Representations of the New Woman in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and The Garden of Eden

Abstract

In my thesis, I examine Ernest Hemingway’s female characters in two of his novels—Lady Brett Ashley from The Sun Also Rises (1926) and Catherine Bourne from The Garden of Eden (1986)—with respect to their literary representation of the New Woman. Although the New Woman was the iconic figure of the liberated woman from the late nineteenth century, I contend that they were not liberated entirely as often times they might have been confused, trying to strive for balance between old and new standards that were set for them and this can be seen in the representations of Brett and Catherine as well.