ABOVE ALL A NICE GIRL: THE HEROINES OF BESTSELLERS 1895-1920

KARI ANN RONNING, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

Ideas about women and what they are or should be like are shaped, in acceptance or rejection, by both traditional beliefs and by contemporary attitudes in a society. This study looks at the heroines of bestselling novels of 1895-1920 as expressions of some of the generally accepted attitudes towards women and as reflectors of changes in those attitudes. Most of the heroines are presented as stereotyped ideal beings, but the stereotypes do differ. Some heroines are shaped largely by the demands of the particular sub-genre of novel in which they appear. This study looks first at the most formulaic stories, then at less rigidly patterned types, ending with the novel of contemporary life which allowed the author the most freedom in shaping the heroine. The heroines of mysteries are conventional Nice Girls, essentially helpless though they have a veneer of "modern" freedom and daring. The princess-heroines of the Ruritanian romances represent the extreme of the aristocratic ideal, the unattainable women who finally surrender to love; however, they are among the few heroines to have responsibilities to the world around them. The Western's heroines are either eastern ladies who must learn to accept western freedom, or natural western girls whose sexual feelings are openly acknowledged. The novels of child life for adults present either miniature women--little mothers or little coquettes--or else they show unusual, quaint, sensitive girls who reform their communities by their examples. Historical romances expressed nostalgia for "old-fashioned" women--sweet girls, inspiring angels, and fiery goddesses. World War I was seen as a corrective to a decadent society represented by shallow, materialistic women, or as a threat to a progressive civilization represented by free, responsible women who took an active part in war work. Most heroines had comparatively minor parts; the novels of contemporary life often centered on the heroine, but the roles available were limited. One was that of the quaint child-woman whose innocence and helplessness were erotic attraction. Most of the heroines are simply Nice Girls--beautiful, lady-like, and sexually cool--whose main function is finding a husband. The few married heroines are estranged from their husbands; they learn that complete self-sacrifice is needed in marriage. The role of mother is exalted in some stories, but usually the heroine mothers the hero, her lover. The role of a companion to men was superficially more modern; more intelligence and an interest in the world were grafted on the character of the Nice Girl to enable her to share her lover's interests and make her more attractive. Some heroines who were allowed to take the part of "new women" and express new ideas of freedom were forcibly taught that the home is the only safe and happy place for women; these were the backsliders from emancipation. However, a few novels showed heroines who had a new role: they were workers, women for whom careers were as important as love and marriage. All these heroines are essentially variations on the Nice Girl; when one ideal is so dominant the variations are important as indicators of new directions in popular thought. In terms of the large movement of ideas represented by Crane, Dreiser, and Chopin, the step which the worker heroine takes is small, but for a public which scarcely knew of these writers, it was significant. The image of the Nice Girl which these bestsellers build up continues to exist as an ideal in American society. Its strength is shown by the fact that the ideal of the worker as heroine is only now becoming reality.

Subject Area

Modern literature|Literature

Recommended Citation

RONNING, KARI ANN, "ABOVE ALL A NICE GIRL: THE HEROINES OF BESTSELLERS 1895-1920" (1980). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8021353.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8021353

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