First published in 1899, this novel is set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century. The plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century South. Widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism, this is one of the earliest American novels to focus on women's issues without condescension. The novel's blend of reali