Cather's protagonist is Professor Godfrey St. Peter, a man in his fifties who has devoted his life to his work, his wife, his garden, and his daughters--and achieved success with all of them. But when St. Peter is called on to move to a new, more comfortable house, something in him rebels. Combining profound introspection with a delightful grasp of the social and domestic trials of a Midwestern college town, The Professor's House is a brilliant study in emotional dislocation and renewal.