About this story
Back in New Orleans, Edna begins declining things: Tuesday callers, her husband's ambitions, eventually the house itself. Chopin's 1899 novel was condemned harshly enough to all but end her career; it reads now like a book sent from fifty years ahead. You are Edna Pontellier, and what you refuse next is up to you.
Who you’ll meet
Robert Lebrun - the charming young Creole of Grand Isle whose summer attention wakes the reader's Edna; 1899 Louisiana Gulf coast.
How it opens
The green-and-yellow parrot ordered the morning away in three languages.
Across the gallery, a mockingbird answered with notes no guest could translate.
Madame LebrunWhoever is practising may finish the scale before attempting the hymn.
Leonce PontellierThat creature has declared war upon the market reports.
The bird is entitled to its Sunday opinion.
Leonce PontellierHe has the advantage of never needing to defend it.