The Journals of Martha E. McMillan

Understanding True and New Womanhood is essential to understanding Martha McMillan. If one knows of the trends and stereotypes of women at different points in time, one can tell that Martha doesn’t fit neatly into either. She doesn’t define herself as a certain type of woman. She loves her children and writes about them every day, but she isn’t “Mother Martha.” She seems to embrace her duties as a housewife, but she isn’t “James McMillan’s Wife.” Likewise, Martha values education, but she isn’t a teacher or a professional. She is a mover, traveling about to different societies, calling on her friends and hosting and attending parties, but she is no socialite. Instead, in these journals, and in the first four months of 1900 in particular, we see a woman who does what she does, likes what she likes, values what she values - all because it makes her Martha. She is herself , unbound by the constraints of any stereotype of womanhood. Her unique place in history affords her the opportunity to bridge the gap, but so does her personality and her security in her own worth. Martha is her own woman, and for that, she makes no apologies. 181