The Jockey Club race course (The Awakening)
Unnamed or fictional setting in The Awakening; pinned at an inferred location within New Orleans.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Awakening | Kate Chopin | setting | Alcée Arobin and Mrs. Highcamp take Edna to the Jockey Club for the turf event of the season. |
The Awakening — Kate Chopin (1899)
Source: The Awakening · Readwise highlight
It was at his instigation that Mrs. Highcamp called to ask her to go with them to the Jockey Club to witness the turf event of the season.
- Role: setting
- In the book: Alcée Arobin and Mrs. Highcamp take Edna to the Jockey Club for the turf event of the season. She goes again to the races several times, and Arobin escorts her home on a long car ride to Esplanade Street afterward. Edna composes a letter about the afternoon at the Jockey Club.
- Why it matters: The Louisiana Jockey Club ran the Fair Grounds track, which is also the one still operating by the novel’s date, so it is the most plausible real match.
- Where is it?: ⚠️ inferred. Clues in the text: “go with them to the Jockey Club to witness the turf event of the season”; “the race course”; “the races”; “a drag” What reference works say: English Wikipedia: the Louisiana Jockey Club re-formed in 1871 and held its meets at the Fair Grounds from 1872; Metairie Race Course was the rival track, closed 1892. The novel (1899) names only “Jockey Club” and “race course”, so the Fair Grounds is the likely site. Chosen: Fair Grounds Race Course, New Orleans. Alternatives: Metairie Race Course (closed 1892, now Metairie Cemetery)