88. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Edna Pontellier seems to have an idyllic life. She is the wife of a successful New Orleans businessman and is raising her two sons in a comfortable, carefree lifestyle. While on vacation to Grand Isle, Louisiana, Edna meets Robert Lebrun, a young bachelor who she soon falls in love with. Back in New Orleans, she feels she can not go on with her life as it has been, and moves out of her husband’s home and into a small cottage. When Robert Lebrun returns to Edna, it does not go as well as she hoped, and he does not understand her need for freedom.

Published in 1899, this short novel by Chopin was dismissed by critics, especially because of the sexual affairs that Edna has throughout the story. Rediscovered in the 1970’s, it is now thought of as one of the first feminist pieces of fiction and is a classic. In addition to women’s issues, the novel also explores race, class distinctions, and rich versus poor in the terrific New Orleans setting.