Edna Pontellier is a young woman from the Creole high society of Louisiana at the end of the 19th century. She is married and has two boys. The book opens when they are all on summer holiday at Grand Isle. Idle days between bathing, walking, and having posh diners with the other families on holiday. Slowly, Edna realises that she is bored and tired by this imposed role of the perfect mother and wife. From then, she will slowly emancipate, refusing to go to her sister’s wedding against her father’s demand, sending the children away to their grandmother, spending time with other men and moving out of the family house… until she understands that there is no way of escaping her life’s duties. This novel seems obsolete nowadays, but it was considered controversial and banned when published. An interesting novel with a sorrowful ending.
“Well, for instance, when I left her today, she put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong, she said. ‘The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.”