The awakening

'the voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude'when 'the awakening' was first published in 1899, charges of sordidness and immorality seemed to consign it into obscurity and irreparably damage its author's reputation. but a century after her death, it is widely regarded as kate chopin's great achievement. through careful, subtle changes of style, chopin shows the transformation of edna pontellier, a young wife and mother, who - with tragic consequences - refuses to be caged by married and domestic life, and claims for herself moral and erotic freedom. the penguin english library - collectable general readers' editions of the best fiction in english, from the eighteenth century to the end of the second world war.