The Awakening (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

The Awakening (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

<DIV> <DIV> <P>When first published in 1899, <I>The Awakening</I> shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity. Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken aback by Chopin's daring portrayal of a woman trapped in a stifling marriage, who seeks and finds passionate physical love outside the straitened confines of her domestic situation.<BR>Aside from its unusually frank treatment of a then-controversial subject, the novel is widely admired today for its literary qualities. Edmund Wilson characterized it as a work "quite uninhibited and beautifully written, which anticipates D. H. Lawrence in its treatment of infidelity."<BR>Although the theme of marital infidelity no longer shocks, few novels have plumbed the psychology of a woman involved in an illicit relationship with the perception, artistry, and honesty that Kate Chopin brought to <I>The Awakening</I>. Now available in this inexpensive edition, it offers a powerful and provocative reading experience to modern readers.</DIV></DIV>