Zona Gale, Miss Lulu Bett

Deborah Williams (New York University)
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Gale's satirical novel, published in 1920, describes the awakening of a shy, overworked spinster who rebels against her exploitative family and achieves happiness on her own terms. Miss Lulu's awakening occurs as a result of a whirlwind romance with a man who marries her and then reveals that he is still married to another woman. Although she returns to her miserable existence as family drudge, Lulu soon wants to be free of her family and she decides to strike out on her own. Her independence attracts another, more respectable man who declares his love for Lulu; the two of them leave town together in a marriage that Gale describes as an egalitarian partnership.

Gale's feminism asserted itself when she revised the novel into the …

279 words

Citation: Williams, Deborah. "Miss Lulu Bett". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3564, accessed 28 March 2024.]

3564 Miss Lulu Bett 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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