“The Awakening” by Kate Chopin

I don’t like writing reviews of the books that left me frustrated, and that’s why I haven’t written one for “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, even though I finished reading it a while ago.

Still, for the sake of objectivity, I’ve finally decided to share my thoughts about this novel.

I don’t want to sound nasty, but the first thing that comes to mind is that “The Irresponsibility” would be a more fitting title for this book rather than “The Awakening”. I am a woman. I do appreciate the equal rights the feminists of the past had fought for. I wouldn’t want not to have voting rights and other things modern women take for granted, although we’ve been enjoying them for a relatively short time. Having said that, for the life of me, I fail to see how a pampered wife of a well-off gentleman – who isn’t mistreating her physically or emotionally – bored with her comfortable existence, who obviously doesn’t feel maternal love for her children, can be viewed as a manifestation of women’s liberation from pressing society norms.

Again, I probably sound like a prudish matron, the type who documents her motherhood starting from the moment when she finds out that a foetus is growing in her body, then reads every book on baby nutrition and physiology, and then attends the Montessori classes with her kids. Although I admire women who can devote themselves to motherhood so completely, I am, alas, not that kind of mother. I find many aspects of motherhood challenging, and I don’t think I could fill my Instagram feed with perfect pictures of my son and me, try as I might. On a regular day, we aren’t particularly Instagram-ish, to say the least.

The way the author portrays Edna suggests that she isn’t a ‘Montessori-classes-attending’ type of mother. Which is perfectly fine. It shouldn’t be expected from a woman that becoming a mother automatically transforms her into a cute-baby-stuff fan. Still, respecting a woman’s interests doesn’t mean accepting her irresponsible attitude towards her children. Edna, as I mentioned, is a wife of a rich man. She doesn’t have to do everything herself. She has a nanny who does all the hard work, which nowadays most often is the sole responsibility of modern, independent, working women. Even so, it seems that she sees the very fact of having kids as a burden. Her behaviour as a mother, a wife, and a person is downright appalling. I couldn’t feel any sympathy for her ‘hardships’, the cause of which, frankly, was the lack of any obligations towards anyone in Edna’s life.

As I mentioned earlier, it is okay not to feel ecstatic about marriage or motherhood, especially for a woman who lived in the 19^th century, with not many options for self-realisation. But it is not okay to neglect your duties as a mother if it so happens that you already have those kids.

Edna’s actions when she decided to change her life felt illogical and lacked any substance. She took up painting, but she did that to do something a ‘free-spirited’ woman was supposed to do, rather than because she had talent or passion for it. She moved out of the family house, but only because she had money, her husband was away for business, and her kids were also conveniently away, staying with their grandmother. Edna is infantile, self-centred, and not particularly interesting.

I probably wouldn’t have written this review or even rated this book if the edition of “The Awakening” I bought hadn’t contained short stories by the author. These short stories are superb. The plots are poignant and thought-provoking, and the characters vivid and relatable. The curious thing about them is that in one of the stories true issues of women’s inequality are sharply portrayed. I would read more short stories by Kate Chopin if I came across them, and I highly recommend them to other readers.