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The Awakening Study Guide

by Kate Chopin

The Awakening study guide contains a biography of Kate Chopin, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

In Kate Chopin's The Awakening, the protagonist Edna Pontellier learns to think of herself as an autonomous human being and rebels against social norms by leaving her husband Leónce and having an affair. The first half of the novel takes place in Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana. Over the summer it is inhabited by upper-class Creole families from New Orleans who go there to escape from the heat and to relax by the ocean. During the week, the women and children stay on the island, while the men return to the city to work.

During the summer, Edna Pontellier meets a young gallant named Robert Lebrun, whose mother rents out the cottages on the island. The two spend almost all their time together, and Edna greatly enjoys his…

Read the full The Awakening Summary

• The Awakening Summary
• About The Awakening
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 1-3
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 4-6
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 7-9
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 10-12
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 13-15
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 16-18
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 19-21
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 22-24
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 25-27
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 28-30
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 31-33
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 34-36
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 37-39
• Related Links on The Awakening
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• The Awakening: Essays
• The Awakening: E-Text
• The Awakening: Questions
• The Awakening: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Kate Chopin: Biography