The Awakening

The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing whispering clamoring murmuring inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude When The Awakening was first published in 1899 charges of sordidness and immorality seemed to consign it into obscurity and irreparably damage its authors reputation. But a century after her death it is widely regarded as Kate Chopins great achievement. Through careful subtle changes of style Chopin shows the transformation of Edna Pontellier a young wife and mother who - with tragic consequences - refuses to be caged by married and domestic life and claims for herself moral and erotic freedom. The Penguin English Library - collectable general readers editions of the best fiction in English from the eighteenth century to the end of the Second World War.