The Awakening and Selected Stories (Penguin Classics)

Book Description

The Awakening shocked turn-of-the-century readers and reviewers with its treatment of sex and suicide. In a departure from literary convention, Kate Chopin failed to condemn her heroine's desire for an affair with the son of a Louisiana resort owner, whom she meets on vacation. The power of sensuality, the delusion of ecstatic love, and the solitude that accompanies the trappings of middle- and upper-class convention are themes of this now-classic novel.

The book was influenced by French writers ranging from Flaubert to Maupassant, and can be seen as a precursor of the impressionistic, mood-driven novels of Virginia Woolf and Djuna Barnes. Variously called "vulgar," "unhealthily introspective," and "morbid," the book was neglected for several decades, not least because it was written by a "regional" woman writer. This edition also includes selected stories from Kate Chopin's Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie, and an introduction and notes by Nina Baym.

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The Awakening shocked turn-of-the-century readers and reviewers with its treatment of sex and suicide. In a departure from literary convention, Kate Chopin failed to condemn her heroine's desire for an affair with the son of a Louisiana resort owner, whom she meets on vacation. The power of sensuality, the delusion of ecstatic love, and the solitude that accompanies the trappings of middle- and upper-class convention are the themes of this now-classic novel. The book was influenced by French writers ranging from Flaubert to Maupassant, and can be seen as a precursor of the impressionistic, mood-driven novels of Virginia Woolf and Djuna Barnes. Variously called "vulgar, " "unhealthily introspective, " and "morbid, " the book was neglected for several decades, not least because it was written by a "regional" woman writer. This edition also includes selected stories from Kate Chopin's Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie, and an introduction and notes by Nina Baym.

Customer Reviews:

Supremely important rediscovery.......2004-06-25

The author, Kate Chopin, began to write when she was age thirty six. She had a ten year productive career the introduction by Nina Baym discloses. She died at age fifty three. Her work went out of print to be revived in the early 1960's. She wrote two novels and close to one hundred stories following the death of her husband and her mother.

Women, including Kate Chopin, writing after the Civil War turned to regionalism. By 1893 railroads had wrought a tremendous change. Regional writing, as the introduction points out, is tourism of the imagination. The stories are short and skilfully done. Even the use of dialect for the Cajun and Creole speakers is not off-putting. The stories have a wonderful stripped down to the essence quality. One is reminded of Chekhov.

In THE AWAKENING it is noted that the summer colony staying at the Lebrun cottages are almost entirely Creole. An exception is Edna Pontellier. She came from old Presbyterian Kentucky stock. Even as a child Edna tended to live in her own world. She feels a sense a of exaltation when she learns to swim. She has children, a husband, and becomes infatuated with a young friend, Robert Lebrun. Later Robert leaves to go to Mexico. Returning to New Orleans, Edna spends time with the people she has met at Grand Isles. Her husband is caught up in his household furnishings. When she decides to leave to live by herself in a smaller house, he prudently closes their large marital house to avoid gossip. Her absolute disregard for her duties as a wife shocks her husband. Her doctor can find no trace of the morbid condition ascribed to her. Robert Lebrun returns. He shows reserve. Leonce her husband and her children are part of Edna's life. She yields to the water of the gulf.

Kate Chopin was a writer of major achievement. One regrets, as outlined in the introduction, that there were no literary works produced by her in the last five years of her life. She was discouraged by the critical and moralistic response to her masterpiece, THE AWAKENING.

Thought-provoking.......2001-02-20

In "The Awakening", a woman rejects the drudgery of her life and decides to live selfishly, for once. Kate Chopin captivates her readers with a story of transformation and growth, and writes with clarity and ease. Perhaps most enjoyable about "The Awakening" and Kate Chopin's short stories is the vivid New Orleans setting. Chopin pays attention to the charms of Louisiana in this novel--Creole cooking and language, Southern black and French mannerisms of the time--not limiting herself by focusing on members of the elite. Definitely worth checking out!

The quintessential edition of an essential work........1998-07-29

Like far too many, I was first introduced to Chopin in college. As an educator, I find Chopin's work to be timeless. Chopin speaks to contemporay society--and especially American society--in ways that few authors can and do. I use "The Awakening," as one of the cornerstones (yes; one may have more than one cornerstone) of my literature class--a class that relies on trade publications rather than anthologies and "typical" textbooks for reading material. One of the unexpected rewards I have experienced while teaching this novel is that male students, generally speaking, truly enjoy the work. Given its content and storyline, one might expect the opposite to be true. Nonetheless, the novel speaks to readers of all ages and genders. I believe that virtually ANYONE will identify with the characters Chopin brings to life in "The Awakening." Not only is it the story of a woman in search of her identity--arguably, a rather Maslowian tale of ! "self-actualization"--it is the story of the human condition.

Additionally, given the story of Chopin's life, the book takes on even greater significance (sorry, but you'll have to read the book to understand why I feel this to be so).

This book is a MUST read for all who seek to dispell the myth of "June Cleaver." (Ya, I know I am not suposed to say that but this is one VERY cool book--a book that EVERYONE should read.)

Besides, "The Awakening" itself is short enough and compelling enough that one will finish it in a matter of a few evenings. That the Penguin version also contains Chopin's EXCELLENT short stories, and a good deal of equally excellent biographical and critical writing regarding the author and her works makes grabbing a copy for one's personal library a must-do.

Book Description

'She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.' Kate Chopin was one of the most individual and adventurous of nineteenth-century american writers, whose fiction explored new and often startling territory. When her most famous story, The Awakening, was first published in 1899, it stunned readers with its frank portrayal of the inner word of Edna Pontellier, and its daring criticisms of the limits of marriage and motherhood. The subtle beauty of her writing was contrasted with her unwomanly and sordid subject-matter: Edna's rejection of her domestic role, and her passionate quest for spiritual, sexual, and artistic freedom. From her first stories, Chopin was interested in independent characters who challenged convention. This selection, freshly edited form the first printing of each text, enables readers to follow her unfolding career as she experimented with a broad range of writing, from tales for children to decadent fin-de siecle sketches. The Awakening is set alongside thirty-two short stories, illustrating the spectrum of the fiction from her first published stories to her 1898 secret masterpiece, 'The Storm'.

Customer Reviews:

Overrated "Classic".......2007-05-30

I had been urged to read "The Awakening" several times, and had heard the word "classic" used to describe this book, so I thought I'd check it out. And while I understand that this must have been controversial when it first appeared, this same theme has been done much better by later writers. This is a BORING read. Not much happens. There isn't much conflict. I didn't like or sypathize with the main character, who comes off as selfish and cold. I would not recommend this, except in a study of feminist literature. The other stories are pretty much the same as the title story -- slow and plodding. I'm a fan of literature and theme, but this is light on both. Avoid this book.

Worth reading (The Awakening).......2003-09-21

This book is certainly not for the illiterate dime novel crowd. It is a story of one woman's struggle to find herself within the narrow confines of Victorian society. The situations and characters are well developed and some literacy in French is helpful but not required. If you read a bit about Kate Chopin the main character seems to be fairly autobiographical at least where rebellion from female conformity was concerned. The book is not a new idea, a person finding their wings and learning to fly. But the idea of a female doing this in Victorian society was brand new. The book was considered obscene and subversive at the time and that alone makes it worth reading.

a counterpoint to the last review.......2001-05-09

I got turned on to KC in college through one story--The Storm--and a little background on her (she wrote ahead of her time, was published and then forgotten until the 1960's Feminist Movement dug her up again). She became one of those authors I lodge in the back of my head to investigate later. I happened upon this wonderful book at the book tent at New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest and grabbed it. The book gives a great introduction to her and her time. I was lucky enough to read The Awakening and some of her other short stories while staying at Grand Isle. She was and is a great writer. She wrote from a viewpoint that bucked the norms of her time---the late 1800's, she wrote of women who didnt fit the mold of mommy and wife. She wrote eloquently of an area, era, and culture that I love...New Orleans, Cajun Country, and Grand Isle amongst others. I dont write many reviews, but after reading the only other review for this book I felt a different opinion should be heard. She is a good read.

Yeah, yeah, A sense of SELF.......2001-04-21

I read this because It was listed as a "great book". Why, I don't know. Maybe at the time it was risque. Imagine the horror! A wife, not happy with just being a wife! Soon she begins to realize that she is an indvidual who has her own sexual desires, so she trapses around town with men while her husband is away on business. It was a labor to read this, but I always finish. You however- I would not reccomend picking this up.

Chopin in Paris: The Life and Times of the Romantic Composer

Average customer rating:

It could have been better
Chopin in Paris is for the Literate
Flawed but STILL Fascinating
Interesting, but redundant, judgemental, and poorly paced...
good book on his life and love: music and George Sand

Chopin in Paris: The Life and Times of the Romantic Composer
Tad Szulc
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0306809338

Amazon.com

Frederic Chopin was in many ways a contradictory figure: a passionately patriotic Pole, he left his country for good at the age of 21; frail and almost sexless, he was famous for a seven-year love affair with the novelist George Sand; shy, lonely, and retiring, he was inevitably surrounded by friends and admirers. In Chopin in Paris, biographer Tad Szulc has produced a dishy account of Chopin's most creative and tempestuous period, his 18-year sojourn in France. It's also a portrait of a unique time, when musical and artistic luminaries such as Chopin, Balzac, Hugo, Liszt, Berlioz, Delacroix, and Schumann ran in the same heady Parisian circles.

What it's not is a detailed study of Chopin's music. The author of critically praised books about Fidel Castro and Pope John Paul II, Szulc sets out in search of Chopin the man, "the human dimension" he finds missing in other, more musically oriented biographies. What he finds is not always attractive; tortured through much of his life by physical and psychological illness, Chopin emerges as an often fussy, distant, manipulative man, as well as something of a snob. It's a tribute to his genius as a composer, Szulc writes, that he was befriended by some of the greatest minds of his age, including the larger-than-life figure of George Sand: "Fryderyk Chopin gave the world a treasure in music. The world gave Chopin a treasure in human beings." Commendably, Szulc refrains from editorializing about the composer's life and habits, in particular Chopin's break with Sand. Instead, he allows his wealth of primary sources--including diaries, memoirs, letters, and Chopin's own brief journal--to speak for themselves.

Book Description

First time in paperback: The acclaimed biography of Chopin focusing on his 18 years in Paris at the center of a dazzling circle that included Hugo, Balzac, Stendhal, Delacroix, Liszt, Berlioz, and George Sand

Born in Poland in 1810, Chopin emigrated to Vienna at age eighteen-and then to Paris, where from 1831 to 1849 he would spend almost half of his brief and tumultuous life. In Paris his extraordinary powers would reach their height and he would shine among the immensely talented writers, painters, and musicians who were working there and defining their era. Chopin's other acquaintances ranged from Rothschild to Marx-and it was here that he began his long and stormy relationship with the novelist George Sand. In Chopin in Paris-a New York Times Notable Book-Tad Szulc brings to life this complex, contradictory genius, and re-creates an unsurpassed epoch of European history, culture, and music.

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Born in Poland in 1810, Chopin emigrated to Vienna at age eighteen -- and then to Paris, where from 1831 to 1849 he would spend almost half of his brief and tumultuous life. In Paris his extraordinary powers would reach their height and he would shine among the immensely talented writers, painters, and musicians who were working there and defining their era. Chopin's other acquaintances ranged from Rothschild to Marx -- and it was here that he began his long and stormy relationship with the novelist George Sand. In Chopin in Paris -- a New York Times Notable Book -- Tad Szulc brings to life this complex, contradictory genius, and re-creates an unsurpassed epoch of European history, culture, and music.

Customer Reviews:

It could have been better.......2006-08-31

I'm just reaching the middle of Chopin in Paris right now, and I already have a list of complaints that have become irritating. The book follows Chopin's life from childhood to his death, focusing primarily on the period of his self-selected Parisian exile. Other reviewers have noted the special place this moment holds in European cultural history and, if this is of interest to readers, they should peruse The Parisian World of Frederick Chopin by William Atwood. That work is an exhaustive socio-politico-cultural history of the period, interesting and colorfully written. While it only touches on Chopin peripherally, it explains the why's and how's of Paris as certainly the musical and probably the cultural center of Europe at that time.

Mr. Szulc's book does have its strong points. A recently written, authoritative account of Chopin's life is certainly overdue, and Szulc attempts this. He depends largely on textual sources, obviously, and much of what he says appears at first glance to be documented. For example, Szulc does treat George Sand very evenhandedly, letting the evidence speak for itself. Many, many writers have painted Sand as a depraved, blood-sucking harpy who robbed Chopin of his life, and Szulc resists the temptation. He relies heavily on the Andre Maurois biography of Sand and the correspondence in hand, and this presents a more fair and balanced picture of their relationship. On the plus side, Szulc manages to make it sound very dishy, heightening the interest.

Many things detract from the effort, however, firstly his use of purple ink. Szulc undercuts his own credibility with a turgid, wordy style and the use of hyperbole to describe every event. He often sounds like a partisan trying to convince the reader that Chopin's accomplishments are so great that they prove the superiority of Polish (or French, or I don't know whose) culture, and this is completely unnecessary and very distracting. Chopin did have his detractors early on in the 20th century, but today everyone accepts that Chopin was a genius, his works are masterpieces, and his influence can be felt and heard everywhere subsequently. Chopin carved out an international reputation for his playing alone on the basis of 30 public concerts he gave in his adult life, blowing almost all his peers out of the water in a couple of swift strokes and making Liszt his only serious competitor on the stage. I know of several concert artists alive today who do 30 concerts in 2-months' time as a part of their regular season, so by itself this would make Chopin's accomplishment extraordinary. All of the adjectival puffery just makes it harder to take seriously.

Szulc makes Chopin's sexuality an issue, and he handles the subject most unfortunately. To start with, Szulc bends over backwards to argue that Chopin wasn't gay in a fashion that borders on the offensive. He takes some early letters written to a male childhood friend and tries very lamely to explain that Chopin didn't really mean the epithets he larded the text with (can we say "latency period?"). Szulc is obviously uncomfortable by the profusion of physical affection described there, yet he doesn't bother to explain it in terms of the differing standards of propriety and convention of the day. Enough research has been done regarding this subject that these sentiments appear innocuous and entirely lacking in sexual intent when taken in context. Unless of course, Chopin had a secret, closeted life. The sexuality of many great cultural figures has been argued spuriously for a while now, notably Tchaikovsky and Schubert. If people are going to bring it up, then the subject now deserves a serious, scholarly treatment. Szulc avoids this, doing his readers a disservice by giving them an embarrassed shiver in its place when touching on any aspect of Chopin's love life. While it is doubtful that Chopin was even bisexual, myths and legends persist. Szulc does not explore the matter in any meaningful way that would lay the question to rest.

Then there is Chopin's mental state. Chopin had a number of personality quirks, especially his hesitancy, his aristocratic manner and certain prejudices prevalent in his letters, and Szulc brings these to the fore. He also spends a good deal of the page in a tiresome and unconvincing effort to analyze the soi-disant `link' between mental instability and creativity, quoting a couple of doctors and psychological experts. Was Chopin really schizoid or bipolar, as Szulc asserts? It's very, very hard to say without any clinical evidence (and there isn't any), yet Szulc takes it as a foregone conclusion that Chopin was, mostly because of his genius, and he concludes that other major artistic figures of the day were also, again because of their genius. I thought people had given that theory up along with the Oedipus Complex long ago! In his defense, Chopin had a diagnosis of consumption early in his life, and he spent the rest of it in indifferent or failing health because of his disease. I can't imagine anyone waking up in the morning in a good mood if they were facing that every single day of their lives. Additionally, the pressures of celebrity certainly heightened Chopin's characterological flaws, a reaction we see today in much-less-talented Hollywood celebrities unable to cope with their fame. Is this to say that Chopin' creativity pushed him to the "edge of madness"? I don't think so, and Szulc just seems to be guessing.

Lastly, Szulc's practice of citing sources is confusing and spotty. The book does have a bibliography, but Szulc dispenses with end- or footnotes in the text. He defends this practice in the preface, saying that the references are cited directly in the text and notes are therefore unnecessary. But I've been looking in the bibliography for two days now for a journal article he quoted as a medical reference, and I can't find it there.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. He doesn't talk about the music. Not really, and this is just a shame. Chopin was a leading exponent in the use of chromatic harmony and the evolution, transmogrification really, of formal rhythmic structures from the classical sonata of Haydn, Mozart and even Beethoven, into the very free yet harmonically complex forms that came about later in the 19th century. It is this use of chromatic harmony and coloring, and no other, that makes Chopin's music and that of his contemporaneous peers groundbreaking and as highly influentual as it turned out to be. It is not too much to say that, thanks to Chopin and his contemporaries, Debussy, Stravinsky and Schoenberg became possible. But we don't get that. Instead we are treated to an overblown and even lurid description of the subjective emotional content of the works, without any explanation of "why". Too bad, because an accessible discussion of the musical style would be of great benefit to anyone interested in music. I am reminded of how other non-musicians such as Will and Ariel Durant very succesfully present this subject in interesting yet non-technical terms, so there's no reason why anyone else can't.

Other reviewers have pointed out that there isn't a good, authoritative biography of Chopin available, and I'm sad to say the current effort falls short on several counts. I can't help thinking that this book would have been much better if it had been written by Maynard Solomon.

Chopin in Paris is for the Literate .......2005-02-27

The most fantastic level of detail, insight and analysis on Chopin! However, the depth and sophistication rendered by Tad Szulc is done so in a manner that the typical English reader (with a poor command of the language) will find difficult. If you are a literate reader this is the ultimate book for the Chopin enthusiast.

Flawed but STILL Fascinating.......2004-07-12

I'm glad I gave this book a chance because I enjoyed it quite a lot. Why only 4 stars? A good editor would have cut out some repetitious details. It's annoying, but don't let it stop you from reading it.

The tragedy of Chopin's short life was consumption (tuberculosis of the lungs). You'll marvel that he could give lessons and even perform in public when he seemed to be perpetually short of breath. In this sense, it's a story of triumphing over the odds.

In another sense, it's a love story, i.e., his 8 year affair with George Sand (aka Aurore Dudevant). These were years of extraordinary creativity for Chopin. Their breakup was like many another - faults on both sides, misplaced pride, lack of communication, friends taking sides, etc.

Your heart will break for Chopin in this final tragedy, particularly since we all know (with the benefit of hindsight) that his time was running short and his strength was failing. And he couldn't quite forget her, pathetically asking about her through her grown children. Was she at his bedside when he breathed his last? You'll have to read the book.

One test of a good book (for me) is whether it inspires and opens the door onto other books. This book easily passes that test. Not only does it make me want to read more about Chopin and his friends, but when I listen to his music, I am more moved than ever.

Interesting, but redundant, judgemental, and poorly paced..........2002-10-27

This book is well written from the standpoint of sustaining a narrative based purely on personal facts and historical data, and in making one person's life interesting to people now far removed from his time, but the book really begins to slow down and become pedantic somewhere near the middle. It is the fault of poor editing, I believe, and the inclusion of several strange passages where the writer interjects his own opinions or judgements both on Chopin's character and the times he lived in were just redundant, annoying, and superfluous. By the time you finish reading the book your respect for Chopin will probably be lessened noticeably, not only because the writer seems to always dwell on what he considers the "faults" of the musician's character, but also because the unending reiteration of their cataloguing becomes fatiguing by the end. Who cares, really? Does it matter when listening to this man's Nocturnes or Polonaises or the incredible Etudes that he was a good businessman, extremely "careful" with his money, and that he was anti-semetic, often verbally abusing his Jewish music publishers? Does it matter that Chopin was a hypochondriac, a gossip, a manipulative, immature, emotionally-inept recluse? Will it matter to you? You will have to decide after reading this book, as all the "sordid" details of his life are open to your perusal. When confronted by Chopin's "faults" and "sins" or "defects of character" I was not impressed in the least. In fact, even though the author goes out of his way to make one aware of these things, nothing he could say really surprised me, and the attempts on his part to prejudice the reader seemed clumsy and ill-handled. A better writer would have been persuasive, the would-be moralist Szulc ends up merely berating and nagging. There are better biographies out there.

good book on his life and love: music and George Sand.......2002-10-08

This book is a great read for anyone interested in learning more about Chopin and his love for music. You also get to learn about his love interest in George Sand. Szulc does a great job of keeping the material interesting as Chopin's contributions for all of time.

Book Description

Choice collection of 13 stories includes "Life in the Iron Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis, Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat," plus superb fiction by Kate Chopin, Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, many others.

Customer Reviews:

A great find.......2007-01-11

This book is a great read with many classic writers included. It also has a story by Kate Chopin that was never published after the backlash she received from "The Awakening." It's a great story. I did notice this book had a price on the back of $1.99 and I paid far more on Amazon. Boo!

It's surely worth the read.

Worthy collection.......2005-06-17

At first I thought I wasn't going to like this collection very much. Not enough contemporary stories, and I am, after all, a lover of contemporary literature. I get discouraged when I read older novels. The language seems too stiff at times. So, I approached this collection with caution. A good example of what I mean about older writing being slightly formal for my taste was the short story we've all had to read in English Lit classes: "The Yellow Wall-Paper", by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Another example is the opening story, "Life in the Iron-Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis. After a few pages I just hjad to skip them.

That said, I luckily enjoyed most of the stories quite a bit. I think the editor had very good care in choosing stories that had universal appeal. My favorite is "Transcendental Wild Oats", by Louisa May Alcott. I know more than a "nothing-but-organic" zealot who should read this one. I found it amazing that Alcott, back in the late 1800s, was able to offer such accurate criticism of the ridiculous views that some take on behalf of misguided ideals and very few facts.

Another story I enjoyed was "A White Heron" by Sarah Orne Jewett, where a young girl has to choose between her love of the bird on the title and receiving some very needed money in exchange for pointing out its nest to a hunter. I think the whole debate in the girl's mind was very well developed. I also liked Willa Cather's "Paul's Case", with Paul being an eccentric young man who gets used to the high life too soon. And another favorite was "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston, a story full of karma.

Great compilation of American women writers!.......2004-05-03

This compilation of American women is a fantastic introduction to the genre--from the American experience of Rebecca Harding Davis, to the superiorly intelligent prose of Edith Wharton (my personal favorite, although her story here is not my fav.) to the feminist leanings of Kate Chopin and Zora Neale Hurston---I could go on and on. This edition makes a super (and super cheap) travel companion; especially, if like me, you prefer to read short stories when traveling, rather than longer works. This book would make a great gift for a young woman, say age 13 to 25, who would appreciate the varied perspectives on life that these women provide; and its a great way to generate interest in the authors and reading. The stories are very entertaining and thought provocing; the ideas are readily accesible. You certainly cannot go wrong with this edition... I guarantee it will leave you or the lucky recipient wanting more.

Incredible classroom text!.......2004-05-01

As a college student, I am burdened with purchasing many expensive books for classes. "Great Short Stories by American Women," however, was not a burden to purchase at all. The book showcases great works from many great female authors in the late 19th and early 20th century. Zora Neale Hurston, Edith Wharton, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Louisa May Alcott are just a few of the authors featured in the book.

In my class, we spent an hour discussing just one of the stories each day. "Great Short Stories by American Women" is an excellent classroom resource, and is very inexpensive.

Also, I highly recommend "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman for class discussion. It is a compelling piece, and especially interesting to high school and college age students. It makes for an involved discussion.

Alcott! Wharton! Hurston! And more!.......2001-10-09

I was greatly impressed with "Great Short Stories by American Women," the anthology edited by Candace Ward. The stories in this volume were originally published between 1861 and 1930, and represent the work of some of the United States' best writers. The contents of the book are as follows:

Rebecca Harding Davis' "Life in the Iron Mills," a compelling piece of social protest; Louisa May Alcott's "Transcendental Wild Oats," a satiric view of life in a Utopian commune; Sarah Orne Jewett's "A White Heron," a reflection on men, women, and nature; Mary E. Wilkins Freeman's "A New England Nun," about an extended engagement; Charlotte Perkins Gilman's creepy "The Yellow Wall-Paper," about a woman who, diagnosed with "a slight hysterical tendency," is forced to undergo an oppressive treatment; Kate Chopin's lusty, sensuous "The Storm"; Edith Wharton's "The Angel at the Grave," an ironic study of the legacy of a famous philosopher; Willa Cather's "Paul's Case," a tale about a dandyish young man who just can't fit into society; Alice Dunbar-Nelson's "The Stones of the Village," a study of racism, shame, and secrecy; Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers," a murder mystery which the author adapted from her own one-act play entitled "Trifles"; Djuna Barnes' multigenerational family story "Smoke"; Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat," a story of a nightmarishly bad marriage; and Nella Larsen's chilling "Sanctuary."

This is an excellent, richly varied selection of thirteen tales. Unfortunately, the brief intros to each tale and its author commit the two cardinal sins of such intros: (1) They are excessively intrusive, sometimes revealing the stories' endings; and (2) they often leave out relevant information -- such as the knowledge that both Edith Wharton and Susan Glaspell received Pulitzer Prizes for their writing.

Book Description

ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED

BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP

EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:

• A concise introduction that gives readers important background information

• A chronology of the author's life and work

• A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context

• An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations

• Detailed explanatory notes

• Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work

• Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction

• A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.

SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON

Customer Reviews:

katechopin.......2007-08-06

The edition is well done since it has a pretty good introduction to the themes and notes as well as excerpts from critics and suggestions for discussion.

What makes ist 4 instead of 5 stars is actually that the information concerning the stories included in the edition did not correspond to the actual book which was kind of a deception because I was expecting to find "The story of an hour".

Ground breaking story.......2007-01-06

Imagine being a woman living in the south in the late 1800's. You are married, have two children and very comfortable life style--one might argue your life is near perfect. Overtime you come to realize that your life is not fulfilling. Reading Kate Chopin's short story The Awakening will take the reader through a personal passage in a woman's life when options were very limited. Even more astounding is the story was written and published during the time when the story takes place--scandalous.

The other stories in this book will also give the reader insights into the life and times of people living in New Orleans. They too are engaging.

the tragedy of a free lover.......2006-06-26

At the start of the novel, Mrs Pontellier is experiencing the awakening of her consciousness: she is beginning to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her. Her husband, a man of forty, regards her as a valuable piece of personal property. And yet she is the sole "object" of his existence. Why does she seem so little interested in things which concern him? Does she not value his conversation? A vague anguish in Mrs Pontellier is a symptom of something dark developing within. Is this unfamiliar feeling the sign of an inner revolt against Fate? What is the force behind the creation and the dispelling of our moods?

As a young woman of twenty-eight, Edna Pontellier finds herself pondering on the nature of female wisdom. Is it about posing as a mother-as-angel in the home or is there something more? Can a new world be created in front of her, different from the one in which she had been living? Can a woman have access to a kind of wisdom belonging to the spirit, that only men had been previously vouchsafed? Edna is learning the pleasure of getting lost in the maze of inner contemplation. She wants to learn whether life has been the result of accident or the decree of Fate.

The moon, the sea water and Chopin seem to cast a mystic spell upon her soul. Exulting with these feelings, she aims to conquer her own self, a feat prohibited to women at the time. The winter after the summer holidays at Grand Isle, and after her "friend" Robert has gone to Mexico, Edna Pontellier has already given certain steps towards the delirium of selfhood she craves for: she will only do as she pleases, and what she pleases the most is art. Is she not growing a little unbalanced mentally? For her, art is ultimately related to the rights of women. But, does she possess the "absolute" gifts, those which are not acquired by one's effort?

Edna Pontellier considers that it is not to late for her to accomplish her fight for freedom and independence. She plans to move to a tiny house and live by herself. She has resolved never again to belong to anyone but herself. And yet when she does surrender it is not to love but to a momentary passion, perhaps as a consequence of her ennui: "the hopelessness which so often assailed her, which came upon her like an obsession, like something extraneous, independent of volition". Yet every step which she takes towards relieving herself from obligations adds to her strength and expansion as an individual. Can we be indifferent to the consequences of abandoning ourselves to Fate? "She was blindly following whatever impulse moved her, as if she had placed herself in alien hands for direction, and freed her soul of responsibility."

Far ahead of her time.......2004-04-11

Stories include: (Wiser Than a god, A Point at Issue!, A Shameful Affair, Miss McEnders, At the 'Cadian Ball, Desiree's baby, Madame Celestin's Divorce, A Lady of Bayou St. John, La Belle Zoraide A Respectable Woman, The Story of an Hour, Regret, The Kiss, Athenaise, A Pair of Silk Stockings, The Storm, Charlie). Some of the short stories seem repetitive, but The Awakening is wonderful, especially considering when it was written and how much Chopin went through as a result of publishing this scandalous tale. She tells the story of a woman realizing her sexuality and the feminist ideas she conveys are far ahead of her time.

Edna Tries to Break Free.......2002-11-13

Critics during the 1899 gave Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" bad reviews. They were shock at the novel because of the issues that Chopin wrote about. Chopin was devasted; she died never writing again. "The Awakening" was revived by feminist critics that knew the work was facinating, also beautifully written and compose. Now, high schools and college across America read "The Awakening".

The Awakening is about a woman named Edna Pontellier. Edna is unhappy in her life as a mother and wife. She starts to "awaken" from her conventional role of mother and wife to a woman that desires independence to become an individual. Edna does not love her husband nor she wants to be a mother to her two sons.

Edna falls in love with Robert Leburn; Robert goes away to Mexico because he wants to stay away from Edna. He knows that they both have feelings for each other, and he leaves because Edna's reputation will be destroyed if they have a love affair. After Robert leaves, she purchases a quaint little house on the corner; she decides that she needs space away from her wifely and motherly duties. While Robert is gone, Edna has an affair with womanizer, Alcee Abouron.

Robert comes back from Mexico; Edna is glad to see him and wants to rekindle the love that they discovered before he left. Edna is called by her friend, Adele, because she is having her baby.

Edna discovers that she cannot awaken fully from society conventions and restraints that are placed on her. She realizes if there was a way that Robert and her could be together, eventually, he would stop loving her. She realizes during her time society will not let her be the woman that she wants and needs to be.

Book Description

Written with grace, delicate humor and a keen understanding of the female psyche are 9 portraits of black and white inhabitants of Louisiana's bayou and urban areas. Includes "A Night in Acadie," "A Respectable Woman," "The Dream of an Hour," and the title story. A masterful collection of Chopin's short stories.

Customer Reviews:

Creol blues.......2003-01-25

I came on this book by chance, having never heard or Kate Chopin or her more famous book "The Awakening." This slim volume of short stories is my only experience with her still.

The easy pace of the stories, the charming lilt and rhythm of the dialogs, gives a good impression of bayou life, something that I am not very familiar with. Pace is something in common with all of the selections, with none of the characters getting very excited or overwrought, even in the midst of a fight or falling in love. "The Big Easy," they call it, and I believe it from these tales. They are small, psychological portraits, well written and engaging.

"Desirees Baby" was an almost Lovecraftian psychological horror tale, of hidden ancestries creeping unwanted across generations. "The Dream of an Hour" is in a similar vein, with a twist ending. Most of the stories are gentle, understated love stories both romantic ("A Night in Acadie") sad ("At the Cadian Ball," "Azelie,"), forbidden ("A Respectable Woman") and funny ("Madame Celestins Divorce.") I must admit to being charmed by each love story, and hoped the best for everyone involved. "A Pair of Silk Stockings" and "A Gentleman of the Bayou Teche" are both brief glimpses into a small world, and equally good.

I am glad to be introduced to Kate Chopin, and look forward to seeking out "The Awakening."

A Bargain.......2002-04-09

The first story alone was worth the [money] I paid for this book. It was a sad, gentle social commentary (or maybe not so gentle) that seems very much like the work of someone who would raise so much public outcry (for "The Awakening") that she would never be published again. One or two of the stories struck me as being bitter, but the others were up to her current day reputation. Many of the stories hinge on careful character studies of Acadians, the Acadians being descendants of French families relocated to the United States when Canada become unarguably British. The French dialect used in some of the stories only made the collection richer, in my mind. It would have seemed false to have these people speaking proper English. On reading the other reviews, I tend to agree that it might be a good idea to skip this book and buy Bayou Folk or another more thorough collection. If you know you love Kate Chopin's writing, do that. Otherwise, this collection is a good introduction although it can't beat "The Awakening."

Translation, please.......2001-02-08

Some of these stories were a mere five pages long, so when i first started reading this collection, i thought i'd be done in no time at all. Of course, i had not realized Kate Chopin had some of her characters speak in dialect. This is something that i have never been able to overcome. There is a reason why written language is standardized, so that it is comprehensible! I don't care if it's in English or Spanish; i have a hard time going through that kind of text. Those stories took me a long time to read, and eventually i lost interest and skipped through entire paragraphs.

The best story, in my opinion, is the one that gives name to the collection. We are creature comforts, and need the occasional pampering. The woman in the story lets herself be spoiled just for one day, no matter how good and unselfish her intentions were for the money. I can identify with her weakness.

The 'romantic' stories were quite bland, and that, combined with the incomprehensible Acadian-speak, did not leave me with a good impression about this author.

A Pair of Silk Stockings.......2000-02-17

Truthfully, I have not read this whole book. What I have read, however, is Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" (which was wonderful) and the title story for this book--"A Pair of Silk Stockings." In my opinion, both were wonderful and everyone should read Chopin. "...Silk Stockings" is a wonderful, meaningful piece although I suppose that some people just cannot see the true depth of such a story.

Mish-Mash.......1999-12-12

Of course I love all of Kate Chopin's work, but this collection overlaps with both Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie (which one can purchase from Penguin Classics in a complete volume). The only real treasure in this book is a story that may be tricky to find: The Dream of an Hour. The title story is no great shakes. I would recommend buying her more comprehensive collections of stories and using this booklet (9 stories) as a filler for a few missing works. At 80 cents, who can loose?

The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin (Masters of Music)

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The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin (Masters of Music)
Jim Whiting
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 1584152451

Book Description

Frederic Chopin left his Polish homeland when he was 20 and lived most of his life in Paris, France. His genius as a pianist and composer flowered there with the encouragement and support of female novelist George Sand. He wrote more than 200 works for piano during his life, which was tragically cut short by tuberculosis at age 39. His heart was taken from his body and returned to Poland, where he remains a national hero.

Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories: At Fault / Bayou Folk / A Night in Acadie / The Awakening / Uncollected Stories (Library of America)

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A Fine Collection
Story of the Hour
"The story of an hour" by Kate Chopin
Rich and rewarding

Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories: At Fault / Bayou Folk / A Night in Acadie / The Awakening / Uncollected Stories (Library of America)
Kate Chopin
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Unveiling Kate Chopin
Edith Wharton: Vol.2 Collected Stories 1911-1937 (Library of America)
Edith Wharton: Vol 1. Collected Stories:1891-1910 (Library of America)
Willa Cather: Stories, Poems, and Other Writings (Library of America)
Willa Cather : Later Novels : A Lost Lady / The Professor's House / Death Comes for the Archbishop / Shadows on the Rock / Lucy Gayheart / Sapphira and the Slave Girl (The Library of America)

ASIN: 1931082219
Release Date: 2002-09-26

Book Description

From ruined Louisiana plantations to bustling, cosmopolitan New Orleans, Kate Chopin wrote with unflinching honesty about propriety and its strictures, the illusions of love and the realities of marriage, and the persistence of a past scarred by slavery and war. Her stories of fiercely independent women, culminating in her masterpiece The Awakening (1899), challenged contemporary mores as much by their sensuousness as their politics, and today seem decades ahead of their time. Now, The Library of America collects all of Chopin's novels and stories as never before in one authoritative volume.

The explosive novel At Fault (1890) centers on a love triangle between a strong-willed young widow, a stiff St. Louis businessman, and the man's alcoholic wife. In the story collections Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897), Chopin transforms the local color sketch into taut, perfectly calibrated tales of post-Civil War bayou culture. In The Awakening, the now-classic novel that scandalized many of her contemporaries and effectively ended her writing career, Chopin tells the story of a restless, unsatisfied woman who embarks on a quixotic search for fulfillment.

The volume also includes all the stories not collected by Chopin, including those meant for "A Vocation and a Voice," a projected volume that her publisher canceled in 1900, and three stories that were found in 1992 in a long-lost cache of Chopin's papers.

Customer Reviews:

A Fine Collection.......2007-07-26

This book is a great collection of Kate Chopin's writings. Chopin truly has a way of portraying women in her writings much differently than society in her day believed they should be. If you read her works knowing this, you will come to respect her work the way I have. I believe that in a time when women weren't allowed to speak out on the injustice they faced in society, and the belief that they couldn't be independent sexual creatures, Kate Chopin was making a stand in her writings to express how complex, independent, and sexual they really were. She is an amazing writer and this is an amazing collection.

Story of the Hour.......2007-02-14

Kate Chopin's `Story of the Hour', was an interesting story. Not necessarily in a bad way at all. I mean you except it to go one way but it goes another. This story is about a woman, who discovers that her husband is dead, but she's neither upset nor devastated, she is excited.
Mrs. Mallad is the only character the author really describes, as young woman with a fair calm face. She could be described as very emotional. Why is she so happy that her husband is dead?
The story starts at Mrs. Mallad's house, she is in her room. An excellent theme for this story is `To be excited about something is not always a good thing.'
The strength for this story is most definitely the plot. It keeps your attention and allows you to see a different view. A weakness is the description; really the story only describes one thing, Mrs.Mallad. I think that the story needs to tell us more about her past life and what happened during those couple of years.
Overall this story was OKAY.

"The story of an hour" by Kate Chopin.......2007-02-14

"The story of an hour" by Kate Chopin was a good short story. Not bad, but good. It's about a woman named Mrs. Mallad that learns that her husband is dead. She then thinks she is free until certain events ruin it. Mrs. Mallad is the main character and the only one the author describes. She is young with a fair, calm face. She is also very emotional!
The story starts at Mrs. Mallad's house and in her room. A possible theme is to not get your hopes up. The strength in the story is the plot. It keeps you on your feet. For the weakness, I would have to say description. The story should've said what her past was like with her husband. Good or bad?
Overall "The story of an hour" was good.

Rich and rewarding.......2005-03-30

In the late 1800s, Kate Chopin set the literary world on fire with her now-classic novel "The Awakening." But that wasn't by any means the only writing Chopin did. "Complete Novels and Stories" brings together the assorted writings that Chopin did, before le scandale caused her to swear off writing forever.

Her first novel "At Fault" was apparently something of a roman a clef -- a thirtysomething Creole woman is widowed, and takes over the family estate. She falls in love with a businessman, David -- but he is divorced, and her strong Catholic beliefs don't allow her to marry a divorced man.

"Awakening" was the novel that outraged the Victorian morals and sensibilities of the time, and tragically ended Chopin's writing career. Beautiful wife and mother Edna Pontellier has it all: a wealthy husband, cute kids, beautiful house... and yet she is dissatisfied. So Edna begins dabbling in painting and extramarital flirtations, with tragic results.

"Bayou Folk" and a "Night in Acadie" are collections of short stories, centered in New Orleans and the areas of Louisiana nearby. Breakups, romance, death, marital dissatisfaction, freedom, racism and other still-touchy topics are explored in these stories, although bits of humor do intrude from time to time, such as the very short "Old Aunt Peggy," about an ancient black woman who astonishes everyone by never dying. Added on to these are a number of uncollected stories.

It takes a lot to make a book "scandalous" now, but in the late 1800s -- the height of the Victorian era -- it was painfully easy. There's nothing shocking in Chopin's writing by current standards, leaving her writing as a grave look at human nature. In that sense, Chopin's stories are truly timeless, and not just for women.

Continuing themes do run through Chopin's short stories and novels, such as freedom, social boundaries, and the restrictions put on women at the time. One particularly stunning story is "Desiree's Baby," about a young woman and her child who are cast out because the baby is not 100% white... except that her cruel husband has made a mistake.

But it's not nearly as bleak as it sounds -- Chopin's writing is tempered by her dignified, distant 19th-century writing style, and the beauty of her descriptions. ("There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air.") Those descriptions can gloss over plot events as grim as suicide.

"Complete Stories and Novels" is an excellent collection of Kate Chopin's work, and leaves one with regret that she didn't get to write even more during her brief lifetime.

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Chopin: His Life
William D. Murdoch
Manufacturer: Reprint Services Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 078120495X

The Life and Works of Chopin (Naxos Audio)

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An excellent introduction to boh the life and the work

The Life and Works of Chopin (Naxos Audio)
Jeremy Siepmann
Manufacturer: Naxos Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 9626342196
Release Date: 2001-01-01

Customer Reviews:

An excellent introduction to boh the life and the work.......2001-08-05

Not having known very much at all about Chopin, I cannot vouch for the accuracy in the Naxos entry in their CD and cassette Biography series; but I can vouch for the enjoyment (NA 421912) afforded me.

Written and produced by Jeremy Siepmann, this audio-bio not only tells the strange story of Chopin's life but also includes generous examples of his music, drawn from the bottomless pit of Naxos musical CDs. An excellent idea was to use actors for the voices of Chopin (Anton Lesser), George Sand and other females in his life (Elaine Claxton and Karen Archer), and other male acquaintances (Neville Jason). It is the kind of reading that would fascinate even if the work were fictional.

His letters are particularly fascinating, especially as they are read dramatically by the small cast; and one would rather hear about all his faults--physical and psychological--from people who knew him well. Perhaps his strange epistolary relationship with his Titus is dwelt upon a bit too much, but such are the times (then and now).

My only criticism in a negative direction is the length of the musical examples. I do not really think the entire "Revolutionary Etude" had to be played or the entire "Funeral March"; a minute or two with a fadeout would have been fine, especially on repeated hearings where one wants the facts. Nevertheless, highly recommended.

By the way, the listing above of this work as "abridged" is simply inaccurate since the text (I am told by the publicity person at Naxos) was written specifically for this recording and is by definition "unabridged."

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