Approaches to Teaching Chopin's the Awakening

An MLA survey taken in preparation for this volume indicates that teachers are using The Awakening in no fewer than twenty areas of the college curriculum—from freshman writing and textual linguistics to American literature and women's studies. The book is "something of a teacher's dream," writes Bernard Koloski; The Awakening is "an exceptionally rich work that rewards close literary analysis in surprising and exciting ways," the prose is clear and accessible—and the novel is short. Like other volumes in the MLA's Approaches to Teaching World Literature series, the book is divided into two parts. Part 1, "Materials," surveys editions and anthologies, readings for students, background studies, biographical and critical works, and audiovisual aids. In part 2, "Approaches," twenty-three experienced teachers of The Awakening describe a variety of imaginative instructional strategies, from exploring the novel's theme of childbirth and motherhood to comparing the lead character, Edna, to the mythological figures of Icarus and Psyche.