Chopin, Kate The Awakening Medium Literature Genre Novel (229 pp.) Keywords Freedom, Grief, Love, Marital Discord, Sexuality, Society, Suicide, Women's Health Summary Edna Pontellier, an aristocrat from late nineteenth-century New Orleans, goes on vacation with her husband and children. There she meets and falls in love with Robert Lebrun. She also learns to swim, returns to her painting, and listens to the passionate piano playing of eccentric Mademoiselle Reisz. For the first time, Edna feels alive. …showed first 75 words of 273 total…

…showed last 75 words of 273 total…is opposed to characters like Madame Ratignolle whose affection for her children is renowned, as is her perfect female passivity. It is worth noting that Edna does not face any explicit oppression. She is merely expected to run the house, care for the children and do her best to please her husband. Nevertheless, she finds the role unbearable. She can not give her life, her identity, to others. It is better to die. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**