New Woman’s Resistance from Margin in Selected Stories from Stephanie Forward’s Dreams, Visions and Realities
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of English
Abstract
The present research paper makes a literary investigation upon the Selected Stories
from Stephanie Forward’s anthology of stories Dreams, Visions and Realities, authored by
the late Victorian and early modernist women writers.It argues that the selected stories
reflect feminist resistance during Victorian and early modern time. In order to achieve it,
these stories employ the fictional persona of the leading female characters, who are
portrayed in their constant struggle to resist against the prevalent patriarchal imposition of
traditional gender roles and are in the quest of their own individuality. Likewise, the paper
further explores the characteristic of new woman in the female characters namely Calixta,
Thyra Flowerdew, Annette Browning, Josepha and Vanora whose nonconformist, modern,
unconventional, independent, self-asserting and self-willed lifestyle vehemently resists the set
of the conventional code of gender roles for their individual identity. For strengthening the
argument that the selected stories demonstrate the resistance of women for their
individuality, freedom and independent being, the researcher borrows theoretical insights
from the theory of resistance from various critics including Michelle Foucault accompanied
by the theoretical notion of New Woman and Judith Butler’s concept of gender as
performativity along with Louis Tyson’s interpretation of gender roles. The paper concludes
with the findings that the contemporary social and political transformations encouraged the
transition in the women’s gender consciousness beyond the essentialist patriarchal notion of
masculine and feminine roles.
Key Words: resistance theory, new woman, gender consciousness, individuality