Possessing women in Olive Schreiner’s From Man to Man or Perhaps Only —

Abstract

In her final unfinished novel, From Man to Man or, not of Perhaps Only —, Olive Schreiner features women as both possessors and possessed. This article explores the dual and often interwoven character of ownership as presented in the novel. My analysis highlights the interaction of racial, gender, and social class dynamics in shaping the power of women to possess property, including property in their and others’ bodies, as well as the circumstances of being possessed within the historical context of Schreiner’s lifetime. This discussion culminates with an investigation of how this theme affirms and alters hypotheses about the failure of Schreiner to complete her novel.