discovery she takes is simple -- maybe oversimple(Her husband and children conveniently go away at just the appropriate moment for her continued growth.) And philosophically, it throws grand hints at things without ever coming down on anything. The ending, besides being just plain too fast, is either poignant or disappointing. I felt unsatisfied. If you want a historical landmark, read this. If you want a more honest female journey novel, read Zora Neal Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" if you want better philosophy/literature, read Camus. Two stars for bravery and boldness. There are a lot worse books out there.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story about finding and being yourself
Review: Despite all the bad-mouthing this book has recieved from other Amazon reviews, I believe this is a wonderful story about finding and being yourself. Everybody can identify with the struggle to be yourself and this is what Edna was striving to do. She should be applauded for having the courage to defy the limits placed on her by society and be herself. I read this book for a school assignment and I love it. I especially love the part that goes "What he didn't realize was that she was becoming more and more herself every day, casting aside the ficticious self that we all create as a shield around us" (or something like that). How true that is - we all build 'ficticious selfs' to protect us and one can identify with Edna's struggle to disband/destroy that shield and let her true person shine. I do not believe that she was selfish, I believe that others were selfish in not treating her more like a person and equal. This book that was written 100 years ago can still be identified with in the 21st century! A great read, but only if you are willing to really look beyond the immediately apparent/obvious and really try to understand what the book is about. Otherwise you will not gain the benefit and true message from reading it, as many other reviewers for this site have failed to do.
Rating: 
Summary: most boring book ever
Review: The Awakening is the most boring book i have ever read. It Portrays the life of a spoiled and incompetent woman who cant even appreciate the lifestyle that she has. The only redeeming quality the book has is that she dies in the end of the book (i laughed hard when she swam out too far).
Rating:
Summary: Powerfully written book about a woman in torment.
Review: Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening," lives in New Orleans in the 1890's. She seems to have it all--two lovely children, physical beauty, an extremely comfortable lifestyle, and good social standing. However, one summer, Edna experiences the aforementioned "awakening," and she realizes that her life is vapid and devoid of meaning. She is a trophy wife who has no real connection to her husband. She loves her children, but she is not extremely involved with them. Who is Edna? What does she want? She wants to experience life to the fullest, without constraint. She wants personal freedom, without the need to conform to the social mores of her day. However, she does not want to harm her children while seeking her own personal fulfillment. Edna's torment leads to a deep depression. The reason that this book has attracted so much attention is that it was written a century ago, long before women had heard of "liberation". Chopin's writing is eloquent and moving. She describes Edna's agony in a way that is surprisingly modern. Although it is difficult to sympathize with a woman who is not mired in poverty and who has a great deal to be thankful for, I understand that she feels stifled by a lifestyle that does not suit her. It is astonishing that a woman, writing in the 1890's, would articulate this radical viewpoint. She must have received a great deal of criticism at the time. This book does have some flaws. Some of the key characters are not fully fleshed out. Robert, Edna's close friend, is a handsome and affectionate companion, but little more. Mr. Pontellier, Edna's husband, is an insensitive lout, who treats his wife in the way that he would treat a pet. These caricatures weaken the book. I get the feeling that Chopin is so anxious to convey her "message" that she feels the need to stereotype the men in Edna's life. However, "The Awakening" is a book that articulates a viewpoint that is way ahead of its time, and for that alone, it is worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: An wonderful statement about 20th cent. attitudes to women
Review: Reading other reviews of this book, I felt I had to write my own. I feel this book is an extremely valuable illustration of a woman's attempt to define who she is. In doing this, Edna realized that she had no identity of her own. Even though it took an affair to do this, her discovery was still valid. I also think that criticism of this book for this reason is completely off base. For centuries, people have turned their head the other way when men have struggled with affairs. Edna wouldn't have killed herself or maybe even have had these troubles in the first place if her husband had been at all supportive in her endeavors to discover who she was, and to help her out of her depression. By ignoring her needs, he asked for the consequences. Edna's final thoughts were about her children, and they were her main regret for doing what she felt she had to do. All in all, The Awakening is a wonderful piece of work that shows the struggle of both female authors and women alike to take a step out of the kitchen.
Rating:
Summary: An ok book
Review: I read this for a book review and it was allright, nothing great though. I can't see how women can think of Edna as a symbol for all women kind. Yea she woke up and realized she was in a dull relationship but she has KIDS! You don't fool around with other people when you have kids. It just isn't right. Then she is selfish enough to end her own life while not thinking of her commitment to her husband and her kids. Wow I wish I will someday marry a girl like this...so I can put her in check and the place where she belongs...the kitchen. J/K
| 
