ABSTRACT
The examination of the odd woman in George Gissing's 1890s fiction is sustained in his later work by a comparison between the urban lifestyle of the newly labelled bachelor girl and the confined suburban existence she is forced to accept after marriage. By demythologising the dangers of the public sphere for women, Gissing's emphasis on middle-class women's right to freedom of movement in the city without male supervision or chaperons aligns his work with female-authored New Woman novels. The later 1890s fiction shows a development within the urban narrative as well as the independence of the female bachelor, and opens up an alternative set of questions about female urbanism and middle-class women's economic choices. Gissing follows the conventions of New Woman fiction by showing that the combination of professional work and motherhood is not viable, as childcare re-imposes the set of gender restrictions the emancipated heroine is seeking to escape.
