ENGL 265-03, The New Woman in American Literature, Fall 2008

Abstract

The term “New Woman” has been around since the 1860’s, and it became a popular catchphrase towards the latter half of the nineteenth century in both America and England. Most of those who used and read it understood it to suggest the unprecedented behavior of middle and upper class women who were increasingly college-educated, gainfully employed and who defied other traditional expectations of feminine propriety. In this class, however, we’ll work towards understanding the term in an even broader way, examining the way society defined (and often resisted) the “new” roles of women in all tiers of society. It will also be important for us to remember that, while this time period was an era of great liberation for some women, “new” roles were not always better ones.