The Awakening and Selected Short Fiction

*The Awakening and Selected Short Fiction*, by **Kate Chopin**, is part of the *

*Barnes some include illustrations of historical interest. *Barnes & Noble Classics *pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.*

 When it first appeared in 1899, **Kate Chopin’**s *The Awakening* was greeted with cries of outrage. The novel’s frank portrayal of a woman’s emotional, intellectual, and sexual awakening shocked the sensibilities of the time and destroyed the author’s reputation and career. Many years passed before this short, pioneering work was recognized as a major achievement in American literature.

Set in and around New Orleans, *The Awakening* tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother who, determined to control her own life, flouts convention by moving out of her husband’s house, having an adulterous affair, and becoming an artist.

Beautifully written, with sensuous imagery and vivid local descriptions, *The Awakening* has lost none of its power to provoke and inspire. Additionally, this edition includes thirteen of Kate Chopin’s magnificent short stories.

Stories Included in the Volume:

*The Awakening

Emancipation: A Life Fable

A Shameful Affair

At the ‘Cadian Ball

Désirée’s Baby

A Gentleman of Bayou Têche

A Respectable Woman

The Story of an Hour

Athénaïse

A Pair of Silk Stockings

Elizabeth Stock’s One Story

The Storm

The Godmother

A Little Country Girl*

**Rachel Adams** teaches nineteenth and twentieth-century American literature at Columbia University.