New Woman’s Resistance from Margin in Selected Stories from Stephanie Forward’s Dreams, Visions and Realities

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