1
INTRODUCTION
Women have always been an interesting subject of study for the late
Victorian author George Gissing (1857 – 1903). All his life he had
studied women. In many of his novels there are female characters
depicted in all human situations, with virtues and faults; their accurate
description is due to the great influence that many women, in
Gissing’s life, exerted upon him. The woman who influenced the
author’s novels of the first period was Marianne Helen Harrison,
‘Nell’, a young prostitute who became his wife in 1879. At this stage
of his life, Gissing believed that this "disease" was caused by poverty
and the social indifference of stupid people who did not understand
that these poor girls were just victims of circumstances and that they
could be redeemed
1
.
Nell met Gissing when she was seventeen; she lived in a brothel on
Water Street. She was sexually abused by her stepfather and took
refuge in drink and alcohol; the cause of her fall was probably this
sexual drama. When Gissing met her, he wanted to save her life, to
destroy her old identity and to turn her into a new woman, but all his
efforts were useless, she demanded more and more money; the author
even stole from his friends of Owens College, where he studied, in
order to get the money to help Nell. Unfortunately, he was discovered
and arrested. The sentence was one month hard labour. He was
expelled from college and had to start a new life. In 1876, he left for
1 See James Haydock, Portraits in Charcoal - George Gissing’s Women, Bloomington,
AuthorHouse, 2004, pp. 9-12.
2
America because he thought that he would do well there and he would
be able to bring Nell over and marry her; anyway, when he arrived, he
realized that it did not suit him. After a period of teaching in a public
school at Waltham, Massachusetts, and the publication of several
stories, he returned to London by the end of October 1877
2
.
In October 1879, he married Marianne and believed that he could
rescue her. Gissing took action to achieve this goal, he also bought her
a sewing machine to change her life, in the hope that she could
support herself, but she was too lazy to work. The girl disappointed
him several times, she had not totally changed her habits and was
increasingly dependent on alcohol; this soon led him to believe that
his wife and her kind were not victims of society but of heredity. Nell
was a dominant influence upon the author’s novels. Women described
in the first books are nervous, restless, jealous, selfish and also
immoral. Their attitudes are similar to those shared by Nell. When
Gissing created these characters, he probably tried to make them
similar to his wife; he drew inspiration from Nell’s life and behaviour.
Nell is especially present in the first two novels, Workers in the Dawn
(1880) through the character of Carrie and The Unclassed (1884)
through that of Harriet. Carrie is the reflection of Nell during the first
years of marriage to Gissing, Harriet is the image of his wife when he
started to realise the real nature of Nell
3
. He soon left her and saw her
again (on her deathbed) only in 1888, when he received a telegram
announcing the imminent death of his wife.
2 See Paul Delany, George Gissing – A Life, London, Phoenix Paperback, 2008, pp. 13-25.
3 See James Haydock, Portraits in Charcoal - George Gissing’s Women, pp. 40-52.
3
The first books he wrote are dark books of social criticism. He
described with great realism the conditions of the London prostitutes,
a world he knew very well, but he was also interested in the study of
the mysterious life of the working-class women
4
.
Another great source of inspiration for Gissing were his female friends
and his sisters, whose presence allowed him to compose many
brilliant novels.
In 1884, he met Mrs. Gaussen, a wealthy, intelligent and cultured
woman who contributed to the composition of the author’s third novel
Isabel Clarendon (1886). Isabel, the main character, is modelled after
Mrs. Gaussen. Gissing was the tutor of her sons, they spent much time
together, they went to dinners and tennis parties; he was attracted by
her charm, her beauty and wrote her many letters, they had also a brief
love affair, but he soon left her because of their different social status.
Mrs. Gaussen represented a new type of woman: charming, gracious,
friendly, sensual but not vacuous or silly. All these qualities are
reflected in the character of Isabel, she is elegant, gentle, but not
weak
5
. Another interesting woman he met was Edith Sichel. She was a
young intelligent woman, an active reformer, a feminist who faced the
issue of women’s education and who wrote many critical articles.
They started a friendly relationship but she wanted something more
than a simple friendship. She was Gissing’s inspiration for his next
novel, The Head-Mistress, whose title was later changed in The
Emancipated (1890). Edith Sichel would have been a great partner for
4 See James Haydock, Portraits in Charcoal - George Gissing’s Women, pp. 70-71.
5 See Ibidem, pp. 75-83.
4
Gissing, however, things did not work and even their friendship was
soon destined to end
6
.
Another beautiful relationship was the one that Gissing had with his
two sisters Margaret and Ellen. He was a mentor for them and tried to
encourage them to take their studies seriously. Their education had
been too restrictive and their brother recommended more liberal books
and authors. He wanted his sisters to become strong, independent
women, to escape ignorance and create a new activity, such as
teaching. Ellen and Margaret read the novels of their brother and
expressed their ideas on them. Gissing created characters modelled
after his sisters (for example, the Madden sisters in the novel The Odd
Women were the reflection of Gissing’s sisters; they both were good-
looking women, instructed to become teachers or housekeepers,
however, they never got engaged and regarded marriage as a source of
misery). Gissing’s sisters were puritans, they had followed a
restrictive religious faith, on the surface they seemed more
enlightened than other women, but in reality, they lacked a liberal
mind. They remained unmarried, but were soon able to live
independently and to support themselves. In 1898, they succeeded in
opening a school where they both worked as teachers. The author was
proud of their achievement and financially supported their work. They
found a way to live independently while contributing to society
7
.
As regards women, George Gissing always made peculiar choices.
After the first disastrous marriage with Nell, he was soon trapped in a
6 See Paul Delany, George Gissing – A Life, pp. 162, 167, 169.
7 See James Haydock, Portraits in Charcoal - George Gissing’s Women, pp. 102-103, 111-113, 117,
121.
5
second relationship with a woman who would take him to
exasperation.
In a sad day of September, the author decided to go out for a walk. He
rushed out of his flat and spoke to the first girl he came across. She
agreed to walk with him to the Oxford Music Hall and to see him
again. This woman was Edith Underwood. She lived with her father, a
stonemason, in Camden Town. She had six brothers and sisters, her
mother was dead. Gissing decided to continue his relationship with
Edith, not because he was in love with her, but because he needed a
woman; he was in a deep state of sexual frustration and this woman
represented his only chance of survival. In 1891, they married, moved
from London to Exeter in the country of Devon and, nine months
later, Edith gave birth to a child: Walter Leonard Gissing. Having a
child was at first a joy, but also a problem for the author. His financial
situation was almost desperate. He tried to write and sell novels as
much as possible, but he did not always succeed. Edith was another
cause of desperation for him. She was sick, she suffered from
neuralgia and she did not have a social life. Gissing spent the day in
his study with the door closed, ignoring his wife, so Edith was lonely
and began to show signs of mental instability. She was irritable and
aggressive and the baby had to be kept away from her; she soon broke
down, physically and mentally. Edith quarrelled with the servants who
tried to help her, so Gissing had to look after the baby and keep the
house running; all these responsibilities slowed the production of his
novels
8
. In 1896, Edith gave birth to her second son: Alfred Charles
Gissing; motherhood, however, could not mitigate her behaviour.
8 Paul Delany, George Gissing - A Life, pp. 177-178, 180, 187, 194, 198.
6
Family life was frustrating, unhappy, so Gissing made plans to leave
for Italy. His son Walter was living at Wakefield with his sisters,
while Alfred remained with Edith. He was worried about his second
son’s future but did not want to live with his wife anymore. After
returning from Italy, Gissing moved to a secret lodging. Edith was
determined to find her husband, to make him come back to her, but
Gissing asked for a legal separation, even if he could not persuade his
wife to sign the necessary papers. Edith soon discovered her
husband’s secret place and assaulted him. This was the final encounter
with her. Four years later, Edith was arrested for ill-treatment of
Alfred. She was judged insane and, until the day of her death in 1917,
remained in close confinement. Edith had a great influence upon
Gissing’s works. From their first meeting, the author had the idea of
composing New Grub Street (1891). This novel shows Edwin
Reardon, Gissing’s alter-ego, as a novelist who marries a middle-class
girl but soon watches his marriage disintegrate. This novel also
focuses on the question of divorce. Amy Reardon attacks England’s
Divorce Law of 1857, which granted divorce only on proven adultery.
Amy and Edwin would like to end their marriage in a friendly way,
but this law does not permit that kind of civility. Gissing talked of
divorce because he wanted to end his marriage to Edith, however, the
fear of losing his sons prevented him to do so. The author described
the divorce law in England as insensate because it did not allow him
to rebuild his life
9
. Gissing’s second marriage was a complete failure
which left him with a great sadness and sense of defeat. His personal
experience with Edith led him to reflect on important issues, such as
9 See James Haydock, Portraits in Charcoal - George Gissing’s Women, pp. 140-166.
7
the indissolubility of marriage, the need to reform old laws on divorce,
but also the improvement of young women’s education.
During the years in which Gissing had faced his complicated second
marriage, many of his friends tried to help him to overcome all his
difficulties. One of these friends was Clara Collet, a loyal person who
would support him all his life.
Clara’s father was a journalist, she was three years younger than
Gissing, who considered her as a typical New Woman; intelligent and
cultured, she was one of the first women to receive a degree from
London University and the first woman to hold a professional job in
the Civil Service. She had also been a schoolteacher for several years.
Clara was a fervent reader of Gissing’s novels. She was very
independent and her attitude recalled the character of Rhoda Nunn
(the protagonist of the novel The Odd Women). Clara started a friendly
correspondence with Gissing, she also invited him and Edith to spend
a weekend together, but he declined. She was small, energetic, with a
pleasant face, she fought for women’s rights and, even if she was
attached to several men, she never married. Clara finally met Edith,
she tried to make her change, but she never succeeded. Clara was
really fond of George and, at the same time, she did not put all the
blame on his wife but, when she realized that Edith was not even a
good mother, she promised George that, in the event of his death, she
would become Walter’s guardian; Clara’s help made him much less
anxious, in this way he could continue writing his novels. Another
important woman in Gissing’s life was Eliza Orme. She was close to
Clara Collet in her interests and was the first woman to receive a law
degree from London University. She was a feminist, another example
8
of New Woman; she was important for Gissing, she gave him legal
advice and she also offered to accommodate Edith and Alfred. After a
brief period of stability, however, Edith claimed her marital rights and
moved out of Miss Orme’s house
10
.
At the end of 1897, Gissing made a trip of six months to Italy, he
visited Rome, Naples, Reggio Calabria and all the places of the
Magna Graecia; this trip allowed him to find material for the
publication of his novel By the Ionian Sea (1901). During this trip,
however, his health began to deteriorate, he was suffering from
malaria and fell ill with a high fever and stomach trouble
11
. He
returned to England in April 1898.
It was a hot day of June when Gissing received a letter from a young
Frenchwoman who would become his third wife. Her name was
Gabrielle Fleury. She lived in Paris and wrote to the author because
she was interested in translating into French his novel New Grub
Street (1891). Gissing replied to her letter and, on July 6, they met for
the first time. They had tea together, walked in the garden and he gave
her permission to translate his novel. Gabrielle made him a good
impression. She was intelligent, well-educated, graceful, sensitive and
charming. She was born at Nevers in central France, her family was
very traditional. She was interested in literature and art, played the
piano and spoke English, German and knew some Italian. Everyone
considered Gabrielle as a woman full of energy, enthusiasm, passion
and independence. Gissing was attracted to her, he claimed that he
10 See Paul Delany, George Gissing - A Life, pp. 211-214, 226, 261, 273, 292.
11 Ibidem, pp. 278-281.
9
fell in love with her at first sight. He saw in Gabrielle all the qualities
he admired most in a woman and the sweet sound of her voice moved
him to deep feeling. He started writing many letters in which he
expressed his love for her. She influenced many novels of the author.
In The Crown of Life (1899), Irene Derwent could be considered the
counterpart of Gabrielle, and Piers Otway, the young idealist who is
in love with her, recalls Gissing's love for the Frenchwoman. Irene
and Gabrielle both share beauty, charm, elegance, intelligence and a
melodious voice. Mlle. Fleury had become Gissing's perfect woman
because she exhibited the cultivation of mind which he prized, but
intellect had not detracted from her femininity
12
.
After a year of love, in 1899, Gissing married Gabrielle Fleury. The
ceremony took place at a hotel in Rouen and Gabrielle's mother was
the only witness. Edith was still alive in England, but George and
Gabrielle considered their marriage as legitimate and binding. The
ceremony was an assertion of their love, but he was still legally bound
to Edith, so Gissing did not inform his sisters of the marriage. After
their honeymoon, Gabrielle and Gissing went to live with Mme.
Fleury in her small apartment in Paris. He could not live in England
because he could be charged with breaking the law and arrested.
Mme. Fleury was too old to live alone, Gabrielle was too fond of her,
but the old lady dominated her daughter. It was clear that she was the
head of the house, so Gissing quarrelled with her many times, for
example, on the kind of food to be served. Apart from these arguments
with Mme. Fleury, he was really happy and continued with the
publication of other novels: By the Ionian Sea and Our Friend the
12 James Haydock, Portraits in Charcoal - George Gissing’s Women, pp. 241-253.
10
Charlatan (both 1901). He also wrote short stories and the novel The
Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft (1903). Ryecroft is the kind of man
Gissing hoped to become in maturity, a man at peace with himself and
the world. In 1901, however, his health continued to deteriorate. He
had respiratory problems, emphysema, bronchitis, so the doctor
ordered Gissing to stop working. Without informing Gabrielle, he
decided to go back to England to enter a sanatorium which could
improve his health, and where he stayed for a month. He later returned
to Gabrielle. In February 1902, Miss Orme informed Gissing that
Edith was judged insane and committed to an institution. Relieved by
this news, he decided to find a new house and moved to St. Jean de
Luz with Gabrielle and Mme. Fleury. In that same period, he was
working on two novels, Veranilda and Will Warbuton, published
posthumously. During the summer and autumn of 1903, Gissing
continued to write his last book, but he was desperately ill and retired
to his bed, semi-conscious. He died of double pneumonia at forty-six,
on Monday, December 28, 1903 at St. Jean Pied de Port. Gabrielle, in
a deep state of shock, informed his friends and sisters in England that
he was dead. There was talk of bringing his body back home for the
burial, but his final resting place was St. Jean de Luz
13
.
Gabrielle never married again; after Gissing's death, she went to
England to meet his sisters and mother, she also visited Walter (Alfred
lodged at a farm in Cornwall). Clara Collet remained one of her
13 James Haydock, Portraits in Charcoal - George Gissing’s Women, pp. 272-283.
11
faithful friends and stepped forward to guard the interests of Gissing's
sons and keep his books in print
14
.
Women left a lasting imprint upon Gissing. Thanks to all of them
(sisters, friends and wives), he could portray the society of his time
and deal with the so-called 'Woman Question'. The author, in fact, saw
it as an important movement of the century. Feminists persuaded
many women to give up the old ideal of womanhood for a new one;
they fought for freedom, independence and the right to vote. During
the last two decades of the century, the New Woman appeared on the
scene. She was described as emancipated, advanced, enlightened. By
the end of the century, everyone was talking about her, Gissing
himself had been asked to write a series of articles for a magazine and,
in some of the author's novels, there was also the description of
characters who represented the first type of New Woman. In Denzil
Quarrier, written after New Grub Street and published in 1892, Mrs.
Wade, the first of Gissing's feminists, promotes the cause of the
women's movement. In The Odd Women (1893), the novel that I chose
to analyse, Rhoda Nunn fights for girls' education and independence,
she claims that women have to work and earn money, in order to live
without men's help. In The Emancipated (1890), the Denyer sisters
express the resolve to be modern liberated women or perish in the
attempt. According to Haydock, however, Gissing's finest portrayal of
the new woman was Constance Bride, from Our Friend the Charlatan
14 See Paul Delany, George Gissing - A life, pp. 377-378.
12
(1901). She embodied the values of honesty, loyalty, intelligence and
tenacity which every woman should have had
15
.
During his career, Gissing changed his mind, many times, on the
Woman Question. At the beginning he was influenced by those who
supported the theory of the angel-woman. By 1888, he began to
realise that this kind of woman was idealistic and unconvincing and
became interested in women's movements. He sympathized with
feminists thanks to his friendship with Clara Collet, and shared their
aim to educate and liberate women. By the end of the 1890's,
however, he became disillusioned with the effects of the movement.
The desire for equality was making women of every class independent
but also aggressive. At the end of his life, he reached a quiet
resignation, but he continued to put his trust in schools that were
supposed to supply women with the necessary training for productive
work. Education and work, these were for George Gissing the
keywords through which women could free themselves and live their
lives harmoniously
16
.
15 See James Haydock, Portraits in Charcoal - George Gissing’s Women, pp. 187, 193, 198, 209,
217.
16 Ibidem, pp. 225, 226, 233, 234, 236.
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