This novel was written in the 1920s; therefore, the language tends to be a little more formal than modern readers might be familiar with. The author was an English woman who lived a life similar to Stephen Gordon's, and the language reflects this woman's lifestyle and experiences. The word invert, or the term inversion, is used often to describe Stephen's homosexuality, a word that was common in the time when this novel was written. There is a great deal of French in this novel because Paris is the main setting of the last half of the novel. These phrases are not translated in the narrative, but often the words can be deciphered by their context, although often their direct translation is not often important to the comprehension of the novel.