Kate Chopin's compelling, candid portrait of a woman attempting to seek
a life beyond her role as devoted wife and motherwas considered
dangerouswhen first published in 1899The Pontellier family are spending
a hot, lazy holiday on the Gulf of Mexico. No-one expects that Edna
Pontellier should be preoccupied with anything more than her husband and
children. When an illicit summer romance awakens new ideas and longings
in Edna, she can barely understandherself, and cannot hope for aid or
acceptance in the stifling attitudes of Louisiana society.Now considered
a classic, this tale of liberationcaused a scandal when it was first
published and was dismissed as "vulgar," "unhealthy," and "morbid" by
other contemporary reviewers, effectively ending Chopin's career. "