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The awakening and other stories / Kate Chopin ; edited by Nina Baym ; introducton by Kaye Gibbons.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : Modern Library, c2000.Description: lix, 375 p. ; 21 cmISBN:
  • 0679783334 (acidfree paper) :
  • 9780679783336 (acid-free paper)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 813/.4 21
Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
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Item type Current library Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
High Demand Phillipsburg Free Public Library Adult Fiction Adult Fiction FIC CHO Available 36748001680778
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Introduction by Kaye Gibbons
Edited and with notes by Nina Baym
Commentary by Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and from The Picayune's Creole Cook Book

The Awakening shocked turn-of-the-century readers with its forthright treatment of sex and suicide. Departing 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 life are the themes of this now-classic novel. As Kaye Gibbons points out in her Introduction, Chopin "was writing American realism before most Americans could bear to hear that they were living it." This edition includes selected stories from Chopin's Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie .

Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • The Awakening and Other Stories (p. i)
  • Oxford World's Classics (p. ii)
  • Acknowledgements (p. vii)
  • Introduction (p. ix)
  • Note on the Texts (p. xliv)
  • Select Bibilography (p. xlix)
  • A Chronology of Kate Chopin (p. lvi)
  • The Awakening and Other Stories (p. 1)
  • Wiser Than a God (p. 129)
  • A Point at Issue! (p. 139)
  • The Maid of Saint Phillippe (p. 156)
  • Doctor Chevalier's Lie (p. 164)
  • Beyond the Bayou (p. 166)
  • Old Aunt Peggy (p. 173)
  • Ripe Figs (p. 174)
  • Miss McEnders (p. 175)
  • At the 'Cadian Ball (p. 183)
  • The Father of Désirée's Baby (p. 193)
  • Caline (p. 199)
  • A Matter of Prejudice (p. 202)
  • Azélie (p. 209)
  • A Lady of Bayou St. John (p. 218)
  • Tonie (p. 229)
  • A Gentleman of Bayou Teche (p. 240)
  • In Sabine (p. 246)
  • A Respectable Woman (p. 255)
  • The Dream of an Hour (p. 259)
  • Lilacs (p. 262)
  • Regret (p. 274)
  • The Kiss (p. 278)
  • Her Letters (p. 281)
  • Athénaïse (p. 289)
  • The Unexpected (p. 320)
  • Vagabonds (p. 324)
  • A Pair of Silk Stockings (p. 327)
  • An Egyptian Cigarette (p. 332)
  • Elizabeth Stock's One Story (p. 336)
  • The Storm A Sequel to "The'Cadian Ball" (p. 342)
  • Appendix: Louisiana Observed: Regional Writing and Kate Chopin's People and Languages (p. 348)
  • Explanatory Notes (p. 360)
  • Glossary (p. 408)

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Upon the pleasant veranda of Pere Antoine's cottage, that adjoined the church, a young girl had long been seated, awaiting his return. It was the eve of Easter Sunday, and since early afternoon the priest had been engaged in hearing the confessions of those who wished to make their Easters the following day. The girl did not seem impatient at his delay; on the contrary, it was very restful to her to lie back in the big chair she had found there, and peep through the thick curtain of vines at the people who occasionally passed along the village street. She was slender, with a frailness that indicated lack of wholesome and plentiful nourishment. A pathetic, uneasy look was in her gray eyes, and even faintly stamped her features, which were fine and delicate. In lieu of a hat, a barege veil covered her light brown and abundant hair. She wore a coarse white cotton 'josie,' and a blue calico skirt that only half concealed her tattered shoes. As she sat there, she held carefully in her lap a parcel of eggs securely fastened in a red bandana handkerchief. Twice already a handsome, stalwart young man in quest of the priest had entered the yard, and penetrated to where she sat. At first they had exchanged the uncompromising 'howdy' of strangers, and nothing more. The second time, finding the priest still absent, he hesitated to go at once. Instead, he stood upon the step, and narrowing his brown eyes, gazed beyond the river, off towards the west, where a murky streak of mist was spreading across the sun. 'It look like mo' rain,' he remarked, slowly and carelessly. 'We done had 'bout 'nough,' she replied, in much the same tone. 'It's no chance to thin out the cotton,' he went on. 'An' the Bon-Dieu,' she resumed, 'it's on'y to-day you can cross him on foot.' 'You live yonda on the Bon-Dieu, donc?' he asked, looking at her for the first time since he had spoken. 'Yas, by Nid Hibout, monsieur.' Instinctive courtesy held him from questioning her further. But he seated himself on the step, evidently determined to wait there for the priest. He said no more, but sat scanning critically the steps, the porch, and pillar beside him, from which he occasionally tore away little pieces of detached wood, where it was beginning to rot at its base. A click at the side gate that communicated with the churchyard soon announced Pere Antoine's return. He came hurriedly across the garden-path, between the tall, lusty rosebushes that lined either side of it, which were now fragrant with blossoms. His long, flapping cassock added something of height to his undersized, middle-aged figure, as did the skullcap which rested securely back on his head. He saw only the young man at first, who rose at his approach. 'Well, Azenor,' he called cheerily in French, extending his hand. 'How is this? I expected you all the week.' 'Yes, monsieur; but I knew well what you wanted with me, and I was finishing the doors for Gros-Leon's new house' saying which, he drew back, and indicated by a motion and look that some one was present who had a prior claim upon Pere Antoine's attention. 'Ah, Lalie!' the priest exclaimed, when he had mounted to the porch, and saw her there behind the vines. 'Have you been waiting here since you confessed? Surely an hour ago!' 'Yes, monsieur.' 'You should rather have made some visits in the village, child.' 'I am not acquainted with any one in the village,' she returned. The priest, as he spoke, had drawn a chair, and seated himself beside her, with his hands comfortably clasping his knees. He wanted to know how things were out on the bayou. 'And how is the grandmother?' he asked. 'As cross and crabbed as ever? And with that'--he added reflectively--'good for ten years yet! I said only yesterday to Butrand--you know Butrand, he works on Le Blot's Bon-Dieu place--'And that Madame Zidore: how is it with her, Butrand? I believe God has forgotten her here on earth.''It isn't that, your reverence,' said Butrand, 'but it's neither God nor the Devil that wants her!'' And Pere Antoine laughed with a jovial frankness that took all sting of ill-nature from his very pointed remarks. Excerpted from The Awakening and Other Stories by Kate Chopin All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Phillipsburg Free Public Library
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Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
(908)-454-3712
www.pburglib.org

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