Presents "The Awakening" and seventeen short stories, including "A Shameful Affair," "At the 'Cadian Ball," and "Madame Celestin's Divorce"
In time, the book was revived by feminists who recognized that the work was fascinating, also beautifully written and composed. "The Awakening" tells the story of Edna Pontellier, who is unhappy in her life as a mother and wife.
Kate Chopin. would have excluded her from the company. But when I found out what she was up to, the play was half over and it was then too late. ["Anns and Autographs of Authors," Book News 17 (July 1899): 612.] ...
Kate Chopin, Nina Baym ... This is particularly so in women who write, and I shall not attempt to say why Miss Chopin has devoted so exquisite and sensitive, ... Bjorn Braaten and Emily Toth in The Kate Chopin Miscellany, eds.
When first published in 1899, charges of sordidness and immorality consigned The Awakening into initial obscurity and irreparably damaged its author's literary and social reputation.