A novel of social realism, The Odd Women reflects the major sexual and cultural issues of the late nineteenth century. Unlike the "New Woman" novel...
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Aug 14, 2008
Kristina
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This novel was surprisingly good. I was expecting something more like a polemic, something in which the Issues were more important than the story. But what I got instead was surprisingly readable, well-written, and even quite suspenseful. (Okay, not in a thriller kind of way, but in a Victorian marriage plot kind of way.)
Unlike an Issue novel like Ruth (oh, Elizabeth Gaskell, I like you, but that novel has some problems!), where the protagonist is primarily a bland vehicle for making More...
Unlike an Issue novel like Ruth (oh, Elizabeth Gaskell, I like you, but that novel has some problems!), where the protagonist is primarily a bland vehicle for making More...
Jan 13, 2009
Carrie
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The Odd Women is a novel of ideas, somewhat in the vein of Henry James, where not much happens, but what does is all psychologically fraught and full of meaning. Gissing, however, manages to make the philosophy into more of a page-turner than James does. It is about the idea of marriage and women’s roles, wrapped around the concept of the “odd woman,” that is the idea that around the turn of the century there were more women than men in Britain. Society freaked out about the what would become of
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Sep 29, 2011
Lady Jane
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A close study of all types of women before they get married—why some want to get married, why others don’t, and how it’s all perfectly okay, it's all a matter of taste. One of my favorite quotes from the book is "Don't blame the institution of marriage with what is chargeable to human fate. A vain and miserable life is the lot of nearly all mortals. Most people, whether they marry or not, will suffer and commit endless follies." This leaves us with the conclusion that marriage is just
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May 22, 2010
Jennifer (JC-S)
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‘I am no tyrant, but I shall rule you for your own good.’
The novel opens in 1872, with Dr Madden and his six daughters living together in a form of domestic harmony which has not prepared the daughters for independent life outside their childhood home.
Alas, this harmony is quickly destroyed. When the need arises for the sisters to earn an income, they face a number of challenges. It is hard for them to reconcile their middle-class respectability and their lack o More...
The novel opens in 1872, with Dr Madden and his six daughters living together in a form of domestic harmony which has not prepared the daughters for independent life outside their childhood home.
Alas, this harmony is quickly destroyed. When the need arises for the sisters to earn an income, they face a number of challenges. It is hard for them to reconcile their middle-class respectability and their lack o More...
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Feb 20, 2010
Nancy
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Whatever Gissing is, he is always interesting. This time he takes on the social climate of the late 1800s and the social position of women in England.
His characters mostly fall into the poverty category and women, unless they marry well or are heiresses, have a rough time rising in society. There are wealthy women in this book along with "odd women," who are those who choose not to marry, to those unhappily married and those who survive through prostitution.
The marria More...
His characters mostly fall into the poverty category and women, unless they marry well or are heiresses, have a rough time rising in society. There are wealthy women in this book along with "odd women," who are those who choose not to marry, to those unhappily married and those who survive through prostitution.
The marria More...
Aug 22, 2011
Larry
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This is a somewhat odd book; a late 19th century work that centers on the emancipation of women, but is about that and more. "Odd women" are women who do not have any of the factors necessary to attract a husband - lacking either looks, or money, or class, or startion. Some work in sweatshop conditions (like men c.f. "Of Human Bondage"), others live on bare subsistance and/or die young. Mary Barfoot and Rhoda Nunn run a school to teach "odd women" useful office skil
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Apr 30, 2009
Allison
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Having really liked the play The Age of Arousal that was taken from this book, I had expected the plot of the book to be more like the play. Given the slightly racy nature of the play I suppose I should have known it was a bit much for contemporary writers. But in any case I was surprised at the lack of mention of any gay content (in the play the two women who ran a school together were overtly a couple) and at the fact that the play's gleefully fallen young single woman enjoying her sexual li
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Dec 24, 2008
Lisa
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Oh, the tragedy of being unmarried in the 1850's! If you were a spinster in Victorian England and came from a good (although penniless family), you were in for it. There were no jobs available except for that of governess, and those were hard to come by. This tale revolves around two upper-class sisters who gradually must learn to fend for themselves in a very brutal world. Gissing glosses over nothing; he tells it like it is, and it's harsh. He is considered one of the finest (just slightl
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Dec 01, 2011
Nina
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"But do you know that there are half a million more women than men in this unhappy country of ours...so many odd women - no making a pair with them. The pessimists call them useless, lost, futile lives. I, naturally - being one of them myself - take another view."
This is a story about women and their role in the late Victorian society. Back when it was a woman's job to marry and produce an heir and a spare. You know, before women were seen as living, thinking, capable human b More...
This is a story about women and their role in the late Victorian society. Back when it was a woman's job to marry and produce an heir and a spare. You know, before women were seen as living, thinking, capable human b More...
Aug 11, 2011
Ellen
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This is the first book I've read by Gissing, and I must say I was truly impressed. The author's purpose, made very obvious, is the status of women during the Victorian period, in particular that of single women, the "odd" women. Gissing makes clear the lack of opportunity for these women to raise themselves out of poverty and struggle, how they must rely on such work as being governesses, shop girls, and so on, and live lives of near starvation, loneliness, and pain. However, there are
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Jul 26, 2011
Elizabeth (Alaska)
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Writing this review will be a struggle; not because I didn't like the book, but because why I liked it is not so easy to explain without saying more than I usually do about the heart of the matter.
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So many odd women--no making a pair with them. The pessimists call them useless, lost, futile lives. I, naturally--being one of them myself--take another view. I look upon them as a great reserve. When one woman vanishes in matrimony, the reserve offers a substitute for the world's work.
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Feb 28, 2010
Khaya
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During the 1890s, apparently, a surplus of women and shortage of men resulted in the phenomenon of “odd” (as opposed to even, or paired-off) women – women who, for whatever reason, were not succeeding in finding a spouse. The question is, in a pre-feminist world, what were these women supposed to do? In this novel, Gissing’s female characters represent a few of the contemporary choices – withering away in unfulfilling jobs as governesses and companions, wallowing in hypochondria or alcoholism;
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Aug 16, 2008
Michele
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I'd never heard of George Gissing before I picked up this book (I'm piggybacking onto a Victorian fin de siécle class), and even then, I assumed the George in the author's name was a pseudonym like George Eliot or George Sand (both women writers). Even though he's not a woman, Gissing is able to write about women in a way that surprised me.
When I finished the book, I originally thought he had done a better job of portraying the women than the men, but after listening to others talk in More...
When I finished the book, I originally thought he had done a better job of portraying the women than the men, but after listening to others talk in More...
Jun 24, 2009
Alison
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This book focuses on single women (the odd ones out of the marriage game) in 1890s England. At that time, there were far more women than men (this came up in "Governess," as well, and I am now curious as to how this imbalance came about). As a result, many women (especially those in the middle classes) had to go out and earn a living; many wound up as poorly paid governesses, others became overworked shop girls. Two of the main characters in this book have set up a school to educate wo
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May 28, 2011
Nancy
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This book put a smile on my face every time i picked it up. It's endearingly earnest with the revolutionary idea that women should be equals to men; shouldn't need a marriage to define and support themselves. I love the men struggling to adjust to their female friends wild ideas, and i like how the issue is carefully addressed from various points of view. I'm sure many theses have been written on the politics of this book but it's great just for a romp as well.
Jul 27, 2011
Kristen
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"'But--' the girl hesitated--'don't you approve of any one marrying?'
'Oh, I'm not so severe! But do you know that there are half a million
more women than men in this happy country of ours?'
'Half a million!'
Her naive alarm again excited Rhoda to laughter.
'Something like that, they say. So many odd women--no making a pair
with them. The pessimists call them useless, lost, futile lives.""
Rhoda Nunn to Monica Madden
ch. 4
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'Oh, I'm not so severe! But do you know that there are half a million
more women than men in this happy country of ours?'
'Half a million!'
Her naive alarm again excited Rhoda to laughter.
'Something like that, they say. So many odd women--no making a pair
with them. The pessimists call them useless, lost, futile lives.""
Rhoda Nunn to Monica Madden
ch. 4
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Jan 20, 2011
Meg
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The book claims to be an early example of feminism as put forth by a man. However, after reading it I got the sense more that the author - who wrote this in 1858 and was known as a notorious womanizer - was making a defense for his womanizing instead of actually trying to show women as being equals. It was an interesting story with an unexpected ending, but I got the impression that the author was entirely full of himself.
Apr 29, 2010
Steph Su
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The writing is not too bad, as it reads easily, but the story is pretty mundane and directionless, with women in various stages of late-nineteenth-century feminism circling in or around the institution of marriage, and then ending up exactly where they started. Some critics claim that THE ODD WOMEN is a naturalist novel, in which everything must and will revert back to its original state of entropy. But I never got emotionally invested even in the characters’ long circle back to their original s
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Jan 27, 2010
Jessica
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7th book 2009
I have a sex and gender in Victorian Lit class this semester so several of my reading selections will come from the required list. I'll note them for those interested. This book is a scathing social commentary about none other than sex and gender in Victorian times, which is probably why the teacher chose this one first. It took about 200 pages to become interesting, so, low review. I finished it; I didn't hate it; but the jury is still out on my love for Victorian L
I have a sex and gender in Victorian Lit class this semester so several of my reading selections will come from the required list. I'll note them for those interested. This book is a scathing social commentary about none other than sex and gender in Victorian times, which is probably why the teacher chose this one first. It took about 200 pages to become interesting, so, low review. I finished it; I didn't hate it; but the jury is still out on my love for Victorian L
Aug 17, 2011
Trevor
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George Gissing's The Odd Women is a long discussion about the place of women in Victorian society put into novel form. The ideas are interesting and Gissing creates an admirably strong, yet not wooden female heroine in Rhoda Nunn. His characters are well crafted, but perhaps too pedantic. The pace of the novel is very slow.
Bottom Line: Read the Odd Women for the discussion about Victorian women, but don't expect the most entertaining novel.
Bottom Line: Read the Odd Women for the discussion about Victorian women, but don't expect the most entertaining novel.
Sep 03, 2009
Bre
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This was one of the best Victorian novels I have ever read.
It gave me a picture of Victorian England that Jane Austin kept well hidden... and made women's liberation powerful and important without all of the anger and making women masculine.
I loved this book, even though it was heart breaking.
It gave me a picture of Victorian England that Jane Austin kept well hidden... and made women's liberation powerful and important without all of the anger and making women masculine.
I loved this book, even though it was heart breaking.
Jul 27, 2011
Izelle
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Extremely interesting novel, the characters are well developed and the themes put the reader in danger of actually having to think about bigger ideas. The ideas and effects of jealousy, love and the institution of marriage form a strong background for the main idea of feminism within the novel.
Jan 02, 2011
Mary
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I'm still stuck in the 1800's, though the debate regarding "to marry or not to marry" was just as interesting then as it is now. I wish more people would stop and THINK before getting married (as of course I wish I had done 41 years ago). Perhaps they ought to read Gissing.
May 15, 2010
Amanda
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An unenjoyable book about unlikeable characters. Or rather, caricatures. It attempts to tackle early feminism in England, but everyone-- male and female-- is relatively ridiulous in their views. It only gets three stars because it is well written, even if the cha
Jul 25, 2007
Pamela
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It's a damn shame that this book isn't anywhere near as well-known as such other Victorian masterpieces as Portrait of a Lady and Middlemarch. It displays all the same powers as those works: the finely observed social milieux, the subtle psychological understanding, the adept handling of a large group of disparate characters. The Odd Women is about the early feminist movement in England. Two unmarried women form a school meant to save other women who can't or won't marry from economic desperatio
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Sep 18, 2011
Samara
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I literally threw this book across the room when I finished it. An especially frustrating ending that still bugs me; not to mention the way femenism is shoved down the readers throat with scathing lines that I may never forget.
Jan 16, 2012
Lucy
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Painfully realistic. No-one gets what they really want, but that's life as Gissing sees it. He is brilliant at getting inside people's minds, the jealous husband is shudderingly accurate, as is the weak would-be lover. As for his portrayal of women in their miserable little lives, I don't think I've read better.
Jul 30, 2011
Ineke
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A delightful book .albeit 'old' style as it was first published in 1872. The storyline was fascinating and well plotted - I loved every minute of its contents.
Feb 28, 2011
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downloaded to Stanza app on iPhone from Project Gutenberg
downloaded to Stanza app on iPhone from Project Gutenberg
Sep 26, 2011
Rebecca
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Glad my daughter told me about this book. Excellent insight into the early stages of the feminist movement and the Victorian ideal of women.
