The Awakening And Selected Stories Of Kate Chopin

As part of the Interactive Library Network, Teen.com and W3T.com, Inc. present the full text of "The Awakening," a novel written by the American author Katherine Chopin (1851-1904), who was known as Kate Chopin. Full-text versions of selected short stories by Chopin are also available online. The stories include "Beyond the Bayou," "Desiree's Baby," "The Kiss," and "A Pair of Silk Stockings."

The poignant story of a woman who pursues love outside of her restrictive marriage in turn-of-the-century New Orleans.

The Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle between her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South.

In late 19th-century New Orleans, social constraints are strict, especially for a married woman. Edna Pontellier leads a secure life with her husband and two children, but her restlessness grows within the confined societal norms, and the expectations placed upon her – from her husband and the world around her – create increasing pressure. During a trip to Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana, her life is turned upside down by an intense love affair, and passion forces her to question the foundations of her – and every woman’s – existence. Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening caused a scandal with its outspokenness when it was published in 1899. The novel’s openly sexual themes and disregard for marital and societal conventions led to it not being reprinted for fifty years. It wasn't until the 1950s that Chopin’s work was rediscovered, and The Awakening received significant acclaim. Today, it is not only seen as an early feminist milestone but also as a classic. KATE CHOPIN [1851–1904] was born in St Louis. She had six children during her marriage, and it wasn't until after her husband's death in 1882 that she emerged as a writer. She published short stories in magazines such as Vogue and The Atlantic, gaining appreciation and recognition for her depictions of the American South. However, she was also criticized for her disregard for social traditions and racial barriers.

At Fault (1890) is a novel by American author Kate Chopin. Published at the author’s expense, At Fault is the undervalued debut of a pioneering feminist and gifted writer who sought to portray the experiences of Southern women struggling to survive in an era decimated by war and economic hardship. Thérèse Lafirme is a Creole widow whose husband’s death has made the Place-du-Bois plantation on the Cane River in northwestern Louisiana her sole responsibility. Struggling to survive in a region that, following the fall of the Confederacy, has failed to recover from the devastation of defeat, Lafirme agrees to sell her land’s timber rights to a recently divorced businessman named David Hosmer. As the two begin to fall in love, Hosmer’s sawmill causes tension in an agrarian community unaccustomed to modern industry. Hosmer proposes to Thérèse, she is forced to consider the prospect of marriage against the opinion her community as well as her own moral and religious values, to set her personal desires aside in order to appease tradition. When Fanny, Hosmer’s alcoholic ex-wife, re-enters the picture, trouble ensues that threatens to ruin Lafirme’s reputation as an honest, hardworking woman. At Fault, like much of Chopin’s work, went largely unnoticed upon publication, but has since garnered critical acclaim as a work that explores the lived experiences of women and racial minorities during a period of political and economic upheaval. Both fictional and autobiographical—Chopin was a widow of French heritage who struggled to provide for her family following her husband’s death—At Fault is an underappreciated masterpiece of nineteenth-century literature. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Kate Chopin’s At Fault is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

A reprint of the 1899 novel about Edna Pontellier, a Victorian-era wife and mother who is awakened to the full force of her desire for love and freedom when she becomes enamored with Robert LeBrun, a young man she meets while on vacation. Also includes the short stories: Beyond the bayou -- Ma'ame Pelagle -- Desiree's baby -- A Respectable woman -- The Kiss -- A Pair of silk stockings -- The Locket -- A Reflection.

In one volume, the two short-story collections that established Kate Chopin as one of America's best-loved realist writers. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Published for the first time as Chopin intended, this is a collection of her most innovative stories, including "The Story of an Hour," "An Egyptian Cigarette," and "The Kiss." For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.