Women in the late nineteenth century began seeking equality in American society. Since literature is not created in a vacuum, female characters in literature at the time began to reflect these changes. The major female characters of Henry James's works The Bostonians, Daisy Miller, and The Turn of the Screw are no different. The women in these novels and their relation to the world around them clearly reflect the arguments of post civil war feminism, the societal conflicts that faced the new American woman, and the detriments to women of the patriarchal society. |