Single women in the novels of Virginia Woolf and Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu
Modernity in literature brings about, especially at the beginning of the XXth century, a novelty as regards the hypostases of femininity, namely the single woman.
The single woman is portrayed, in the characters present in the novels of Virginia Woolf and Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu, as a young, intelligent, educated lady in search of her gender identity. In order to live in harmony with herself and because she cannot accept the patriarchal rule in the family of the mid XIXth century, she makes choices like: financial independence and refusal to submit to men, implicitly denying marriage.
The single women in the novels by Virginia Woolf – Evelyn Murgatroyd, Doris Kilman, Lily Briscoe or Miss La Trobe – and Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu – Laura, Hilda Gert, Minette Persu or Nory Baldovin – are portrayed as unconventional, professionally autonomous and trying to shape their lives outside the traditional, restrictive pattern shaped by false moral values and convictions imposed by the authoritarian power of the men in the family. In spite of their rebellion against gender boundaries, the single women accept their femininity, but, at the same time, cultivate their masculinity, choosing to integrate feminine and masculine traits into a balanced entity.
Keywords: single women, patriarchal values, gender identity, the power of the men in marriage, femininity and masculinity.
