Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, 'The Awakening' focuses on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to resolve her increasingly unorthodox views to husband and children. Although life for women was so much more restrictive in those days, she leaves society and understands that she is so much more than a mother and a wife. The novel is one of the earliest American novels that focus on women's issues without condescension.It is also widely seen as a milestone work of early feminism.