Contradictions In George Gissing's The Odd Women

While the turn of the century may have brought upon a new world order, heralding in the world we know today, having been transformed by the industrial revolution, it was a period of wide-spread general malaise. George Gissing’s The Odd Women reflects the major cultural and sexual issues of the late nineteenth century. Unlike some other novels of the time which may have idealized the idea of the “odd” woman and refuted the notion that they were extra, Gissing parodies that image and portrays women as superfluous. Gissing shows the societies inconsistence in views and contradictions in portrayals of the reality of the era as the class system in England began to fluctuate due to ideological shifts. And even though this period marked the beginning …show more content…
Aside from the fact that many women rejected the institution of marriage from a socio-political standpoint, such as Rhoda Nunn, marriage was not an option for a large proportion of British females at the time. The 1851 census revealed there were “half a million more women than men” meaning for many, it was not physically possible for marriage to be achieved. Unable to rely on a husband financially, many women had to pursue education, if they had the means, and employment in order to self-support. Britain since 1688: A Nation in the World discusses how information gathered from census returns, “the employment of female clerks increased from zero in 1871 to 17,859 two decades later.” When the typewriter was introduced female workers were recruited as they were seen to have more ability to remain deskbound as well as being more dexterous. Gissing illustrates the need for women to work through Mary Barfoot’s school “to train young girls to work in offices.” However, these women are still threatened by the stigma attached to choosing working life in the public sphere over a domestic career in the private sphere. Although aware of the potential benefits she could reap from working with Mary and Rhoda, Monica Madden labels their workplace as “an old maid factory.” Though Monica …show more content…
While some benefits, such as transportation and an increase in cultural diversity with an attempt to break away from classical societal pressures, are depicted, the bulk of the novel reflects how the working class, and mainly working women, lived in a virtual squalor. As the lives of the various “odd” women whom we follow throughout the book deteriorate more and more, through the loss of love, alcoholism, and death in childbirth, we are shown the harsh realities that all to many people of the period actually lived through. Life for women of the time was changing, as there were less men to marry and more need to support themselves with still little to no means for higher