George Gissing

The Odd Women George Gissing

Rhoda Nunn, a childhood friend of the Misses Madden. Rhoda Nunn and her friend Mary Barfoot run an institution in Great Portland Street, and their lifework is to teach young women the skills they weren't normally taught at the time: self-reliance, independence, and specific job qualifications such as typing and how to do clerical work; all so that marriage didn't have to remain their only option. Rhoda Nunn reminded me of the women I read about in Singled Out, as it's very much her belief that a single woman's life doesn't have to be one of emptiness and misery. There are actually many other characters and plotlines in The Odd Women, but as they're introduced as the story progresses, I'll end my synopsis here.