Though published in 1899, The Awakening warrants inclusion in this list for the distinctly 20th-century sensibility with which it depicts Edna Pontellier's radical march toward sexual and emotional freedom. Kate Chopin (1851-1904) was born and raised in St. Louis, moving to New Orleans after her marriage to Oscar Chopin. She began writing after her husband's death, publishing two collections of short fiction set among the Creoles and Cajuns of southern Louisiana; based on these stories, Chopin was labeled a "local colorist." The Awakening produced much hostile criticism because of its sympathetic portrait of a woman who chooses to reject marriage and motherhood, and the novel was banned by St. Louis libraries. Chopin's reputation has been salvaged by feminist critics, however, who see in the novel an early portrait of a woman who chooses a final independence over even a pleasantly constrained life.
Times
Kate Chopin is a pioneer in the treatment of sexuality in American literature… She does not speak only to women,but she speaks most powerfully about them.
About the Author, Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, In 1851. She began writing shortly after her Husband's death and, from 1889 until her own Death, her stories and other miscellaneous Writings appeared in Vogue, Youth's companion, Atlantic Monthly, Century, Saturday Evening Post, and other publications. In addition to The Awakening, Mrs. Chopin published another novel, At Fault, and two collections of short stories and sketches, Bayou Folk and A Night at Acadie. The publication of The Awakening in 1899 occasioned shocked and angry response from reviewers all over the country. The book was taken off the shelves of the St. Louis mercantile library and its author was barred from the fine arts club. Kate Chopin died in 1904.
