Gender Introduction

The concept of gender played a major role in artistic and literary works published in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. It would be easy to assume that women were simply considered to be subordinate to men during this time. This view is partially based on facts: women at this time were not considered men’s equals. Yet it does not accurately represent the changing dynamics that were taking place between and among the sexes.

Ouida coined the term “New Woman” in response to Sarah Grant's 1894 essay "The New Aspects of the Woman Question." The "New Woman" represented a departure from the Victorian definition of the "true" woman (Ardis 3). She was independent, pursued careers and opportunities outside of the household, and did not necessarily practice abstinence before marriage (Ardis 3). This “new” type of woman differed from the meek, subordinate stereotype that had previously defined women. As a result, there arose a conflict between men and New Women with regards to who possessed power in a relationship. To see the progression of female power from Anna of the Five Towns to The Secret Agent to The Good Soldier, click here.

While the power struggle between 19th century men and New Women was a tangible conflict, there was a more subtle conflict raging between New Women and more socially conservative women. Renown feminist authors Sandra Gilbert and Sarah Gubar note that the latter, “good” women were often motivated to be “good” through promises of safety. Citizens who opposed the New Woman philosophy cited the fact that Jack the Ripper brutally murdered prostitutes as proof that women who led non-conformist lives were putting themselves in harm’s way (Gilbert Vol. 2 47-48). Since this was an era when women who did not bear children and were not “feminine” enough could be considered rebellious, it is easy to understand why this implied threat was effective in steering women away from New Womanhood. Clarissa Dalloway of Mrs. Dalloway was steered away from this "rebellious" existence for a marriage lacking in emotions and passion but one that could provide more financial stability and social status. However, while some scorned the idea of the New Woman, others ridiculed the traditional Victorian woman. (Click here for a discussion).

Unfortunately, even if a 19th century woman did overcome the stigma that came along with being a New Woman, society was not particularly compatible with her wants and needs. Gilbert and Gubar state that, “(T)o many late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century men, women seemed to be agents of an alien world that evoked anger and anguish” (Gilbert Vol. 1 4). Even if a woman succeeded in breaking free from her conservative shackles, she still had to find her place in a world that generally did not appreciate the “new” her. This concept is perhaps most apparent in Winnie Verloc’s actions in Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent. To read more about what happens when the New Woman finally breaks free, click here. Another women who seems to defy social conventions is Mrs Killman, a character in Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway. As an educated, unmarried, and older woman, Mrs. Killman embodies the New Woman but is shunned by society. Because she is unappreciated, she grows to despise women who embody the ideals, like Clarissa. There are more difficult choices facing women because of the extreme differences between traditional roles and new roles.

This time period was one in which change was afoot. The modern era welcomed different types of innovative literature and encouraged writers to challenge every type of convention. Many writers tried new techniques and styles to explore the fabric of human consciousness and thought. For more about the way discourse and narrative changed to accommodate these questions. Click here. Women offered a unique perspective on the world which writers explored in the newly emerging modern novel. This theme of how a woman's perspective influenced the reader's understanding of a book was explored in Joyce's Ulysses. Click here for a further exploration of this idea. Dorothy Richardson writes entirely through one woman's perspective in her collection of novels, Pilgrimage. In the fourth novel, Dawn's Left Hand, the reader is immersed in the main protagonist's, Miriam Henderson's, perspective about the relationship between men and women. Richardson uses a technique to portray Miriam's consciousness called narrated monologue. For more about narrated monologue, Click here. The reader experience's Miriam's questions about the levels of intimacy that can potentially exist between her and her lover Hypo and the deep emotional connection she feels with another woman, Amabel. Women were still a far cry from being seen as men’s contemporaries, but the New Woman set the tone for gender wars that would continue throughout the 20th century.

During this time period, the prescribed gender roles of the past generations shifted drastically. However, this was not the only type of change that was occurring during this era. The political chaos of the era, which included World War I and the Russian Revolution, was another example of a shift in the mindset of the people of this era. The chaos brought that generation to question the ideas of individuality and autonomy. The Modernist literary movement was fueled by the gender changes as well as these political changes, resulting in a group of disillusioned artists that were surrounded by astounding change who reflected these changes and their reactions to these shifts in all forms of art, including literature.

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Ardis, Ann. New Women, New Novels: Feminism and Early Modernism. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1990.

Gilbert, Sandra M. and Sarah Gubar. No Man's Land: The Place of the Woman Writer in the 20th Century. Vol. 1. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.

Gilbert, Sandra M. and Sarah Gubar. No Man's Land: The Place of the Woman Writer in the 20th Century. Vol. 2. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.

Sargent, John Singer. "Mr. and Mrs. I.N. Phelps Stokes." Painting. 3 Mar. 2010. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sarg/ho_38.104.htm>

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Gender Portal (last edited 2010-08-15 03:21:11 by 213)