Grand Isle

Published in 1899, The Awakening follows Edna Pontellier during a summer vacation at Grand Isle, a resort island off the Louisiana coast. Among the relaxed Creole society, Edna begins to feel stirrings of independence she has never known — even learning to swim for the first time.

Kate Chopin sets the awakening within Creole society, where sensuality is openly acknowledged in conversation and daily life but women's actual freedom remains rigidly constrained.