<div></div><p><b>First published in 1899, <i>The Awakening</i> is widely regarded as one of the forerunners of feminist literature alongside Tolstoy's<i>Anna Karenina</i> and Flaubert's <i>Madame Bovary</i></b></p><p>Over one long, languid summer Edna Pontellier, fettered by marriage and motherhood, gradually awakens to her individuality and sexuality and experiences love outside of her passionless marriage. But as she discovers emotional freedom, so she comes to realize the true extent of her psychological and social confinement, and its terrible consequences for her future. This tender, brilliant, seductive, and devastating novel is as beautifully written as it is politically engaging.<i>The Awakening</i> is as relevant today as when it was first published two centuries ago.</p>