The New Woman came into existence in the second half of the nineteenth
century, but remained nameless until 1894, when Ouida and Sarah Grand used the term
for the first time in two North American Review articles. Today, the New Woman is
generally seen as the manifestation of changing gender norms at the fin de siècle. Critics
such as Sally Ledger and Caroll Smith-Rosenberg differentiate between ‘first and
second- generation New Women: the first living and writing in the 1880s and 1890s, the
second in the 1920s and 1930s’ (Ledger 1). As this quotation shows, the label is mostly
applied to female authors. However, it can also be used to describe fictional characters
such as Lena Lingard in Willa Cather’s novel My Ántonia, Jordan Baker in Fitzgerald’s
The Great Gatsby, and Lady Brett Ashley in ‘Fiesta’ (The Sun Also Rises) by Ernest
Hemingway. This essay will, first of all, explain what was ‘new’ about women in the
late nineteenth and early twentieth century and thus attempt to define the term New
Woman. It will determine a number of characteristics that are considered typical of the
New Woman in fiction, and use these as criteria to examine whether the characters
mentioned above can be called New Women. Finally, the essay will compare the
manner in which Cather, Fitzgerald and Hemingway present the characters.
To begin with, the New Woman can generally be seen as a challenge to
conventional gender roles. There are three main areas in which the New Woman differs
from her predecessors: lifestyle, work and sexuality. That is, her attitude towards these
topics bears little or no resemblance to the attitude of the early nineteenth-century
woman.
Table of Contents
1. Qu. 1: Examine the treatment in the literature of the period of the ‘new woman’.
Research Objectives & Key Themes
This essay explores the historical and literary phenomenon of the "New Woman" at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, evaluating how shifting gender norms regarding lifestyle, work, and sexuality are represented in key modernist texts. It examines the defining characteristics of the New Woman and analyzes how specific female characters from novels by Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway embody or deviate from these ideals.
- Historical definition of the "New Woman" as a response to fin de siècle gender norms.
- Evaluation of independence regarding lifestyle, financial autonomy, and sexual agency.
- Comparative literary analysis of female characters: Lena Lingard, Jordan Baker, and Lady Brett Ashley.
- Examination of the differences in portrayal between female and male authors regarding the "New Woman."
Excerpt from the Book
The New Woman in Literature
The New Woman came into existence in the second half of the nineteenth century, but remained nameless until 1894, when Ouida and Sarah Grand used the term for the first time in two North American Review articles. Today, the New Woman is generally seen as the manifestation of changing gender norms at the fin de siècle. Critics such as Sally Ledger and Caroll Smith-Rosenberg differentiate between ‘first and second-generation New Women: the first living and writing in the 1880s and 1890s, the second in the 1920s and 1930s’ (Ledger 1). As this quotation shows, the label is mostly applied to female authors. However, it can also be used to describe fictional characters such as Lena Lingard in Willa Cather’s novel My Ántonia, Jordan Baker in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and Lady Brett Ashley in ‘Fiesta’ (The Sun Also Rises) by Ernest Hemingway.
To begin with, the New Woman can generally be seen as a challenge to conventional gender roles. There are three main areas in which the New Woman differs from her predecessors: lifestyle, work and sexuality. That is, her attitude towards these topics bears little or no resemblance to the attitude of the early nineteenth-century woman.
Chapter Summaries
1. Qu. 1: Examine the treatment in the literature of the period of the ‘new woman’.: This chapter defines the historical origins of the "New Woman" and establishes three core criteria for analysis—lifestyle, economic independence, and sexual agency—while introducing the three literary subjects: Lena Lingard, Jordan Baker, and Lady Brett Ashley.
Keywords
New Woman, Fin de siècle, Gender Norms, Feminism, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, My Ántonia, The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, Flapper, Sexual Independence, Financial Autonomy, Modernism, Literary Criticism
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this academic paper?
The paper examines the literary construction of the "New Woman" archetype at the turn of the twentieth century, analyzing how female characters reflect or challenge the changing social expectations regarding gender roles.
What are the core thematic fields analyzed in the text?
The work focuses on three primary areas of change: the shift in lifestyles and fashion, the movement toward financial independence and employment, and the increasing sexual agency of women in the early modern period.
What is the primary objective of this investigation?
The goal is to determine if specific characters—Lena Lingard, Jordan Baker, and Lady Brett Ashley—can be accurately classified as "New Women" based on historical criteria, while comparing the perspectives of female and male authors.
Which scientific or critical methodology is employed?
The study utilizes a comparative literary analysis, applying predefined sociological and historical parameters of the "New Woman" to fictional characters to evaluate their adherence to or departure from these norms.
What does the main body of the text cover?
The main body systematically explores the three parameters (lifestyle, work, sexuality), applies them to the three selected novels, and discusses the authorial differences in how these characters are depicted and resolved.
Which keywords best describe this research?
The research is characterized by terms such as "New Woman," "Fin de siècle," "Gender Norms," "Modernism," and "Literary Criticism," focusing on the intersection of social history and fictional representation.
How does the "Flapper" figure into the definition of the New Woman?
The "Flapper" is identified as the visual representation of the second-generation New Woman, characterized by shorter skirts, boyish haircuts, and a rejection of traditional Victorian beauty standards.
Why does the author argue that Cather’s portrayal is more "authoritative" than those of Fitzgerald or Hemingway?
The author suggests that because Willa Cather experienced the professional and social challenges of being an emancipated woman herself, her writing provides a deeper, more realistic insight into the difficulties faced by such women compared to the male authors' depictions.
How is Jordan Baker’s financial and social independence assessed in the text?
The text classifies Jordan Baker as a New Woman due to her professional success as a golfer and her boyish aesthetic, even though the text notes that her internal motivations remain ambiguous due to the novel's limited first-person narrative perspective.
- Quote paper
- Nina Dietrich (Author), 2003, The New Woman in Cather, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/19973
