Context

Natalie Barney spent the majority of her life in Paris. The most significant period of all the years she lived there, was throughout the 1920's and 30's during which she was engrossed in the American Lesbian Expatriate community. Natalie was at the center of this group because of her literary salon and her open homosexuality.
The Expatriates came to Paris to escape the conservative limitations they faced in America. "Paris had been known since the Napoleonic era for its gay and lesbian aura," which attracted many Expatriates who were looking for a more sexually tolerant society (Baldwin, 59). Barney, like most Lesbian Expatriates was able to escape to a bohemian haven in Paris because her wealth and status provided freedom to break with societal traditions (Benstock).
Being a part of the Lesbian American Expatriate group and the salon scene, Natalie spent much of her time with many of the most talented people of the time. Visitors to her salon "included heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, and gay cultural and artistic figures, including Paul Claudel, Auguste Rodin, George Antheil, Sylvia Beach, Andre Gide, James Joyce, Isadora Duncan," and more (Charles, 2). This creative, open-minded community allowed Natalie to write about what made her passionate and to live the lesbian-centric life that she desired.