En Louisiane à la fin du XIXe siècle la vie est paisible: villas du bord de mer, soirées musicales, robes de mousseline et enfants sages. Aux yeux d'Edna, cette quiétude confine à la torpeur. Une émotion amoureuse, un parfum enivrant et la vie change de registre. C'est «l'éveil». La jeune femme découvre son goût de vivre, sa créativité, son corps, elle-même en somme. Découverte qui ne va pas sans poser problème dans l'Amérique de ces années-là; pour l'héroïne du roman et pour l'auteure, dont l'oeuvre fut jugée scandaleuse, dénoncée par la presse et mise au ban des librairies de Saint-Louis. Il faudra attendre les années 1960 pour que Kate Chopin trouve sa place parmi les grands classiques de la littérature américaine.
The Awakening takes readers on a philosophical discovery of female freedom and particularly its sexual awareness. This book describes Edna Pontellier, a Victorian woman who breaking through the role appointed to her by society. She discovers her own identity and acknowledges her emotional and sexual desires. Chopin's meticulous observations lead us to a veritable masterpiece of descriptions and fundamental questions (feminism, patriarchy, motherhood, women's rights ...). This novel is worth reading for numerous reasons. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's struggles without condescension and prefigures American modernism. If it is true that the situation of women's human rights has improved recently, women still face violence, discrimination, economic inequality in society. So, this great novel is worth reading.
Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice.
Kate Chopin's most famous work nowadays is the novel The Awakening, but at the turn of the last century she was more famous for her short fiction, published in American magazines like the St. Louis PostDispatch, Youth's Companion, and Vogue. A prolific writer, over the course of fourteen years she penned nearly a hundred stories, although many didn't see publication until a new collection was released in 1963. The stories focus on life in 1890s Louisiana, a setting that she was living in as a resident of New Orleans and Natchitoches. They're told from many different points of view, but always with empathy for the struggles, both big and small, of the protagonists.
This collection contains the fortynine short stories of Kate Chopin verified to be in the U.S. public domain, including "Désirée's Baby" and "The Dream of an Hour." They're presented in the order they were originally written.
Eh bien, il va falloir se faire une raison : l'Américain-type, ça n'existe pas ! Tant pis pour la belle ordonnance des idées toutes faites ; d'un Américain à l'autre, le caractère, les moeurs, la stature même diffèrent. Bien sûr il existe, chez tous les habitants du Nouveau Monde, certains éléments qui constituent le caractère national, mais ces éléments sont amalgamés diversement selon les racines de l'individu, l'ancienneté de sa migration, selon surtout qu'il habite le vieux Nord-Est, le Sud, l'Ouest ou le Middle West. C'est ce qui ressort des treize nouvelles ici réunies, Toutes, sauf deux, ont été écrites pendant les décennies qui ont suivi la guerre de Sécession, en une période où le pays avait besoin de redécouvrir son identité, de concilier les mirages du passé et les réalités du présent... A ce moment-là plus que jamais, la littérature régionale, fondée sur des valeurs intactes, sûres, facilement reconnaissables, avait un rôle à jouer. Sans doute ces récits reflètent-ils leur époque, mais on y sent percer déjà une littérature de fiction plus complexe et plus élaborée : celle de l'Amérique contemporaine, qui a su si bien assimiler, pour des buts qui lui sont propres, accents régionaux et couleurs locales.
Kate Chopin's short story "Desirée's Baby" depicts a love story that is far from simple. Desirée was found as a baby by a wealthy French Creole couple, Monsieur and Madame Valmondé, in Louisiana before the American Civil War. She marries Armand, the son of another wealthy French Creole family, and has a son with him. Yet a happy event takes a scandalous turn when upon the child's birth, the parents note that the child carries African blood in him. Whilst this short story is about social class, it also contains fairytale-like elements and even Gothic tones. Discover the story as read by the uncanny B.J. Harrison.
B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories. He masterfully plays with a wide array of voices and accents and has since then produced over 500 audiobooks. Now in collaboration with SAGA Egmont, his engaging narration of these famous classics is available to readers everywhere.
Kate Chopin (1850-1904), born Katherine O'Flaherty, was an American writer of novels and short stories mostly set in the 19th-century American South. Her works deals with themes of the female psyche and women's limited life opportunities in the Victorian era, often in a naturalist style. She was considered controversial in her time, but is now praised as a pioneer of 20th-century feminist, American literature. Her most famous works include the novel "The Awakening" (1899), which explores themes of rebellion against femininity and motherhood at the turn of the 20th century.
A wide-ranging collection from classics of fiction tales to humorous sketches to romances, these short stories, with their interesting and diverse characters, have something for everyone.
`Desiree's Baby' deals with mixed-race children, with a surprise ending that subtly questions the feelings of racial superiority.
`La Belle Zoraide' is about the cruelty of slaveholders in trying to arrange a marriage between a creole beauty and a mulatto she doesn't love.
`A Lady of Bayou St. John' tells the tale of a young married woman in a lonely marriage who is attracted to another man and believes she will go "anywhere, anywhere" with him.
You may well find yourself curled up on your sofa one evening reading all these great stories in one sitting!
Kate Chopin (1850-1904), born Katherine O'Flaherty, was an American writer of novels and short stories mostly set in the 19th-century American South. Her works deal with themes of the female psyche and women's limited life opportunities in the Victorian era, often in a naturalist style. She was considered controversial in her time, but is now praised as a pioneer of 20th-century feminist American literature.
Her most famous works include the novel `The Awakening' (1899), which explores themes of rebellion against femininity and motherhood at the turn of the 20th century. Adaptations of this title include Grand Isle (1991) starring Kelly McGillis and Adrian Pasdar, and The End of August (1981).
Love for unavailable men, regret, unhappy marriages, priests and an old woman losing her memory, these stories cover many issues we still face today.
A young woman tired of marriage resolves to leave her husband, making her way to New Orleans alone. Finished with work for the day, Telèsphore decides to take the train into town. A woman content with spinsterhood unexpectedly finds herself responsible for her neighbour's four young children.
'A Night in Acadie' is a collection of short stories by Kate Chopin and a fantastic read for any classics fan.
Kate Chopin (1850-1904), born Katherine O'Flaherty, was an American writer of novels and short stories mostly set in the 19th-century American South. Her works deal with themes of the female psyche and women's limited life opportunities in the Victorian era, often in a naturalist style. She was considered controversial in her time, but is now praised as a pioneer of 20th-century feminist American literature.
Her most famous works include the novel `The Awakening' (1899), which explores themes of rebellion against femininity and motherhood at the turn of the 20th century. Adaptations of this title include Grand Isle (1991) starring Kelly McGillis and Adrian Pasdar, and The End of August (1981).
Love, deceit, unhappy marriages, affairs of the heart, suicide and romance. This selection of short stories by Kate Chopin has something for everyone.
A wide-ranging collection from classics of fiction tales to humorous sketches, this short story collection, with its interesting and diverse characters, by Kate Chopin, has something for everyone.
Chopin "was writing American realism before most Americans could bear to hear that they were living it."
Kate Chopin (1850-1904), born Katherine O'Flaherty, was an American writer of novels and short stories mostly set in the 19th-century American South. Her works are often in a naturalist style and deal with themes of the female psyche and women's limited life opportunities in the Victorian era. She was considered controversial in her time but is now praised as a pioneer of 20th-century feminist American literature.
Her most famous works include the novel `The Awakening' (1899), which explores themes of rebellion against femininity and motherhood at the turn of the 20th century. Adaptations of this title include Grand Isle (1991) starring Kelly McGillis and Adrian Pasdar, and The End of August (1981).
Written by Chopin the author of the much celebrated novel "The Awakening" comes another classic rich piece of late 19th century feminist american literature.
Set in the heart of America's deep south, "Athénaïse" is a short story exploring the timeless theme of women conforming to society's expectations, rebellion, relationships and coming of age. From the cotton plantations to New Orleans we follow the title character, Athénaïse, a strong, independent and daring young woman on her journey of self-discovery.
Feeling trapped in her marriage Athénaïse with the help of her brother flees to New Orleans. She soon discovers she is pregnant; will this change her perspective on her marriage? Will her husband accept her back?
An American novelist and short story writer of French and Irish descent, Kate Chopin (1850 -1904) is one of the most celebrated feminist authors of the twentieth century.
Most of her fiction is set in Louisiana where she lived depicting the lives of intelligent young women, Creole culture and society in the American south. She wrote over 100 short stories including children's tales that were all published in some of the most prestigious magazines but her most notable work is her novel `The Awakening' which firmly has a place in American literature.
Kate Chopin's 1899 novella The Awakening is about the personal, sexual, and artistic awakening of a young wife and mother, Edna Pontellier. While on vacation at Grand Isle, an island in the Gulf of Mexico, Edna befriends the talented pianist Mlle. Reisz and the sympathetic Robert Lebrun, both of whom will influence her startling life choices. Chopin's novel created a scandal upon its original publication and effectively destroyed her writing career. Now, however, it is considered one of the finest American novels of the 19th century. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)
Divorce, adultery, murder, female alcoholism, racism, civil war, arson, drowning, marriage dominated by hate and marriage filled with love. Is there anything left that this book doesn't deal with?
Therese finds herself a widow at a young age and is in charge of a plantation in Louisiana. She meets Hossmer, a handsome businessman, who runs the mill. A decision is made that will have a lasting and detrimental effect.
Racial tensions, Catholic beliefs as the basis of a moral dilemma, the boredom of a young woman with little to do with her time and the devastating effects of drink as well as the tragedy caused by mother nature. 'At Fault' will be a big hit with fans of Kate Chopin's work and for anyone with a love for the classics.
Kate Chopin (1850-1904), born Katherine O'Flaherty, was an American writer of novels and short stories mostly set in the 19th-century American South. Her works deal with themes of the female psyche and women's limited life opportunities in the Victorian era, often in a naturalist style. She was considered controversial in her time, but is now praised as a pioneer of 20th-century feminist American literature.
Her most famous works include the novel `The Awakening' (1899), which explores themes of rebellion against femininity and motherhood at the turn of the 20th century. Adaptations of this title include 'Grand Isle' (1991) starring Kelly McGillis and Adrian Pasdar, and 'The End of August' (1981).
