Kate Choin’s The Awakening is a classic literary piece that has missed my reading list until this week. Picking up a book about unrequited sexual tension that was written 100+ years ago just isn’t something I normally do. Sue me.

Like much of the literature of the late 1800s, the plot of The Awakening is fairly simple. Edna Pontellier is vacationing with her family for the summer in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Unsatisfied with her marriage, Edna befriends and grows close with a younger gentleman named Robert Lebrun. When Robert leaves without warning to pursue business opportunities in Mexico Edna is devastated, left in the full heat of infatuation. Over time she deteriorates, making rash decisions in search of happiness that she cannot find. A few surprises at the end of the novel push Edna to the brink of her own existence, thrashing for liberation in a sea of societal oppression.

Chopin brilliantly narrates the complicatedness of Edna’s disposition. Lines like “No multitude of words could have been more significant than those moments of silence, or more pregnant with the first-felt throbbings of desire” break the barriers of the page and speak to the histories of love in all of us.

The Awakening is a perfect starter book for diving into 19^th century literature. Whether you’re a woman sipping a glass of cabernet sauvignon in a bath, or a guy taking notes on how women tick, The Awakening is a romantic tragedy perfect for an evening’s read.

Aside from being a great book, we decided to review The Awakening because it makes BANNED BOOK lists far too often. The main objection readers have is lack of guilt Edna feels about her infatuation with Robert, despite her marriage with Mr. Pontellier.

Rest assured: Though Enda's interest in Robert may seem risque, nothing inappropriate for school children occurs. Edna's adultery with Robert is so much tamer than anything found on cable television the idea of exile from the classroom is absurd.

If you're looking for a classic romantic tragedy, The Awakening is for you.

Overall grade: A

A note for teachers: The Awakening is a staple in the canon of literature for the adolescent classroom. Asking students to question Edna's sanity (or lack thereof) throughout the novel is an excellent activity to inspire close reading. Moreover, Edna Pontellier can be compared with other iconic female characters like Shakespeare's Ophelia or Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. Best of all, The Awakening can substitute anything Hawthorne has to offer in less that 200 pages. Basically, TEACH THIS BOOK.