Resumen
Resumen de Las mujeres sobrantes
Para quién es
For readers who love Victorian realism, stories about money and marriage, and novels in which ideas matter as much as plot.
De qué trata este libro
What happens to a woman when no man is left to keep her? The Odd Women, a novel by George Gissing published in 1893, drops this question into London in the late 1880s, when everyone argues about the Woman Question. Gissing knew poverty from his own early life, so the arguments fall on real people. The title has two meanings. Odd women are the ones left over, who will never find a husband. They are also unusual women who choose a different path. The book follows the Madden sisters, raised in comfort and left almost penniless, and two women who run a school for office workers.
En este resumen
- 1A doctor's daughters are left with littleFree
- 2Monica trades one cage for another
- 3Rhoda Nunn lives by her own rules
- 4Alice and Virginia meet the new women
- 5Everard Barfoot tests Rhoda's convictions
- 6Widdowson wants a wife he can possess
- 7Marriage and freedom pull against each other
- 8The real subject is money, work and choice
- 9A cool narrator, a crowded city, a balanced debate
Idea clave 1 de 9
A doctor's daughters are left with little
Dr Madden is a kind father with six daughters and a comfortable home. He assumes there will always be time to provide for them, so he puts the question off. The girls grow up as young ladies, with no thought of earning a living.
Then the doctor dies and leaves very little money. Gissing makes this a quiet but brutal moment. Girls who expected a protected life find that no one is protecting them.
Alice and Virginia drift into a thin, anxious life of small sums and cramped rooms. They have not failed in any obvious way. Their father's neglect has made them odd women, and society has no place for them.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Las mujeres sobrantes
What is The Odd Women about?
It follows the Madden sisters, left poor by their father's death, and two reformers, Rhoda Nunn and Mary Barfoot, who train women for office work. It looks at marriage, money and independence in 1890s London.
What does the title The Odd Women mean?
It refers to women left unmarried because there were thought to be more women than men. It also hints at women who are odd in the sense of unusual, choosing a life outside the usual pattern.
When was The Odd Women written and is it a true story?
George Gissing published it in 1893. The setting and issues are real. Women's work, marriage law and the so-called Woman Question were widely debated in Britain at the time.
Is The Odd Women hard to read?
Not especially. The prose is clear and the plot is easy to follow. Most readers find it accessible.
Is The Odd Women a feminist novel?
It takes women's independence very seriously and gives strong voice to reformers. Yet Gissing also shows doubts and costs, and lets all sides speak, so many readers see it as a balanced and searching book rather than a simple tract.