The "new woman" was a label invented in the late nineteenth century to refer to women who espoused a wide range of feminist ideals and aspirations. The new woman was supposed to be independent and educated, and to demand the same opportunities that were available to men. Initially, the most conspicuous new women were relatively affluent American and European women, sometimes resembling real-life version of the heroines in Henry James's novels. However, the movement was highly influential and soon spread through the social classes and around the world.

"True woman" was a label applied to women who conformed to the "Culture of Domesticity" celebrated in the writings of John Ruskin and other Victorian cultural critics. The true woman was devoted to her family; submissive to her husband; pure in thought, word, and deed; and religiously devout. The main differences between the true woman and the new woman were centered on their attitudes toward the domestic sphere. The true woman was content to remain at home and look after her husband and children. The new woman wanted to make her own mark on the world. However, the ideal of new womanhood retained some traditional ideals connected to the notion of respectability. Both true and new women were expected to be pure and virtuous, and to dress and behave modestly.