Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful, but contrived
Review: 28-year-old Edna Pontellier-married woman, mother of two-who's beginning to feel the clutching hand of constraint on her throat. Edna is artist trapped with no means of letting her creativity flow. A summer trip to Grand Isle changes Edna as she promises to never give herself away and begins to make changes in her life.Edna is the earliest form of the trapped mother and wife. She's a woman who dreams, but feels that she can't possibly live these dreams being mother and wife. She has so many fears and uncertainties, and these are manifested through her moods and her attachment to a man from the Isle and again to a man who lives in the same city as she. It was sad to see Edna drowning under the pressures of her life. However, I felt at times it was lacking and somewhat contrived. In the beginning, I thought Edna to be stronger than she really is, but later in the book I thought Edna to be trite. She made her choices. No one made her marry or have children. She chose to do so, and then she chose to ignore these duties, lavishing her affections on Robert and Alcee. I think this is supposed to be one of the 500 great books written by women. I agree and disagree with that decision. I'm sure during the time this was written (1889) it was a great scandal, and it was probably one of the first books to be written about a married woman who felt trapped. However, I don't see much great about it other than being a founding mother (or should that founding mother) for other books about the same subject. This is a beautiful story, but contrived at times. There are better stories out there concerning the pressures of being a mother and wife, but I give Chopin her due for being one of the first.
Rating: 
Summary: The strife of independence and individuality
Review: Not a movement or word lacks purpose or symbolism in this book. It will require the reader to dwell on each character's attitudes and actions, but it is never ending as it explores the strife of one women to be herself despite gender constrictions and unstable love versus marriage. The most compelling aspect of this work is the connection to the sea. The end is mesmerizing and beautiful, making the work even more positive criticism.
Rating:
Summary: Candy for the mind and heart
Review: This book was so swift, so powerful, and so moving, when I finished, I sat suspended in time for a few moments. I cared so very much about the main character and her love interest. Even though she was completely different from me, her thoughts and conclusions were not those I would come to... it didn't matter. I completely understood her and why she felt as though she had to do what she did. Just so completely compelling and absorbing.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!- I finished this book in one day!
Review: Let me just say that I was amazed at the courage and the strength that Kate Chopin had to have had in order to write such a book when she lived. Many things that were addressed in this book were just unheard of at the time!
I enjoyed very much how the book delves into so many characters at once. Also, if it were just for the lavish descriptions of the setting, clothing, etc. of the time, I would read this book. It tells of a time when everyone was proper and well-mannered.
I had to read this book for a womens literature class and i'm glad I did, I don't think it would have been one I would have picked. But, I am oh so gld that I read it! Wonderful read!
Rating: 
Summary: The pimps opinion
Review: My overall thoughts on this book is wow! I finally read a whole book without just reading a couple of pages. I liked this book because I think it can relate to married couples who are having problems. This book is very dramatic, it really makes you feel like you are one of the charecters if you can relate to any of the problems. Even if you cannot relate to any of the problems it is still a good book to read just so you will know what is capable when you are married. I personally liked this book because I can relate to some of the thigs in this book. One of the major things I can relate to is being away from my boyfriend. I would recomend this book to atleast high school level kids and also to people who like to read dramatic novels
Rating:
Summary: The Awakened Woman
Review: Mrs. Pontellier begins to find herslf as a person after falling in love with a younger man, and discovers that she is Edna and not just Mrs. Pontellier. Her behavior is unorthodox for the late nineteenth century but she finds she no longer cares. Definitely a top five favorite of mine. This book pulled me in so easily and I was hooked until the very end. What really struck me was how well I could identify with Edna and her emotions. Beautifully done characterization and the simplicity of the writing and metaphors really works for the overall story. While Edna's "Awakening" does begin with her falling in love with another man, this is by no means a love story. This is a story of soul-searching with a modern feel though it was written in 1899. This is a story of a woman defining herself as a person. The writing is not the most in-depth but that really added to the charm of this book.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, wide-open novel
Review: Out of all the novels that attempted to portray an alternate side to Victorian society, Kate Chopin's The Awakening is one of the few to survive, and one of the best. Few books accurately describe the reality of life, how it ebbs and flows, better than this one. Chopin created a set of highly-believable, rounded characters that live and breathe, just as real human beings do -- are full of contradictions, and sometimes act impulsively and irrationally, just as we do. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist, is one of the great female characters in all of literature -- complex, multi-faceted, believable. This novel is much more, and also much less, than the feminists who point to it as their Bible make it out to be. The ending is one of literature's great ambiguities -- just what is Chopin trying to tell us, anyway? Was she really advocating female independence? Was the really condemning Victorian domesticity? We'll never know, of course, and that is why this book continues to fascinate -- not because of its subject matter: as another reviewer wisely pointed out, if this book was merely about the repression of women during Victorian times, it would not have endured for over 100 years. On top of all this, the novel is beautifully written. Chopin writes spellbinding, poetic prose that stirs and enlivens the soul. Her descriptions of the New Orleans area are breathtaking. A short, but captivating read, this is one that can be plowed through fairly quickly, but it is highly-enjoyable and leaves the reader with a lot to think about for a book so short. This comes recommend for all readers of classic literature, not just feminists: it is one of the best books ever written by a female author.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story, very glad I read it
Review: I read this book in a single day after reading an interesting article about Chopin and her work in "Harper's." Previously, I had read nothing by Chopin except her short story, "A Matter of an Hour," some years ago. This story, a protest against the idea that all women must discover their deepest fulfillment through marriage and family life, is presented in a scrupulously even-handed manner, though it was considered shocking in 1899. Edna Pontellier's husband, though rather insensitive, is certainly not cruel and in fact goes out of his way to furnish their home in a way that makes Edna the envy of other married women whose husbands are less generous. Edna's children are charming, and they love her. Her mother-in-law, if not exactly close to Edna, is hardly her antagonist. Edna's best friend, Mrs. Ratignolle, is treated as a paragon of a loving wife and mother, truly happy with her husband and devoted to her own family life. Mrs. Ratignolle also has the sense to warn off the shallow young man who has begun a meaningless flirtation with Edna at a popular vacation resort; she realizes that what is meant merely as an idle diversion to the young man is something that Edna has begun to take far too seriously. The tragedy is that while Edna gets just enough insight and awareness to realize that she is a distinct, worthwhile entity in her own right and not merely an appendage of someone else, or a subset of a group, she then turns around and lets her happiness be defined by whether or not a different man loves her. This derails her progress from being a path of growth into greater self-awareness and personal autonomy, to being merely a record of failed extramarital romance. Again, Chopin is very even-handed; she does not hide Edna's immaturity from us, but neither does she lash her; the reader is left to draw his or her own conclusions. This book should be read alongside Wharton's "The House of Mirth," Sinclair Lewis's "Main Street," Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler," and Strindberg's one-act play, "The Stronger."
Rating:
Summary: How Like Life
Review: So rarely does a book effectively and accurately capture the ebb and flow of life that anytime an author achieves such a goal, the piece is sure to be treasured and praised by readers for many years to come. The Awakening achieves such a goal, but unfortunately, its staying power has long been attributed to its controversial first publishing. While that event is certainly significant and makes it essential to any Women's Literature class, that is not all there is to this book. I will confess, I was forced to read this book for a Humanities class. I was reluctant to start it at first, expecting the drone of feminist literature in all of its pretentious glory. I was expecting a character portrayed as such a desperate, suffering thing despite clear evidence that she was anything but. I was expecting sexist portrayals of men (and other upper class women) as ignorant and opressive forces upon this suffering main character. But much to my delight and suprise, I discovered that this is no such book. I should not have put Chopin down at such a low level, and I'm glad she proved me wrong. This book does not force sympathy for the umsympathetic. Instead, it demonstrates perfectly how an author should instill empathy within a reader. Without a doubt, this is a character-driven piece, perhaps the best example of a character-driven novel I have read yet. As an avid fan of science fiction and thrillers, I rarely encounter a book in which every scene is not apparently contrived to further the plot. This book was a real breath of fresh air. It bears every semblance to life and all of its fleeting subtleties. Chopin's characters are so convincingly real, and as a resident of New Orleans, I found her occasional descriptions charming and pleasing. I have noticed that many people have shown displeasure with the ending. I could not disagree more. The ending is so completely suited for this book. Any careful reader would detect that there is no other way for this book to conclude. This is, after all, a portrait of life, and there is no other way these events would have unfolded in real life. To summarize, this is a terrific piece of work, one which will please anyone interested in the art of writing or living.
Rating:
Summary: Essential.
Review: A still timely and enormously important tale of the price a woman pays when she "awakens" to her own authentic voice and finds her only place in society on the fringe, lonely and rejected. While reading this story I have considered that women are still today at great risk when we awaken to our true voices; our thoughts and desires. Perhaps our entire identity and sense of self-worth as a dutiful daughter of patriarchy are at stake, as it was for Chopin's Edna Pontellier the upstanding wife and mother who gave up mainstream approval and respect when she we gave up the things society promised her would make her happy but didn't. This bold step from Edna, plus the rejection of her only lifeline at the time, her lover, cost her her life. Edna Pontellier awoke from the myth that a marriage to a "good" man and 2.5 children would fulfill her. The painful reality she awoke to was that her life was without meaning and integrity. The unfortunate ending of this story magnifies the limited options for "awakened" women in the 19th century. I have read this story many times. It is still my favorite, because one, it is beautifully written but two and most importantly, it inspires me to try to choose a life of personal integrity and authenticity, as Kate Chopin did when she dared to publish this story. We are fortunate today that are fate does not have to be that of Edna's and I for one am thankful to people like Kate for making that path possible for us.
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