''The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude''When ''The Awakening'' was first published in 1899, charges of sordidness and immorality seemed to consign it into obscurity and irreparably damage its author''s reputation. But a century after her death, it is widely regarded as Kate Chopin''s great achievement. Through careful, subtle changes of style, Chopin shows the transformation of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother, who - with tragic consequences - refuses to be caged by married and domestic life, and claims for herself moral and erotic freedom.The Penguin English Library - collectable general readers'' editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century to the end of the Second World War.