Time Is of the Essence: Temporality, Gender, and the New Woman

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The exploration of the Victorian era's cultural construction of time reveals its significant impact on the Woman Question. Patricia Murphy analyzes how this obsession with time, influenced by developments like Darwinism and evolutionary psychology, shaped gender anxieties in literature. Through the works of authors such as Thomas Hardy and Olive Schreiner, she illustrates how narratives manipulated time-related discourses to reinforce gender boundaries, especially with the emergence of the New Woman. Additionally, the book discusses the effects of rail travel and the surge in watch production on societal perceptions of time.