“The New Woman” In Short Prose by Olga Kobylanska and Edith Wharton

Abstract

The notion of the “new woman”, which emerged as a feminist ideal in Western consciousness during the late 19th century, resonates throughout both European and US-American literature. The main character in Olga Kobylanska’s novella “Eine Unzivilisierte” (1898) embodies the theme of female liberation in Ukrainian literature of the era. Similarly, the central female figures in Edith Wharton’s short stories, “The Other Two” (1902) and “The Mission of Jane” (1904), highlight the heightened role of women within the patriarchal society of the United States during that period. Applying close reading, block method and typological approach for the study of diachronic aspects of literary relationships the article analyzes the literary embodiment of the concept of “new woman” in short prose of Ukrainian and US-American women authors. In “Eine Unzivilisierte”, the protagonist Paraska actively opposes marrying a man chosen by others and is decisive in her own choice of partners; she does not feel any obligation to be a typical “housewife”, or to correspond to the typical picture of a woman, with all the activity connoted as typically “feminine”. Independent of her husband, the “new woman” at the turn of the centuries, Paraska proudly appeals to her right and ability to find another partner at any given moment. In contrast to Kobylanska’s novella Wharton’s short stories demonstrate rather submissive behavior of their central female characters, both named Alice. Maternity enables both Alices to subvert the established hierarchy achieving some freedom of “new woman”. In Kobylanska’s novella, the rural setting contrasts with the urban backdrop of Edith Wharton’s short stories, symbolizing the societal constraints faced by the “new woman”.