The 1920s were years of great change, in all aspects of society. Women were gaining rights that many thought were impossible to obtain a generation earlier. Despite the sense of great change permeating the world, particularly Ireland, women remained stuck in a patriarchal system that did not allow them to do much to express their personal freedom or their ability to think critically and complexly. . In Elizabeth Bowen's The Last September, Bowen explores internal conflicts in relation to the external forces that oppress the characters. One of the most pervasive external forces is traditional society and the history of patriarchy and misogyny it represents. The Last September is a story that subverts and disrupts Irish patriarchal society by referencing feminist ideals and challenging patriarchal expectations. Bowen once said, in praising Jane Austen's prose, "the constraints of polite behavior" only serve to "store" the character's "character." energies” (Glendinning 81). She said that life “without the lid” is not “necessarily more interesting than life with the lid” (81). Although this was said to praise another author's work, the idea that the characters' constrained behavior hides inner turmoil can be seen in Last September. Much of the action of the novel takes place internally, and it is through these internal conflicts that the traditional patriarchal structure is overthrown. It is through subtle relationships and conversations between characters that society's traditional ideals are challenged. In The Irish Women's Movement: From Revolution to Devolution, Connolly describes three distinct waves of feminism in Ireland. The novel takes place in the first phase, the "suffragette......middle of paper......that's where she goes, as long as she is away from the War and as long as she is far from where she is now, because she knows she will never feel real there. Last September is a text that challenges society's traditional views of women and women's lives. Bowen accomplishes this by demonstrating the particularities of many of these traditional practices and by including characters whose thoughts and actions demonstrate feminist ideals. Works Cited Bowen, Elizabeth. The last of September. New York: Anchor Books, 2000. Print. Connolly, Linda. The Irish women's movement: from revolution to devolution. 1st.New York: Palgrave, 2002. Print.Glendinning, Victoria. Elizabeth Bowen. 1st. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978. Print. Paxton, Nancy L. “George Eliot and the City.” Trans. Array Women Writers and the City. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1984. Print.