Written in 1914, the year that saw the completion of Portrait and the beginning of Ulysses, Exiles was not published until 1918. Very obviously inspired by Ibsen, this play features an artist who must choose between a career that satisfies his wife and friends, or a life of alienation in the pursuit of his muse. Although there are certainly a few autobiographical elements present in the basic structure, the play quickly veers off into fiction as the characters begin to orient themselves into the corners of a bizarre love triangle. Though these troubled relationships form part of the dramatic tension, the real source of stress is caused by the inability of the artist's wife and friend to understand him, and his reciprocal inability to really care about their lives.