The Awakening: Kate ChopinKate Chopin was an American author who lived in the nineteenth century, but because of The Awakening, a novel considered scandalous at the time, she has recently been ". .. accepted into the canon of major American writers" (Trosky 105). Through the main character of The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, Kate Chopin is able to portray her feelings and desires that would otherwise have been repressed by the ideals of American society at the time. Kate Chopin was born on February 8, 1851 in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up in a family that was part of the prominent French-Creole community. During his childhood he possessed a love of reading. His favorite types of literature were fairy tales, poetry and novels. She isolated herself for almost two years, away from family and school in her attic, spending most of her time reading (Trosky 102). After her studies, Chopin spent her days as a belle in St. Louis high society. She was much admired for both her beauty and her wit. He continued his reading, becoming increasingly interested in contemporary works. In 1869 she traveled to New Orleans where she met Oscar Chopin, whom she married. Although married, Chopin remained quite independent, practicing habits such as smoking and walking alone in the city, two things unheard of by women at that time. (Trosky 102) In 1883, Oscar Chopin died of swamp fever. In 1884, Kate returned with her six children to St. Louis. Around this time, Chopin began her career as a writer, writing in periodicals and publishing collections of short stories. He received good reviews and continued to write at an impressive pace. His success was short-lived, however, following the publication of The Awakening. “This work, which would eventually be recognized as her masterpiece and a seminal work in American feminist fiction, proved first and foremost her best-known publication and her literary undoing.” (Trosky 103) At the time, Chopin's novel was considered scandalous and immoral, yet it largely dealt with female sexuality. At the time The Awakening was written, a novel was judged as much by its moral message as by its artistic merit. After negative critical response, Chopin published a few more works, but none were well received. She received few awards, which, when awarded, described her as an author of Southern local color stories (Trosky 103). Local color writing was a movement that sought to capture the feeling of a particular region through the description of local language and customs ("The Age of Realism").