The Odd Women (Penguin Classics)

Editorial Reviews. Review. “When it comes to the complexities of everyday life in late-Victorian.
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Two feminist women really really feminist for the times, open a clerical school for these "lowly women" so that they may come out of the sweatshops. The hope is that maybe they will never even consider marriage. According to one of these women, "Who needs it? Great social commentary of the times. Nov 21, Issicratea rated it really liked it Shelves: Thematically, this novel is very interesting indeed. Fear of this fate, as Gissing illustrates, can drive women into the equal and opposite fate of a desperation marriage, which condemns both them and their husbands to a form of living hell.

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These two, the reticent Mary Barfoot and the more exuberant Rhoda Nunn, were the freshest characters in the novel for me. They take rather a while to surface, but, once they did, my interest was piqued. One reason why The Odd Women worked for me a little better than New Grub Street is that its gloom and misery is slightly less unremitting.

In addition to the dreary, precarious lives and feeble twitches of rebellion in which Gissing seems to specialize, we have some more colorful elements here. I still have a few reservations about Gissing. But he has certainly got something—perhaps as simple as an ability to home in unfailingly on what is most new and live and raw in his society. This gives his novels a disconcertingly modern air at times, rather like the sensation of seeing color photographs from the early s, which jolt you into seeing the past in a different way.

View all 5 comments. Jan 04, Kristina A rated it really liked it Recommends it for: This novel was surprisingly good. I was expecting something more like a polemic, something in which the Issues were more important than the story. But what I got instead was surprisingly readable, well-written, and even quite suspenseful. Okay, not in a thriller kind of way, but in a Victorian marriage plot kind of way. It also has some characters that verge on being one-dimensional -- such as Mr.

Widdowson -- but even he has moments in which you sympathize with him. Almost all of the characters appear as though they'll be one-dimensional, but then they surprise you -- particularly the two main female characters, Rhoda and Monica. Although each one is designed to demonstrate a "type" of unmarried woman -- one with an intellectual disdain for the institution and the other who sees it as her only real option for an easy life -- Gissing takes both of them in unexpected directions. In the process, he makes one of the strongest cases for female equality that I've read in a Victorian novel, openly criticizing Ruskin's idea of separate spheres and arguing for female education and intellectual development as well as personal freedom and employment opportunities.

He may not have all the answers or be able to envision a strong alternative to marriage, but Gissing never -- not even in the ending, where critics often complain Victorian novels become conservative -- backs away from his conviction that without true, mutual understanding and belief in equality, love cannot exist. A vastly underrated novel. I'd never heard of this author until he was recommended on one of the Amazon threads. I enjoyed this story which at heart offers two tales of "love" by two very different women. Monica is a young woman who marries an older man and trade one prison for another.

Rhoda is principled and idealistic and revels in her independence. This novel delves into the start of the emancipation movement and is a quite fascinating look at 19th century society. Really this novel deserves A vastly underrated novel. Really this novel deserves all of the accolades that readers are able to give. My regret is that it's taken me so long to find this wonderful and thought provoking gem that delivers themes that are as applicable today as yesterday. Apr 17, Carla Remy rated it really liked it. This book is really good.

Being a late Victorian realist novel, it doesn't conclude with a happy, pat ending, but it is satisfying all the same. The odd women are the multitude of unmarried females in Victorian England, and this book concerns the effort by trailblazing ladies to get educated women using typewriters so they have their own employment besides teaching, governessing or nursing. Actually honest about marriage leading to control of the spouse - but it goes both ways. Wives without their own lives and livelihood can become warped controllers just like husbands can.

Also deals with alcoholism - of a woman. Very ahead of its time. Amazing to think how much changed in 50 or 60 years. Sep 04, Sera rated it it was amazing Recommended to Sera by: I found this book to be fascinating. Gissing represents a unique voice in Victorian literature, and he did not disappoint me with the wonderful social commentary that he wrote about the roles of the sexes and their own perceptions about what their roles should be in Victorian society. Oh yeah, and then Gissing throws in a bunch of stuff regarding the multiple purposes of getting married, the effects of loneliness on the human psyche and the crazy things that people will or won't do for love.

Ele I found this book to be fascinating. Gissing's writing style is much more simplistic than these writers, but packed with great insight into the feelings of the people who lived during this time. There is much going on with this book, and once the multiple plot lines started moving, I had difficulty putting it down until I knew how everyone had made out in the end.

Overall, I would recommend Gissing to those readers who are interested in hearing a new voice within the genre. Jan 27, Alasse rated it it was amazing Shelves: Forget about Edith Wharton - this the best, most ahead-of-its-time, social commentary book I have read in a long, long time, if not ever. How come it wasn't on my radar before?

It speaks about women's equality in a way that makes it incredible that it was written in the freaking s. If only, the fact that it was makes it even more refreshing - because these are problems that we're already aware of but we still haven't managed to resolve, seeing it all discussed like it's new and devoid of con Forget about Edith Wharton - this the best, most ahead-of-its-time, social commentary book I have read in a long, long time, if not ever.

If only, the fact that it was makes it even more refreshing - because these are problems that we're already aware of but we still haven't managed to resolve, seeing it all discussed like it's new and devoid of connotations I guess the contrast should feel depressing, but the book is the one that reads surprisingly modern, so I had to keep reminding myself that we have truly come a long way in most of these respects. Just look at quote: But a free union presupposes equality of position. No honest man would propose it, for instance, to a woman incapable of understanding all it involved, or incapable of resuming her separate life if that became desirable.

Apr 15, Kansas rated it it was amazing Shelves: Oct 27, Always Pink rated it it was ok. Lord, I'm thankful to thee that I live in the 21st century and not in Victorian times. Gissing is trying his best to elucidate his readers on the grave matter of the equality of the sexes.

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To follow his meanderings gives us today valuable insight into the more than sad state of affairs in his times. Some thoughts and ideas on marriage are well formulated and quite interesting. But the story as such feels heavily constructed for the sake of argument and Gissing's characters have a tendency to utt Lord, I'm thankful to thee that I live in the 21st century and not in Victorian times. But the story as such feels heavily constructed for the sake of argument and Gissing's characters have a tendency to utter gibberish and faint or weep on sofas. This novel has not aged well, but was probably a well meant effort on the author's part to promote emancipation.

Feb 14, Wealhtheow rated it it was ok Shelves: Fiction about a small selection of loosely related women with various personalities and talents. The writing is pointed and both easy and interesting to read, but I got impatient and spoiled myself for the ending, and then lost all interest in actually reading the full novel. I don't enjoy reading about nineteenth century people torturing themselves and others in order to live up to their high ideals and inevitably failing to do so anyway.

There were certainly ideas and themes about women that I never expected to see in a Victorian novel, which was quite refreshing. Apr 25, Alex rated it it was amazing. This was a great book!! I was very pleasantly surprised as I thought it might be a bit dry and more polemic but it actually did a great job of mixing the lessons and ideology of the "Odd Women" teachers in Miss Barfoot and Miss Nun with an actual storyline--the women's personal lives that end up testing their ideology.

The relationships in this book are extremely realistic and raise important questions about marriage and the role of men and women in society. Really liked the Everard and Rhoda co This was a great book!! Really liked the Everard and Rhoda conflict and its resolution was fitting. Nov 17, Kelly This is a wonderful book which explores the roles of women in Victorian England, and specifically analyzing the roles of unmarried women.

The Odd Women

I found it to be smart, sometimes funny, and strongly feminist. I wasn't always so sure about Rhoda, but she conquered me in the end. I'm completely in awe of her strength. The question is, in a pre-feminist world, what were these women supposed to do? The latter option, of course, was considered very controversial when this book was written.

Rhoda is particularly anti-marriage and resolves to remain single all of her life in commitment to the greater good of all women wishing to serve as a role model for women choosing not to center their lives around marriage and family. At first, I found this book highly polemical. Dialogues between Rhoda and other characters who debate with her appeared to be thinly veiled excuses to present contrasting views of marriage and protofeminist ideas.

Eventually, though, the complexity of the plot and characters deepened and became more of a focus. Monica seemed a superficial twit at first, but in time displayed some real strength in her struggle to find her way in an unhappy marriage. Her husband, Edmund Widdowson, was a very three-dimensional controlling husband as opposed to a pure villain and their relationship was not simplistic. Rhoda went from being a militant robot to being a woman caught between her ideals and her emerging passion, genuinely conflicted about her choices.

Another thing that struck me about this book was its parallels to present-day life — the more things change, the more they stay the same. It was interesting to read about a similar phenomenon in the s and to see some parallels. This is a good book for anyone who wants to think about these issues, and who appreciates or can tolerate 19th century-style writing. The appendices at the end were interesting as well. Aug 29, Becky rated it liked it Shelves: At no point was I floored by Gissing as a writer. For example the book opened with: And he dies, leaving few savings to his untrained girls.

It sentences like that, and a few excellent quips in arguments, that lets you know Gissing could be powerful, but more often than not I feel that the characters are one dimensional, we never see or understand their retinence to make a decision, or sometimes their actions seem flamboyant with little to know description of why things suddenly became so heated.

In the end the narrative falls a little flat. We then skip a head a number of years. Half of the sisters are dead from sickness, overwork, and suicide all really results of the aforementioned overwork. There were several complains in our book club that skipping straight to their destitution made it hard to relate to the characters. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. The Egoist Penguin Classics. New Grub Street Penguin Classics. Sponsored products related to this item What's this?

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Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Is this feature helpful? Thank you for your feedback. Read reviews that mention odd women victorian era depressing stories well written george gissing single women women gissing social feminist lives marriage men woman edition novels class classes independent period poor.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I'm SO glad to have "discovered" this particular Victorian writer! I was looking for something to read next and this popped up on Amazon's recommendations. Even though Gissing is referred to as a great Victorian writer of the "second tier," I decided to read it, anyway. Well poop on that "second-tier" stuff.

Gissing ruined himself socially and financially and ended up living in disgrace amongst the "lower classes. Gissing shows us their lives up close and best of all gives us strong female characters who are determined to show women that self-respect and taking responsibility for themselves makes them authentic human beings, not creatures to be molded into society's ideals of femininity. Everything about his characterizations is believable. His feminist discourses through the characters are fascinating, especially when prophesying on the future of the feminist cause.

How very close to the mark he was.

The Odd Woman

The plot was well-paced and thoroughly enjoyable. Now on to read another from this so-called "second-tier" writer. This is actually two novels under one cover. I enjoyed the first one, but didn't make it through the second so I'll only comment on the part I actually read. Married Monica meets Bevis, a young, middle-class man who pursues her and represents for her the romantic ideal from popular novels. Crucially, Bevis lives in the same building as Everard Barfoot.

Monica, determined to elope with Bevis, goes there. Unbeknownst to her, her husband has hired a detective to follow her. She hears someone follow her up the stairs and, to appear innocent, she knocks on Barfoot's door. This is reported back to Widdowson, and he feels his suspicion has been justified and informs Mary Barfoot of her cousin's blackguardly ways. Rhoda, on the other hand, is on a holiday in The Lake District , and Everard goes to see her there.

The Odd Woman by Gail Godwin | leondumoulin.nl

He woos her and at first suggests they enter a free-union i. However, she gives him a conventional "womanly" response and agrees to be with him only in a legal union; Barfoot, somewhat disappointed in her surprising conventionality, proposes marriage, which she accepts. She then receives a letter from Mary telling of Everard's supposed affair with Monica. Rhoda then breaks off the engagement, after Everard proudly refuses to give an explanation but insists he is innocent. After Widdowson confronts Monica over her infidelity, she leaves him but lives at his expense and even moves, together with her sisters, to his rented house in Clevedon.

Virginia has become an alcoholic her way of dealing with being an 'odd woman'. Monica is pregnant by her husband, but her pride will not let her reunite with him.