The Awakening by Kate Chopin was first published in 1899, but, as has been the case with several of the books we’ve read in the Simply Stunning Classic Book Club, its themes are relevant today. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Set in New Orleans and the Louisiana Gulf coast, the novel had a mixed reception upon publication, and while never technically banned, it was censored and considered immoral for its portrayal of female sexual desire and the way Edna, the protagonist, went against the gender and social norms of the day in her search for self.

While Chopin was held up as being an early feminist, she was quick to say she was neither a feminist nor a suffragist; she just took women seriously.

This novel reminded all three of us of Mrs Dalloway and Anna Karenina, and, like those books, considers the price of female freedom and the question still being asked: can women have it all?

At the end (this was a difficult one to discuss without spoilers, so if you intend to read the novel and don’t want to know what happens…), Edna realises that the only control she has is over her own body and sense of self.

Anyways, have a listen…

Next month: We’re discussing Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

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