Feminism and Emotional Liberation in The AwakeningIn our time, the idea of ​​feminism is often described as modern, dating no further back than the famous bra burning of the '60. Perhaps this is due to an unconscious tendency to believe that one's time is the most enlightened in history. But this trend is unfortunate, because it does not allow readers to see the precursors of modern ideas in older works. A great example of this is Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening, which explores the marital infidelities of a woman stuck in a loveless marriage as she searches for her purpose in life. In it we see how an institutionalized union like marriage is, almost by necessity, impartial, while forbidden loves are characterized only by passion, physical or emotional. For this reason we can observe that The Awakening is a feminist novel; through his unflattering portrayal of the institution of marriage and his positive stance towards women's liberation, we see Chopin's belief in the equality and independence of the sexes. But we cannot discuss feminism without a definition of the term. Since this term has been used for many decades and used by various groups to define themselves, it is imperative to precisely define what we mean by the word “feminism”. The first definition that may come to mind is the belief in female superiority – the belief that, by chance or design, females are intrinsically superior to males; or, equivalently, that males are inferior to females. This is just as deranged as the traditional European belief in male superiority, and this is not the kind of feminism we observe in Chopin's work. A second definitive, somewhat improved convention, in the middle of the paper, generally illustrates the belief that women as a whole have a right to independence. Although this idea seems almost banal in our time, it was scandalous when the novel was written. It is with this in mind that we must conclude that The Awakening is, indeed, feminist and at the same time promotes an emotional independence that many even today would not dare strive for. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The awakening. New York: Dover, 1993.Deyo, C. L. "The Latest Books." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 20, 1899: 4.Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-sufficiency". Ralph Waldo Emerson: Selected Essays. Ed. Larzer Ziff. New York: Penguin, 1982: 175-203.Hofstadter, Douglas R. “Pattern, Poetry, and Power in the Music of Frédéric Chopin.” Metamagic themes: search for the essence of the mind and the model. New York: Basic Books, 1985: 173-189.