Mobility and Modernity in Women's Novels, 1850s-1930s : Women Moving Dangerously

Analyzing novels by women writers from the 1850s to the 1930s, this book argues that representations of mobility offer a fruitful way to explore the location of women within modernity and, specifically, the opportunities for (or limitations on) women's agency in this period, considering the mobility of the female subject in the city and beyond. Novels by women writers from the period of the 1850s to the 1930s frequently represent women in motion, whether travelling the Continent, leaving the family home for an independent life, walking through the countryside, or simply catching the train. Examining these diverse representations of mobility, this book argues it is possible to consider women's place in modernity and the opportunities for (or limitations on) women's agency in this period. Much previous discussion of women's mobility in modernity has focused almost exclusively on women's increasing movement within urban contexts but this book widens the frame to consider the mobility of the female subject beyond the city as well in order to demonstrate the complexities of the position and agency of modern women.--Résumé de l'éditeur Front Matter....Pages i-vi Modernity, Mobility and Women’s Agency....Pages 1-20 Home and Away....Pages 21-47 Travelling Companions....Pages 48-77 The New Woman’s ‘Wheels of Daily Existence’....Pages 78-103 Street Politics....Pages 104-123 Moving Dangerously....Pages 124-143 Destinations of the Modern Woman....Pages 144-161 Back Matter....Pages 162-198