Rebecca's Revision: Expectations of the Girls' Novel and Kate Douglas Wiggin's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and New Chronicles of Rebecca

In Kate Douglas Wiggin's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and New Chronicles of Rebecca, the process of "making" Rebecca into a woman differs dramatically from her fictional contemporaries and readers' expectations. Though previous literary criticism focuses on her unresolved commitment to Adam Ladd, Rebecca's role models and influences do not prepare her for wife and motherhood. Instead, Rebecca gains voice and agency, learns self-reliance, and achieves an education and financial security. This article contends that Wiggin's revisions to the formula of the girls' novel and open ending are indicative of the new opportunities for women in the twentieth century.