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12. "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
Theme/Topic: a banned book
First published in 1899, this beautiful, brief novel so disturbed critics and the public that it was banished for decades afterward. Now widely read and admired, The Awakening has been hailed as an early vision of woman's emancipation. This sensuous book tells of a woman's abandonment of her family, her seduction, and her awakening to desired and passions that threaten to consume her.
Fast Fact: This book was originally entitled A Solitary Soul.
Review:
I did and did not like this book. First off, it was an easy read. While I do like how Edna wants to become true to herself, I'm not sure if I agree with the ways that she went about doing it. She's tired of living life according to everyone else's demands, including her husband and children, and wants to re-invent herself to live life according to her. I don't believe in cheating on a spouse or a significant other in that matter, nor abandoning one's family to live to one's desires. If she wasn't happy with her marriage, it would have been better to get a divorce than living on fantasies with other men (in Edna's case) or at least, try to rekindle the relationship.
In those times, the women's role in society was to take care of the house, the children and I might add, the demands or orders of the husband. And divorce was something that just didn't happen as it commonly does today. I respect Kate Chopin's choice to open up to readers the possibility of making females have a better and equal role in society as the men through Edna's character, but don't necessarily agree with how she went about doing it.
Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!
♥Meg♥
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