I read this book over two years ago, and there is only one part that I remember-- the ending; I have never been so thankful for a book to be over in my life, and I have read some dreadful books. The characters were wholly unlikeable, and the plot was incredibly dull. The protagonist was a wavering individual who was impossible to care for. This book reminded me of why I prefer European literature to American literature. Nevertheless, I do not regret reading it because it does appear on many "Greatest books" lists; I can say that I've read it and am able to discuss its dearth of merits at length. ( )

A true American classic, and vital in an understanding of the development of women's roles in American fiction. The cheap Bantam edition is a perfect companion, and includes some of Chopin's better-known short stories. ( )

Chopin did a pretty brilliant job at intentionally creating such a jarringly ambiguous book. Everyone knows, spoileralert, that Edna Our Heroine swims out into the open, freezing waters of the sea, (more than likely) drowning herself in the Awakening’s last lines, but is Edna’s choice a strong one or weak? is she a courageous hero, savior to her family—her children and their reputation especially—or a pusillanimous yellow-bellied adulteress, wrongly breaking against the grain of her community’s strongly Christian traditions and values? Kate Chopin, a traditionalist herself who most definitely would lean towards the latter interpretation, was gracious enough to say “fuck that” and create a great piece of literature that could at any second be interpreted both ways. Chopin did a grand-swell job in creating each character. Well, except maybe Edna’s purposely-neglected children and this Arobin fellah—a supposed playboy. I don’t know who he thinks he is, but his appearance was an embarrassment. How any young women who aren’t damaged and in a particularly vulnerable mindset as Edna was after Robert’s running away to Mexico fall for his nice guy clingy i-love-you-please-please-please-love-me-back-please?-i-refuse-to-leave-until-you-please-say-you-love-me?!?!? bullhonkey I’ll never know.

So anyway Kate Chopin ain’t for me. I was bored. Like, really, really bored. Most of it just felt so darned unremarkable and uninteresting, at least if you’re choosing to ignore the historical context like myself, and the symbolism and foreshadowing with the ocean and the doves and c. was heavy-handed(—IMO). (I’ll concede that the ending was beautifully crafted and was a joy to read—and not just because it was the end.) Since the teacher of the lit. class I read this for surprisingly does not include teaching among his great passions, the ’91 film adaptation was played in place of any serious discussion. I caught only bits and pieces of the last 20 minutes because I was too busy reading As I Lay Dying and being a Cool Person in a lone dark corner, and, beyond the awesome and gratuitous display of (cold) tatties, it was awful awful awful.

60%
[4,835]
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The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude, to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. ( )

Beautifully tragic. I really enjoyed Edna's journey of self discovery. The fact that it was written in the late 1800's fascinated me. I would be interested to read more by Kate Chopin. ( )

I enjoyed this book. I didn't expect to. The language used and the character pictures painted were really good. The only thing that stopped me from another half star was the ending. I didn't see it coming so it was good from that aspect but it left me high and dry and unhappy. I guess that makes it good too, a good novel should extract emotion from the reader. However, this old romantic would have liked something a bit more positive. ( )