Marriage Or Career? Domestic Ideology In George Gissing's The Odd Women

Abstract

Although George Gissing is acclaimed for his progressive thoughts on liberating women from patriarchy by establishing financial independence, some critics challenge such praise for Gissing by arguing that he is still confined within patriarchal thinking because he still adheres to domestic ideology, which advocates that women should stay within the domestic sphere and be protected from corruption of the outside world. The discussion of this thesis is divided into two main parts: first, despite their efforts to fight for freedom in marriage, women fail to escape from the control of patriarchy because through domestic ideology patriarchy still drives women back to the domestic sphere. Secondly, though feminists in the novel claim that women can attain to their ultimate independence by establishing financial independence, they are still confined within domestic ideology since their thinking is still in accordance with the norm of Victorian domestic ideology.