ABSTRACT
The Awakening differs strikingly from most other nineteenth-century novels in one very obvious way: it is just about short enough to be read at one sitting. The society Kate Chopin lived in and the society The Awakening constructs both define themselves to some extent by designating people with certain racial backgrounds as 'Other'. By 1992, Kate Chopin merited a whole book devoted to a 'reconsideration' of her life and work. Kate Chopin's own racial heritage was European. Like Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, published in serial form, Chopin's novel represents a marked departure from the sheer length of many nineteenth-century novels. Chopin uses a characteristic juxtaposition between 'romantic' and 'practical' use of language. Kate married Oscar Chopin in 1870. He came from a family of plantation owners in Louisiana and later became a member of the White League – an association similar to the Ku Klux Klan.
