The New Negro Woman's Expectations

Not only did the New Negro Woman have to concentrate on female liberation, her goals went way further. "Unlike the privileged white version of the New Woman, a New Woman who was built upon and then evolved beyond her mother's position, what Caroll Smith Rosenberg calls the "new bourgeois matron" (245) this "real new woman" has had to divorce herself from the "stain and meanness" of her past" (61). The real new woman has succeeded "as if by magic" in "lifting" herself from the legacy of the painful struggle endured by previous generations. The New Negro woman is expected to inspire and participate in racial protest against Jim Crow and also show racial progress for the nation. However, the new Negro woman isn't always shown as accomplishing these tasks. The New Negro woman is expected to share her history on her own. An essay by Adams shares her in the domestic sphere, rather than depicting her struggles. At the end of this essay the new Negro Woman is shown as beautiful, which is a fine representation. However, her voice is not shining. The "Gussie" figure is created which is "an admirer of fine art, a performer on the violin and piano, a sweet singer, a writer-a lover of good books, etc. Images of the respectable and ideal new Negro Woman is depicted in this essay. I find it troubling how they are creating this what is "civilized" image through the text. I am just wondering how can we best understand the Negro Woman if her history isn't illuminated?