The Odd Women

George Gissing (1857-1903) was an English novelist of the late-Victorian era. Gissing's career as a novelist, at least until the late twentieth century, has been assessed in the framework of the nineteenth century realism and naturalism. Like many writers at the end of the nineteenth century, he was caught between the sociological realists with reform instincts and the adherents of an aesthetic movement with their emphasis on the attainment of ideal beauty. Gissing never achieved fame or the fortune that he would have liked, but was nevertheless seriously reviewed and often applauded by the critics for his objective treatment of social conditions in England. Gissing's novel, "The Odd Women", explores themes such as the early feminist movement, women's role in society, marriage and morals. The novel's title is presumably derived from the notion that there was an excess of one million women over men in Victorian England. This meant there were "odd" women left over when others paired off in marriage. This novel presents a cross-section of women dealing with this problem as their lifestyle is deemed by the public as strange.