A Wisconsin man rejects his middle-class life in this controversial 1923 novel of madness and sexual freedom by the celebrated author of Winesburg, Ohio. This is the story of one John Webster, a quiet, prosperous washing machine manufacturer, nearing forty. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife, Mary, and their seventeen-year-old daughter, Jane. They are in many ways the ideal American family . . . until a certain madness takes hold of John; a madness that may in fact be the sudden dawning of sanity.   Like so many men and women, John has dreams that he feels compelled to crush in order to function in his quiet, prosperous life. But down within his body, something is beginning to affect him—an irrepressible feeling of not being himself. It comes over him with all the excitement of springtime, and soon enough it will change him, and his life, forever.  This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.