The New Woman's Commonplace Book

The New Woman: This front cover of The Dawn is the largest step, the culmination of previous efforts of many New Women.  This journal, the first issue of what I can only hope and pray to be many, puts women in a position leaps and bounds from where we previously were. I consider the quote and cartoon in my commonplace book to be more abstract. A bit of thinking and reading between the lines is required to grasp the purpose behind those two items. This journal, however, is a roaring statement. There is no underlying meaning. In this journal, and many like it, women…

The New Woman:  This hardly is a cartoon to me; it is reality. Society expects women to wear such ridiculous and inconvenient items, all to fit the mold of what men consider favorable. Women wear dresses with hoopskirts or other invasive objects to hold the shape of the dress. Corsets are also commonly worn to slim the waist. The smaller the waist, the more desirable a woman is to a man. While many women endure this excessive struggle daily, I only see the hoopskirts and corsets as rather restrictive. When I wear these things, it feels as though my body is in need of oiling,…

The New Woman: What a powerful, inspiring thing Ms. Jane Austen has said. I emphasize “Ms.”, as she turned down a chance at marriage a multitude of times. I feel as though that is an avenue not taken nearly enough in this day and age. For centuries, women have grown and matured with one societal goal in place: marriage. From birth, we know what our future holds. Some of us attend school. Some of us stay home and help around the house. Which path we take does not matter, for all of us end up as property the day we marry. Now, marriage is not an issue. Finding a lifelong partner is…