Representations of the New Woman as a Superior Third Gender
Created by Grace Gannon on Thu, 05/02/2024 - 15:14
This timeline features a collection of images and written pieces representing the New Woman in the Victorian Era. Sarah Grand first coined the term “New Woman” in 1894. Despite this, the idea of the New Woman had already been pervading Victorian society years before, with the term’s meaning constantly fluctuating. What did it mean to be a New Woman? This collection, consisting of writing by prevalent authors Sarah Grand and May Kendall and Punch cartoons by various artists, explores the New Woman’s representation as existing not only in a liminal space between genders but in a space decidedly above men, causing resentment and mocking from traditionalist parties. This timeline was created by Grace Gannon in 2024 for Drew University's ENGH/WGST 304: Sexuality and Gender in Victorian Literature and Culture.
Timeline
Chronological table
| Date | Event | Created by | Associated Places | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Dec 1873 |
"The Coming Race" Caption: While Mesdames Wilkins and Perkins are discussing grave School-Board matters and Parliamentary business, their respective husbands are engaged on a topic more genial to their softer natures and weaker intellects. "Isn't she a darling pet, Fred! And just fancy - two front teeth, and only four months last Tuesday week!" "Well, I never!! Why, my darling ickle Totty hasn't cut a single tooth, and he's six months to-morrow! How do you feed her, Tom?"
This Punch cartoon features two women conversing about traditionally "male" topics, while their husbands perform domestic duties in the background commonly associated with women in the Victorian era. The New Women in this cartoon take on masculine traits while still presenting as female, and the caption suggests mockery of the idea that the New Woman believes men have "weaker intellects."
Du Maurier, George. “The Coming Race.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 18 December 1873. p. 6. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 10 Apr 1880 |
"'Man or Woman?'—A Toss Up" Caption: "Dresses are still universally cut en Cœur. A very dressy Toilette, and one, much worn now, for the Evening, is of black Broché or cloth material cut en Habit d'Homme, with plain or kilted Skirt, very tight; for fair Ladies it is very becoming to omit a Tucker, and have the Black with no softening." - Journal des Modes, 1st April
This cartoon pictures two androgynous figures dressed in a mixture of masculine and feminine Victorian styles. The caption describes these androgynous fashion trends, while the cartoon's title suggests the difficulty of determining someone's gender based on the liminal space that these fashion trends exist within; they are not solely male or female, but instead both at the same time.
Linley Sambourne, Edward. “‘Man Or Woman?’—A Toss Up.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 10 April 1880. p. 166. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 1887 |
"Woman's Future" by May Kendall This poem by May Kendall rebuts the Victorian ideology that women were less intelligent or capable than men. She calls for Victorian women to take action against these ideologies instead of conforming to them, ending the poem with a statement of female empowerment that suggests the dethronement of men.
Kendall, May. “Woman’s Future.” Dreams to Sell. London; Longmans, Green, & Co. 1887. p. 38-9. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 24 Feb 1894 |
"What It Will Soon Come To" Caption: Miss Simpson. "Pray let me carry your bag, Mr Smithereen!"
This cartoon pictures a woman offering to help a man carry his bag. The title, "What It Will Soon Come To," suggests disdain for the idea of a woman offering help in this way, and that the New Woman's supposed belief that she is superior to men is getting out of hand.
Artist Unknown. “What It Will Soon Come To.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 24 February 1894. p. 90. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| Mar 1894 |
"The New Aspects of the Woman Question" by Sarah Grand This essay by feminist author Sarah Grand is central to defining the new woman as an intellectual, independent woman who holds a place above men, which she calls the Bawling Brotherhood. She further addresses ways that men have limited and suppressed women's education and rebuts the idea that women are becoming more manly, instead claiming that men are becoming more effeminate. This statement once again brings fluctuating masculinity and effeminacy into the conversation around the New Woman.
Grand, Sarah. “The New Aspect of the Woman Question.” The North American Review. Vol. 158, No. 448. March 1894. p. 270-276. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| Sep 1894 |
"The Undefinable" by Sarah Grand This fiction piece by Sarah Grand, written from the perspective of a male artist pursuing a New Woman muse, illustrates the influence of the New Woman on men. The story shows the muse exerting immense control over the artist's life, taking it upon herself to give orders to both the artist and his butler until she has a complete inspirational hold over the artist. After she achieves this hold, she disappears from his life entirely, continuing her influence on him in her absence.
Grand, Sarah. “The Undefinable.” The New Review, London. Vol. 11, Iss. 64. September 1894. p. 320-320. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 8 Sep 1894 |
"A 'New Woman'" Caption: The vicar's wife. "And have you had good sport, Miss Goldenberg?" Miss G. "Oh, rippin'! I only shot one rabbit, but I managed to injure quite a dozen more!"
This Punch cartoon exhibits a New Woman participating in a traditionally masculine hobby, hunting, while dressing in a more masculine fashion. However, the caption has a mocking tone, implying that while the New Woman may try to move out of the domestic sphere and traditional female spaces and habits, she is not as capable as a man.
Du Maurier, George. “A ‘New Woman.’” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 8 September 1894. p. 111. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 6 Oct 1894 |
"We've Not Come to That Yet" Caption: She. "I was so glad to hear of your Marriage! Do come to use and bring your Wife. By the way, what is your Name now?" He. "Oh, I haven't changed my Name. It's She, you know!"
This Punch cartoon shows a woman talking to a man about his recent marriage, suggesting that he would be the one to change his last name as opposed to the woman. The man corrects her in this assumption, making it clear that his wife had been the one to change her name. This conversation, when paired with the cartoon's title, implies a derisive relief that no matter how far the New Woman has gone in Victorian society, at least she has not tainted traditional marriage rituals "yet."
Artist Unknown. “We’ve Not Come to That Yet.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 6 October 1894. p. 167. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 15 Jun 1895 |
"The New Woman" Caption: "You're not leaving us, Jack? Tea will be here directly!" "Oh, I'm going for a cup of tea in the servants' hall. I can't get on without female society, you know!"
Once again, this Punch cartoon illustrates the New Woman taking the place of the man in the household, suggesting an invasion of the male sphere, with the man instead adopting the behaviors and domestic duties of the traditional Victorian woman. Furthermore, the man in this cartoon clearly states his reliance on female society, therefore implying that when the situation is reverted back to traditional roles, the woman cannot live without male society.
Du Maurier, George. “The New Woman.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 15 June 1895. p. 282. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 27 Jul 1895 |
"What the New Woman Will Make of the New Man!" Caption: "If you want me to keep the next dance for you, you must wait under this door. I can't go rushing all over the room to LOOK for you, you know!"
In a similar manner to the previous Punch cartoon, "The New Woman," this cartoon reverses the societal control that men and women had in the Victorian era, limiting the man's autonomy as opposed to the woman's. The woman treats the man like a pet, something she owns, and orders him to stay under the doorframe the entire night to ensure she knows exactly where he is. This manner of exerting control mirrors male control over women in the domestic sphere—if a woman is limited to household duties, her husband will always know her whereabouts.
Du Maurier, George. “What the New Woman Will Make of the New Man!” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 27 July 1895. p. 42 |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 3 Aug 1895 |
"The Force of Habit" Caption: Miss Diana (a novice). "Oh, Jack, I'm certain this Thing is going to shy at those horrid Pigs! Do you mind leading it past?"
This Punch cartoon pictures the trend of New Women using bicycles as a means of becoming more autonomous. Furthermore, it adopts a mocking tone toward the New Woman for her ignorance of the function of bicycles while also allowing her to insult the man. If the woman's bicycle strays toward pigs, then the man's ability to lead it past would suggest he is also a pig, connecting to representations of the New Woman as superior to men.
Jalland, G.H. “The Force of Habit.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 3 August 1895. p. 59. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 13 Jun 1896 |
"Rational Costume" Caption: The Vicar of St Winifred-in-the-Wold (to fair bicyclists). "It is customary for men, I will not say gentlemen, to remove their hats on entering a church!" Confusion of the Ladies Rota and Ixiona Bykewell.
This cartoon once again addresses androgynous representations of the New Woman, specifically through fashion choices. The vicar confuses the New Women, dressed in masculine biking clothes and positioned in confident masculine poses, as men—but not gentlemen. In this way, the cartoon manages to present the New Woman as existing in a liminal space between genders, not quite women or men, while also mocking their attempts to position themselves above men. However, it is interesting to note that the New Women in this cartoon stand noticeably taller than the vicar, physically looking down on the man and thus implying superiority.
Artist Unknown. “Rational Costume.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 13 June 1896. p. 282. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 7 Aug 1897 |
"Sex versus Sex" by a New Woman Sex versus Sex. (By a New Woman.) ["At the present time a girl's education is effeminate, whereas it should be feminine."—Dr. Clement Dukes on "Hygiene of Youth."] Good gracious! Our girls' education effeminate? This makes it most hard to be clement to Dukes. This is prejudice—sheer,—which is what all we women hate, Just as, in games, we hate cheating and flukes. Effeminate? Lawks! Look at togs and lawn-tennis! At "bikes," and at fashions bifurcate in—bags! How awfully jealous the judgement of men is! In true up-to-dateness how slowly man lags! What is effeminate? Mollyish? Mawkish? The girl of the period, some years ago, Was soft, sentimental, shy, blushful and squawkish; But can Dukes imagine that now she is so? To squeal at a mouse, or to flush at a flattery Once was the "note" of a young English girl, Now she fears not battle, banter, or battery, Hunting-field cropper, or bicycle "purl." Ingénues, all crumpled muslin and cackle Leech had to picture; but girls of to-day Calculus, cricket, or cleft-skirts will tackle, Equally "manly" in dress, work or play. Swift on the Wheel, or successful as Wrangler, Woman fast stealeth a march on poor Man. Woman effeminate? Many a dangler Is left "in the cart" while she goes to the van. Men are effeminate, now, but too often. Soon though, there'll be small distinction of sex, Unless women harden still more as men soften, And then interposition the grumblers may vex. Fancy how Mrs. Lynn Linton will flutter, How "Ouida" will wail, how Buchanan will skirl; When, owing to changes too awful to utter, The true type of manhood is found—in a girl!
This poem, published anonymously in Punch by a self-proclaimed New Woman, argues against Dr. Clement Dukes' opinion on women's education. Instead, it states that women are rising above men slowly but surely and that women possess more manhood than men, again lending to the liminal space of gender that the New Woman exists within as well as their assumption of superiority. The author alludes to Eliza Lynn Linton, a notable Victorian anti-feminist writer, and "Ouida," the pseudonym of writer Marie Louise de la Ramée, a critic of the New Woman movement.
Author Unknown. “Sex versus Sex.” Poem. Punch Magazine. 7 August 1897. p. 58 |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 4 Jun 1898 |
"Nosce Teipsum" Caption: Lady Cyclist (touring in North Holland). "What a Ridiculous Costume!"
The title of this Punch cartoon, "Nosce te Ipsum," translates to "Know thyself." This title, paired with the representation of the New Woman bicyclist poking fun at a Dutch man's clothes, which mirror her own, serves to call out the New Woman as completely lacking in self-awareness, and that her clothes are the real costume. This is an example of cartoons that adopt a disdainful tone toward the New Woman and her presumed superiority over men.
Partridge, John Bernard. “Nosce Teipsum.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 4 June 1898. p. 258. |
Grace Gannon | ||
| 25 Jan 1905 |
"Primum Vivere, Deinde Philosophari" Caption: "Is Florrie's engagement really off, then?" "Oh, yes. Jack wanted her to give up gambling and smoking, and goodness knows what else." (Chorus.) "How absurd!!"
While this Punch cartoon was published after the Victorian era, it illustrates that the concept of the New Woman, as well as criticism for it, did not end with the period. The cartoon pictures New Women once again assuming the behaviors and habits of men; they smoke and gamble, and do so independently. The title, "Primum vivere, deinde philosophari," translates to "First one must live, then one may philosophize." This once again suggests the belief that while New Women may try to stray away from female behavior and present themselves as superior, they do not have experience in society and, therefore, do not understand their role in it.
Somerville, Howard. “Primum Vivere, Deinde Philosophari.” Cartoon. Punch Magazine. 25 January 1905. p. 69. |
Grace Gannon |