Although The Awakening was initially criticized by many readers for being too sympathetic to independent and sexually open women, it has since gained recognition and acclaim as one of the first feminist novels in America.
"Kate Chopin is a pioneer in the treatment of sexuality in American literature… She does not speak only to women,but she speaks most powerfully about them. "
-Times
-Times
"Chopin's (1850-1904) The Awakening, whose heroine rejects her husband and children as she indulges in solitude and in an adulterous infatuation, was embraced by the women's movement 70 years after its publication.
-Publisher's Weekly
-Publisher's Weekly
"It is sad and mad and bad, but it is all consummate art. The theme is difficult, but it is handled with a cunning craft. The work is more than unusual. It is unique. The integrity of its art is that of well-knit individuality at one with itself, with nothing superfluous to weaken the impression of a perfect whole."
-From The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: May 20, 1899
C. L. Deyo
-From The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: May 20, 1899
C. L. Deyo
"This book has stirred me to the soul. Edna is like a personal friend. She is not impure. The art, the local colour, the distinctness of characterisation of even the minor personages are something wonderful."
-Dunrobin Thomson
-Dunrobin Thomson