Women, Compulsion, Modernity: The Moment of American Naturalism (Women in Culture and Society Series)

The 1890s have long been thought one of the most male-oriented eras in American history. But in reading such writers as Frank Norris with Mary Wilkins Freeman and Charlotte Perkins Gilman with Stephen Crane, Jennifer L. Fleissner boldly argues that feminist claims in fact shaped the period's cultural mainstream. __Women, Compulsion, Modernity__ reopens a moment when the young American woman embodied both the promise and threat of a modernizing world. Fleissner shows that this era's expanding opportunities for women were inseparable from the same modern developments—industrialization, consumerism—typically believed to constrain human freedom. With __Women, Compulsion, and Modernity__, Fleissner creates a new language for the strange way the writings of the time both broaden and question individual agency.

The 1890s have long been thought one of the most male-oriented eras in American history. But in reading such writers as Frank Norris with Mary Wilkins Freeman and Charlotte Perkins Gilman with Stephen Crane, Jennifer L. Fleissner boldly argues that feminist claims in fact shaped the period's cultural mainstream. Women, Compulsion, Modernity reopens a moment when the young American woman embodied both the promise and threat of a modernizing world.

Fleissner shows that this era's expanding opportunities for women were inseparable from the same modern developments—industrialization, consumerism—typically believed to constrain human freedom. With Women, Compulsion, and Modernity, Fleissner creates a new language for the strange way the writings of the time both broaden and question individual agency.

Life In America At The Turn Of The 19th Century Has Been Characterised As Distinctly Male Orientated. Fleissner Disputes This Popular View & Uncovers A New Understanding Of The Era Through Naturalism, The Prominent Literary Style Of The Time. Introduction : The Feminization Of American Naturalism -- The Compulsion To Describe : Naturalist Subjects, Naturalist History -- The Great Indoors : Regionalism, Feminism, And Obsessional Domesticity -- A Mania For The Moment : Fadmongering And Feminism In Henry James -- The New Woman & The Old Man : Sentimentality And Drift In Dreiser And Wharton -- Saving Herself : Gender, Preservation, And Futurity In Mcteague -- The Rhythm Method : Unmothering The Race In Chopin, Stein, And Grimké. Jennifer L. Fleissner. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 305-323) And Index. Life in America at the turn of the 19th century has been characterised as distinctly male orientated. Fleissner disputes this popular view and uncovers a new understanding of the era through naturalism, the prominent literary style of the time.