ABSTRACT
Many novelists in various national literatures touched upon the theme of an emancipated woman in the long 19th century and especially at the fin de siecle. Imagination, as it is believed, has no borders and is dialogical in its nature. Different voices of great emancipationist writers merged into one influential symphony liberating and awakening consciousness of slaves—males and females. Some critics loved the new woman, some hated, and most love-hated; and she lived her own life of an “autonomous subject,” developing her own discourse and genre. The new womanhood, however, was not only in the Christian context. Many other traditions and cultures opened the discussion about the women’s lot. The path to acceptance has many obstacles and resistance in any society. Literature by women and about women grew exponentially. Both men and women participated in a dialogue about women’s position.
