First published in 1899, The Awakening's engagement with taboo issues of female sexuality and infidelity prompted a flurry of damning reviews that sent the book out of print and into obscurity for several decades. However, it is now hailed as a key early feminist text and has become one of the most widely studied works of American literature. This Sourcebook combines accessible commentary with reprinted documents to provide the ideal introduction to the novel. Its first section, 'Contexts' provides biographical information on Chopin and explores 1890s American society to reveal the contextual...