The Reception of ‘New Women’ In The Yellow Book
Samantha Lacy
Ryerson University
INTRODUCTION
The Yellow Book was an illustrated Quarterly circulated in England and America beginning in 1894 and ending in 1897, producing 13 Volumes. Bodley Head, publisher of The Yellow Book, claimed that the publication would be much more interesting and unusual than other cotemporary magazines (Beckson & Lasner 402). Two works within The Yellow Book that illustrate varying receptions and encouragements of female independence within the 1890’s are Gertrude D. Hammond’s painting, "The Yellow Book" and Robert Shews' story, "The Elsingfords". |
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Hammond’s
painting is of the visual art genre, appearing in the Sixth Volume, released in
July 1895, and reproduced in half-tone process by the Swan Electric Engraving
Company (Denisoff & Kooistra 2). The fictional short story, “The
Elsingfords”, appears October of the following year in Volume 11. Robert Shews,
the name signed to this story, appears to be a pseudonym for Henry Harland, the
literary editor of The Yellow Book.
Both
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CONTEXT AND RECEPTION OF NEW WOMEN
Analyzing texts
and images from publications of the “Yellow Nineties” is important in gaining
deeper insight into the culture, opinions, and general lifestyles that were
accepted at this time. To understand gender relations of the 1890’s one must
look not only at what appears in the publications but also the reception from
the public.To fully comprehend the feelings toward the 'New Woman' and the decline of male dominance one must acknowledge the various
expressions and reactions revolving gender relations. In
analysing the chosen text and image from The
Yellow Book |
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Existing
literature on gender relations of the 1890’s provides insight into the politics
surrounding the topic and its expression through literature. It especially reveals
insight into the equality of woman as a subject not an object in Aesthetic and
Decadence movements (Ledger 4). The representations of gender politics in such
publications as The Yellow Book lack
a deeper analysis of meaning and importance of interpreting the complex ways of
expressing views, as it is all largely coded. In researching the titles of the chosen text and image there was
no existing literature on either. This seems to insinuate that they were deemed
inconsequential to reviewers
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