The Awakening

For more biographical information, view Kate Chopin: A Life on the River by Becky Bradley (approx. 4 min 45 sec; requires QuickTime. Note: this may take a few minutes to load.)

A native of Missouri, Kate O'Flaherty married Oscar Chopin, the son of a wealthy Louisiana cotton grower, in 1870 and moved to New Orleans. They later relocated with their six children to the Chopin family home near Cloutierville in Natchitoches Parish. In 1882 Oscar died of swamp fever, and Kate and the children moved back to St. Louis, where she began writing to support the family. Nearly all of her work is set in the areas around New Orleans, Grand Isle and Natchitoches, and provides a vivid window into Louisiana life near the turn of the century.
Her early stories were well-received nationally and earned her literary fame as a "local colorist," even appearing in the first issue of Vogue. However, her career was devastated when The Awakening was published in 1899. It drew a storm of criticism for its "shocking, morbid, and vulgar" story and quickly went out of print. The novel was not resurrected until the 1950s, when participants in the growing women’s movement recognized its importance. Today The Awakening is among the most-read American novels in colleges and universities and is considered an early example of American realism.

Main Characters

Edna Pontellier - seemingly a conventional Southern wife and mother who begins to explore her own identity as a person and as a woman, separate from her husband and family
Léonce Pontellier - Edna's husband
Robert Lebrun - younger man with whom Edna has a relationship
Alcée Arobin - local "womanizer" who briefly atttempts to satisfy Edna's need for intimacy
Colonel - Edna's father, a man who believes in tradition and consistency
Dr. Mandelet - a perceptive man who surmises that Edna's "problem" is another man
Madame Adèle Ratignolle - typical Southern woman, devoted to her family, dependent on her husband
Mademoiselle Reisz - eccentric non-conformist friend who listens to Edna without judgment

Setting

Chopin's story is set in the late 1800s in New Orleans and Grand Isle, Louisiana, among a Creole society.

Topics include:

repressed feelings, personal freedom , role of women, sexism, search for self,

alienation and loneliness, consequences of choices, public identity vs. private needs

This guide will help you find information for your research assignment in the library, in electronic databases, and on the internet. For students at Lone Star College-Kingwood, there may also be materials on reserve at the Circulation Desk. Ask a librarian for assistance.

LITERARY RESEARCH GUIDE BOOKS JOURNALS INTERNET SUPPORT

LITERARY RESEARCH GUIDE

As you begin, narrow your topic to a size that you can manage. Consider keywords that will help you find the information you need. These can be names of people, literary works, events, or broader identifying terms. Use these keywords for locating information in the library catalog, electronic databases, and on the internet.

"Guide to Conducting Literary Research," from Literature Resource Center is an excellent guide to the entire research process.

BOOKS

Librarian Talk . . . About Books!

Books offer helpful information about historical background, settings, and authors. Literary criticism may be compiled in a book. The catalog is online at Kingwood College Library Catalog. If you want criticism of the novel itself, try the search words, Awakening and criticism. For setting and historical background, try searching for Creoles and Louisiana .
- Electronic books, or eBooks, are available at NetLibrary. You will need a library card barcode number to read eBooks from off-campus.
- Apply online for a library card (for Distance Learning students). For quicker results, after you submit the application, call the circulation desk at 281-312-1691 and ask them to process it. Use your card to:

Suggested Reference Books

PN771 .G27 (v. 5,14) Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism - Excerpts of literary criticism of the novel

PN3385 .N68 (v. 3) Novels for Students - Includes overviews of characters, themes, historical context and criticism.

PN50 .L574 (v. 3) Literature and Its Times - Presents the historical context of the work.

F209 .E53 Encyclopedia of Southern Culture - Examines the historical and contemporary worlds of the American South.

HQ1418 .H36 Handbook of American Women's History - Social and cultural information about women in the 19th century

Books of Literary Criticism

Examine the shelf area near these books to find others about Kate Chopin and The Awakening.

PS1294 .C63 A6436 New Essays on The Awakening

PS1294 .C63 C75 Critical Essays on Kate Chopin

PS1294 .C63 K385 Kate Chopin Reconsidered

Online books are available at NetLibrary. Browse the collection's more than 40,000 books. You can create a free account to save notes and favorite book titles, and you can search the contents of the books electronically to find information about your topic.

JOURNAL ARTICLES (ONLINE ACCESS)

Librarian Talk about Finding Journal and Newspaper Articles!
Electronic databases are purchased by the libraries for your research use. To find articles in newspapers and journals, letters, reference books, illustrations, photographs and more, use your updated library card to log in to the following databases. If you find an interesting article that is not full-text, you may request it through interlibrary loan (I.L.L.) Contact the librarian if you need help getting an article. There is some overlap of articles in the databases, but all are excellent sources of information for research. We encourage you to use more than one.

HINT: For a full list of article databases, go to http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/db-alpha.html. Use your library card barcode number to log in to any of our databases.

MLA International Bibliography | The most comprehensive index to literary criticism. Most articles are not available online, but they may be available through other database. Use the "Check LinkSource" option to find the complete article. You may need to obtain them through interlibrary loan.

Literature Resource Center | Full text articles from reference books and Twayne's Masterworks books. It also has links to scholarly journal articles and appropriate Internet sites. The MLA International Bibliography is part of this database.

JSTOR | Print or save full-text articles from high quality scholarly journals, generally from older issues. Use the Advanced Search page for the most productive searches.

Project Muse | This database contains only scholarly, full-text articles from selected journals, including more recent issues. Use the Advanced Search page for the most effective searches.

Academic Search Complete | This large collection of journal and magazine article contains many literary journals. Limit to "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" to locate only scholarly journals.

Proquest Research Library | An extensive list of scholarly journal and magazine articles. Limit to "Scholarly journals, including peer reviewed" to find only scholarly journals.

INTERNET SITES

Librarian Talk about the Internet!

The internet can be a wonderful source of original documents. Browse the sites we have suggested below. Remember, you do want to find reputable sites. Evaluate internet sites by looking at:

Accuracy - The information should be researched and show proof of that research.
Source - Look at the domain: .edu .gov .org .net frequently are valid research sources.
Authority - What are the author's credentials? (Don't quote from another college freshman's paper.)
Coverage - Does the page have the information you need for your research?
Objectivity - If a work is biased, use it - just make sure your professor knows YOU know. Offer both sides of issues, where applicable.

The internet can be a valuable resource for your paper. Be aware that all web pages are not suitable for scholary research. Consider the accuracy of the information, the source of the information, the creditentials of the author, and the relevance of the information to your research. If you are in doubt, ask your instructor.

Suggested Web Sites

The Awakening - Electronic text of the novel from Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.
Comparative essay from the Feminism and Women's Studies site at Carnegie Mellon University.
French Creoles in Louisiana - Explanations from Yale University on Creole society, clothing, music, and literature
Kate Chopin: A ReAwakening - Information about Chopin from an award-winning documentary on the life and work of Kate Chopin, produced in 1999 by Louisiana Public Television. Includes interviews, chronology, brief biography, and transcript of the show. (Some links to outside sources are outdated.)
Documenting the American South: Kate Chopin - Another electronic version of the novel with a summary and a brief essay about Kate Chopin.
Web Sites on Kate Chopin - excellent links from the English Department of Virginia Commonwealth University. (A few of these links are also outdated, but there are also many good links.)
Exploring Kate Chopin's The Awakening - Notice the essays on Chopin's work by VCU graduate student Neal Wyatt.
Literary History.com: Indexing the Internet - Excellent site linking to free critical articles related to authors and their works. There are links to many excellent articles about Kate Chopin and The Awakening.

GETTING HELP FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Citing Sources Using the Library MLA Style Guide | Lone Star College - Kingwood Library guide. Examples of both paper and electronic citations.

Avoiding Plagiarism | Excellent information and guide on how to avoid plagiarism from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University.

University of Texas Copyright Crash Course | This helpful guide on copyright is suggested by Lone Star College-Kingwood Teaching and Learning Center.

Learning Center | Offers tutoring services for Lone Star College-Kingwood students in most subjects as well as other services.

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Page by Charles Gillis, 08/25/2004 | Updated 05/08