Published in 1899, The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a married woman in the Creole society of fin-de-siècle New Orleans who undergoes a profound transformation as she awakens to her own desires, artistic ambition, and need for autonomy. Kate Chopin’s frank treatment of female interiority and sexuality was so far ahead of its time that the novel was largely suppressed for decades after publication.
Rediscovered in the 1960s and 70s, The Awakening is now recognized as a masterpiece of American Realism and a crucial precursor to twentieth-century feminist fiction. Download this free public-domain EPUB at Better Gutenberg.