The Awakening

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you know that I've been working through a list of the hundred greatest novels of all time. Of course, determining which books belong on such a list is a very subjective process. I found this list in college and liked how it defined novel in a stricter sense and so have been using it as my guide in this reading adventure. The Awakening by Kate Chopin ranked as number sixty-three on the list, and I hadn't given it a second thought until Jen's roommate Paige saw the list and exclaimed, "The Awakening?!? That's one of my favorite books ever!" So Paige, I decided to read this book because of you.

The Awakening was first published in 1899 and was met with public criticism and private applause. The novel and the responses to the novel itself depict the general social construct of the time. The Awakening is the story of a young married woman, Edna Pontellier, living in New Orleans. Throughout the novel, she becomes frustrated with her identity as a mother, as a wife, as a woman; through a series of events, Edna performs actions which challenge societal expectations at the time. The end of the novel is rather open-ended and the reader is left to determine whether or not Edna finally did discover her ideal identity, or at least come to terms with her identity as it was.

The novel is written beautifully; I found it easy to get wrapped up in the storyline and characters and often found myself reading several chapters at a time without realizing how much time I spent with the book. It is a shorter novel, so if you're looking for a good, short read, this one is an excellent choice. And once you've read it, we can discuss the morality of the characters ad naseum if you like.

My current choice from the list is: Dracula.