The Real Adventure

American novel from 1916, set in Chicago in the early twentieth century. Rose Stanton, a lively, independent student who intends to study law, marries within a few weeks Rodney Aldrich, a wealthy lawyer she met by chance. Settled in a fine house, surrounded by servants and soon the mother of twins, she realizes that she is expected to be a decorative wife, with no real role or work. The novel follows her struggle to exist in her own right, to the point of trying to earn her own living in the world of the theater. A frank, modern look at marriage and the place of women.