Starting in the 1920's women's roles were soon starting to change. This was the time of the flapper, one of our biggest cultural icons in the 1920s, made a coming out. This so called “new woman" put an end to not only our traditional victorian woman, but also to the somewhat new Gibson girl. But we all ask, where did she come from?
Before World War I, the women in the America mostly still behaved and dressed like proper young women. But it all change. During World War I labor laws were different from how they are now and many were not supportive of women working. Women competing for men’s jobs was not wanted. Women didn’t care what the job was, they would take it, and they earned very low wages. But even with …show more content…
She was a confident, athletic, and independent young woman. But she was still strictly moral in a Victorian sense. In addition, her hair remained long and flowing. But after the war and all of the changes that were needed, the lost generation decided to do something new… They became the “new woman”. Modernism was born and the new woman wanted to be a part in the changing generation. These women now had their own money, and were ready to take new roles outside of the home. They wore tight fitting clothing that allowed movement, cut their hair short, had a tall slender boyish body, and the girls who were single started to date freely and danced all night long. One thing that they did, that was one of the bigger things, was smoking cigarettes through long holders and drank in public openly (“The New Woman”) This was the Flapper. When she began, the flapper was shown as a very independent woman, in line with the feminist movement. Later, it seems, that the flapper became a lot more one-dimensional. A working definition of the flapper, previous to Fitzgerald. England described the flapper as an awkward girl learning that she can leave the nest and go her own way. A girl who is just inches away from entering womanhood. She is still learning the ways of her body and how to move it, thin and gangly. Which seems to be more like the Jordan Baker & Daisy in (“The Great Gatsby”) they were the young women who were the Fitzgerald …show more content…
Bernice represents the Victorian old school and Marjorie represents the flapper. Fitzgerald writes that Bernice longs "to exchange those confidences flavored with giggles and tears that she considered an indispensable factor in all feminine intercourse" (Bruccoli 29). Marjorie, on the other hand, is much more "masculine" and calculating, with few female friends. Her sexual liberation is demonstrated by the fact that she feels no obligation to Warren. This Side of Paradise, referred to by Fitzgerald as "a novel about flappers for philosophers", explores the flapper and the male reaction to it. Rosalind is the most fully realized flapper and, as such, weighs the heaviest on Amory. She is free with her love but not with her hand in