The Odd Women

So, I got into all this because I don't want to grade papers or write papers -- probably not the best way to waste my time, but who gives? Anyway, what I propose I'll be doing a lot of writing about on here is the literature I'm reading, what I'm thinking about in terms of the literature, and women. And I don't mean women in a sexual way, but just the 'issue' of women in the world of literature (both characters and those reading it). I feel I know a lot about these topics, because I read literature, I study literature, I read about literature, and I'm a woman.

Where'd I get the title? George Gissing's 1893 novel The Odd Women if you haven't read it, you should. It talks a lot about the 'issue' of women. AND most importantly *spoiler* it's the only book I've ever read that 100% ended in a proper manner, aka. not a happy ending. And I'm not talking about death for everyone (though some people die), but I mean things are resolved, the 'happy couple' don't get together -- Gissing had life down pretty good, because let's face it do we women have to end up with a man? And I don't mean that those who do end up with one (or with a women for that matter) are not fulfilling the independence and equality women should push towards. All I'm saying is too often in literature the woman's role is to settle into marriage, or to die, or to succumb to being an old maid (often as a governess). But for Rhoda, it is easy to say she succumbs to maidhood, but really she is doing exactly what her male counterparts do: she rejects marriage to live as she chooses AND runs a successful business ... this (minus the whole business side, unless you consider being a lit. professor as a business) is what I am striving for: Success based on myself alone, regardless of if there is a man in my life or not. Because Rhoda is still successful when Barfoot is wooing her, and when he is not.

Not that this will blog will constantly be a rant as above. That was just a little bit of where I'm coming from. Sometimes it'll be more about the lit, sometimes more about the women, sometimes more about how they apply to me (aka. my life). So yeah.