The New Woman movement was a social and a literary phenomenon during the last two decades of the nineteenth century. It became a
cause célèbrein the popular press, rendering it difficult to know how many women were actually involved in it, but its fame meant that it exerted an influence perhaps out of all proportion to its real size. It is generally considered the predecessor to the suffrage movement. New Women were middle-class women who agitated for changes in etiquette: an end to chaperones, long hair, and long skirts. They wanted extended professional opportunities: employment and independent accommodations and transportation. Finally, they insisted upon a code of absolute honesty in sexual matters: information about venereal disease, and alternatives to marriage. They fought for…
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Citation: Schaffer, Talia. "New Woman novelists". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=3, accessed 22 November 2024.]
