Today Marshmallow reviews a classic novel originally published in 1899: Kate Chopin’s The Awakening.
Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like reading books that make you think and take you back in time, then this is the book for you!
Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Edna Pontellier lives in New Orleans, Louisiana during the late nineteenth century. As she is originally from Kentucky, Edna has felt a little out of place ever since she married Mr. Pontellier (who was born into the Creole culture), moving to Louisiana to live with him. Edna spends her days as a “mother-woman” now, attending to the needs of her husband and two sons and running the domestic details of the Pontellier household; however, this is not enough to satisfy Edna.
The Pontelliers are fortunately very wealthy and the book introduces us to them during their trip to Grand Isle (near the Gulf of Mexico) during the summer. At Grand Isle, Edna realizes that she is truly unhappy when Mr. Pontellier berates her for neglecting their children (despite the fact that he was out the whole night at the pub). She breaks down in tears, but finds comfort in spending time with her friend Robert—who is the son of the woman who runs the resort the Pontelliers stay at. While Mr. Pontellier is regarded as the best husband Edna and her friends know, he is not particularly attentive. Still, he sends back sumptuous gifts while he is away, and he has never abused or assaulted Edna.
To me, it seems that Mr. Pontellier is the best husband one could hope for from the men of that time period; he is a very by-the-book gentleman, treating his wife in the most caring manner he knows how (though it is mostly materialistic and he does not offer much in the way of emotional support or attention). I do not blame Edna for feeling discontent though.
During their time at Grand Isle, Robert and Edna become closer and closer—to the point that Adéle Ratignolle (a very close friend of Edna’s) warns him to stay away from Edna lest they start to believe they could become more than friends. But it is already too late because Edna’s heart has already made its way to Robert. Adéle, who is the paragon of what an ideal woman would be, provides a stark contrast to Edna. Edna is not a bad wife, but she is far from matching Adéle’s doting adoration and care for Mr. Ratignolle and their children. Along with her budding love for Robert, Edna starts to feel as though maybe she is not cut out to fit this mother-woman role.
When the Pontelliers return to New Orleans, Edna starts to take up more room, rejecting the standards she tried so hard to fit herself in. When Mr. Pontellier goes on a business trip and the children go to stay with his mother, Edna decides to move to a small cottage they own, called the pigeon house. There, her agency and independence are kindled and eventually ignite an affair with a man named Alcée Arobin (there are no inappropriate scenes; Chopin only describes an occasional kiss).
One might ask why Alcée comes into the picture when Edna loves Robert. The unfortunate answer would be that Robert ran off to Mexico in pursuit of some business opportunity, though this was a thinly veiled attempt to distance himself from Edna and his feelings of attraction to her. Alcée (a lady’s man with a distinct pattern of chasing married women) provides the physical satisfaction that Edna was missing. But Edna does not feel any sense of love or emotional connection to him. Robert is the one she loved. When he returns, Edna’s life will be forever changed.
Marshmallow’s Review: This was a fascinating book. I really enjoyed reading about what life was like back then, and I felt as though Chopin had actually transported me there to witness it. I will say that I found Edna’s treatment of some of the servants quite infuriating (she is not abusive, but definitely demeaning). Regardless, this book was worth the time I put into trying to understand it. Initially, much like my endeavors with A Tale of Two Cities, reading the first couple of chapters was grueling. But after I got accustomed to the writing style of the time period, it was relatively easy to read.
I read The Awakening in my English class, so I did do a deeper analysis of this book than I might have done otherwise. I noticed that the titular “Awakening” could represent one of many things (her rebellion, her sexual relationships, her artistic pursuits, etc.) or perhaps all of them together. There is also the consistent image of the sea. This motif serves to represent independence, death, freedom, life, rebirth, rebellion, and more. Really, anything can represent anything—it is all up to the reader what they get out of the book. I found this book to be a source of gratitude for me. I am really glad that Edna’s world of repression and dissatisfaction has been partially torn down over the years since this book’s publication. The idea of a mother-woman that so defined and constrained her life has loosened its grip on women today.
The ending came as a bit of a shock to me. I was hoping for the resolution of the story to go one way and it went off a cliff in the other direction (metaphorically, I mean, due to the surprising nature of the end). I will not say much more. But I think the ending Chopin chose sends the most meaningful message and it is quite open to interpretation.
I wonder if it is possible that the whole story is a dream and that Edna imagines her whole affair with Alcée and the drama with Robert. She does have one part of the book where she starts imagining something and perhaps she never stopped? This is a bit of a stretch, but I find such mental investigations intriguing.
I would also mention that this is a very psychologically interesting book as well. Chopin does an excellent job of showing Edna’s psyche and why she feels the way she does. The reader’s emotions follow the same arc as those of Edna’s. I was saddened to come to the end of the book.
This particular edition of the novel contains many short stories by the author; however, I have not read them yet; so far I have only read The Awakening. That is the only one I can speak about in depth. But I can definitely say that I would highly recommend reading it to all!
Marshmallow’s Rating: 98%.
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