Throughout “The Yellow Drawing Room”, Miss Vanora Haydon sets a fascinating example of the “new woman” in Victorian society. At multiple points in the short story, she freely expresses her opinions, especially when they are contradictory to the male main character’s beliefs. One glaring example of this is when she states, “you are very naif… you seem just now to me like a nice, egotistical child” (Caird 108) during an argument with Mr. St. Vincent. She is not afraid to express her feelings of intellectual superiority over him, despite gender stereotypes. What’s more, she seems relatively unconcerned with marriage and childbearing compared to the other women in her family, particularly her sisters. This idea, that she might seek other pursuits outside the home, flies in the face of Victorian social conventions surrounding the role of women. Heterosexual marriage and reproduction were considered the only respectable path for women at this time, and Vanora’s unwillingness to prioritize these things could be interpreted as a moral failing.
The author gives clear evidence of Varona’s aversion to societal expectations of women when she says “My father never constrained me to move in any particular direction because of my sex. He has perhaps spoiled me. I have hitherto had only a joyous sense of drawing in what was outside and radiating out what was within me. When you describe your doctrines, I seem to see the doors of a prison opening out of the sunshine; and strange to say, I feel no divine, unerring instinct prompting me to walk in” (Caird 109). The thought process that Vanora describes here is particularly unique for the Victorian era for a variety of reasons. First, she states that her father has given her a lot of leniencies when it comes to conducting herself, which is rare for a culture that saw women as objects to be controlled rather than full independent people. In this way, her statement that he never constrained her because of her sex AND this sentiment stuck with her into adulthood despite outside influences is rather revolutionary for the time. Furthermore, her outright rejection of the marriage that St. Vincent proposes, and referring to it as “a prison” is the Victorian equivalent of giving the finger to the social hierarchy she was born into.
By writing this dramatic scene, where Vanora passionately defies St. Vincent’s expectations of womanhood in every way and yet he is still attracted to her, Caird is making a comment about the contradictory nature of Victorian society. Vanora is completely undeterred by male expectations, and she does not appear to be catering to the male gaze in the way that her sisters do. However, part of her is still intrigued by him, even though she believes he would “turn all homes into prisons” (Caird 109). In this way, Vanora’s character is more than one-dimensional feminist hero, because she portrays the emotional complexity involved in defying a system you were born to conform to.
I appreciate that your post calls attention to the father’s role in shaping Vanora’s freedom. This was one of the most interesting parts of the story to me because it creates a small paradox. On one hand, it creates a necessary level of realism, as going against the grain often requires support and figures to look up to. On the other hand, it implies that a woman can still only change her outlook on life and behavior with the permission of a man. However, Caird’s inclusion of this detail perhaps would have caused the men, especially fathers, reading the story to reconsider their outlooks on if the way they raised their daughters reflected their values.
I found your statement about the multiple dimensions of Vanora’s character to be very interesting as it was something that especially stuck out to me while reading the story. I agree that Vanora’s feelings for Mr. St. Vincent does show the difficulty of defying the structures she was born into, but, I also think that Vanora’s true subversion of gender norms lies in this complexity. She is not falling into the box of completely masculine or completely feminine, instead she holds traits that are stereotypically masculine (such as her expressiveness) and feminine (her romantic feelings). By doing this, Vanora is breaking away from gender binaries and patriarchal structures.