Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians

The Bostonians (1886) is known as Henry James’s lesbian novel in which the writer’s ambivalent look towards the New Woman can be explored. James was a subject/product of the complex discursive web of his time when such ideologies of the superiority of men over women were strictly observed. In that t...

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Main Author: Abbasi, Pyeaam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM 2013
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6145/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6145/1/1731-5058-1-PB%5B1%5D.pdf
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author Abbasi, Pyeaam
author_facet Abbasi, Pyeaam
author_sort Abbasi, Pyeaam
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The Bostonians (1886) is known as Henry James’s lesbian novel in which the writer’s ambivalent look towards the New Woman can be explored. James was a subject/product of the complex discursive web of his time when such ideologies of the superiority of men over women were strictly observed. In that time the idea of same-sex bond was regarded as a threat to the traditional concept of heterosexual bonding. This study is an attempt to conclude James as the contributor to the notion of the New Woman since locating the issue in his novel is enough to make readers put many long-held conventions in question. In this study three important misspeaks are referred to: firstly, James shows the uniqueness of the relation between the two women of the novel; secondly, the writer shows Verena (Basil’s wife) changed into property; and finally James shows America’s potential for such big changes in attitude regarding women. Although James cannot remain untouched by certain ideologies of his time, he makes his readers think about a different possibility and future for both America and her modern woman.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:61452016-12-14T06:40:28Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6145/ Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians Abbasi, Pyeaam The Bostonians (1886) is known as Henry James’s lesbian novel in which the writer’s ambivalent look towards the New Woman can be explored. James was a subject/product of the complex discursive web of his time when such ideologies of the superiority of men over women were strictly observed. In that time the idea of same-sex bond was regarded as a threat to the traditional concept of heterosexual bonding. This study is an attempt to conclude James as the contributor to the notion of the New Woman since locating the issue in his novel is enough to make readers put many long-held conventions in question. In this study three important misspeaks are referred to: firstly, James shows the uniqueness of the relation between the two women of the novel; secondly, the writer shows Verena (Basil’s wife) changed into property; and finally James shows America’s potential for such big changes in attitude regarding women. Although James cannot remain untouched by certain ideologies of his time, he makes his readers think about a different possibility and future for both America and her modern woman. Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM 2013 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6145/1/1731-5058-1-PB%5B1%5D.pdf Abbasi, Pyeaam (2013) Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 19 (1). pp. 119-127. ISSN 0128-5157 http://ukm.my/ppbl/3L/3LHome.html
spellingShingle Abbasi, Pyeaam
Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians
title Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians
title_full Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians
title_fullStr Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians
title_full_unstemmed Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians
title_short Henry James and the new woman: a feminist reading of the Bostonians
title_sort henry james and the new woman: a feminist reading of the bostonians
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6145/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6145/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6145/1/1731-5058-1-PB%5B1%5D.pdf