A Woman of Genius

"A Woman of Genius" by Mary Austin is a story set in the early 1900s about a young woman named Olivia Lattimore, and how she has trouble with what people expect of her and how she wants to express herself through art, all while living in a small town in the Midwest. The story starts with Olivia thinking about her past and her relationship with Pauline Mills, who seems to represent everything society wants her to be. Olivia thinks about what it really means to be a genius, the sacrifices people make, and how hard it can be to find yourself, leading us to her story of growing up, family, and the death of her father. Right from the start, we see Olivia’s artistic talents and how society tries to stop her from using them, pulling readers into a deep look at the problems in her life and in the world around her.