Reading Notes

Of late I've been reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin, which I finished this afternoon.

The thing that stands out to me about this novel is how little actually happens in it.  That's not to say that it isn't a good book.  It's fairly engrossing - not exactly the kind of book you can't stand to put down, but interesting enough to hold one's attention for a good span of time.  But it's really not the events that hold your attention.  It's something of a wandering, lackadaisical story, almost, and yet, the character keeps you there.

This is heartening to me as a writer, since I'm much more comfortable with character than I ever have been with plot.

One thing that I felt anxious about when diving into this novel was the feminist themes.  Such books can feel a bit heavy-handed at times.  And yet, the novel walks a fine line between feminism and simple realism.  The emotions are described in such a way that it could as easily be a male narrator, were it not for a few problems which are somewhat particular to females - an obligation to children, for instance, and what it means for a woman to live in a patriarchal society when she is not considered the master of her self.

I don't want to get into a critical analysis of the book, since I've been there and done that, but I liked it.

Oh - the one thing I took special notice of as a writer was the ending.  For those who don't know, the main character swims out into the ocean and drowns - but the way it's written is slightly ambiguous, a little metaphorical.  The last lines are memories from the character's childhood.  It's really an extraordinary way to write such a scene, which might be too difficult to describe in direct terms.  It's something I'll be thinking about in my own writing, for sure.