Abstract
<jats:p>Margaret Wade Campbell Deland is a famous American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She has reflected the American industrial society with its turbulent social, cultural, and economic issues in her novel, ‘The Iron Woman’. She contributed to different debates on women’s rights and the impact of the growth of industrialization on society in general and women and families in particular. The significance of the ‘The Iron Woman’ lies in the rejection of how society judges its women. As a middle-class white woman who carries a social philosophy that renders, “the individual” responsible for the “Public good” and larger social problems. Margaret Wade Campbell Deland was a learned and experienced woman. She was fully aware of the feelings and aspirations of various kinds of women. So, she has artistically created three types of women in her novel, ‘The Iron Woman’. They are conventional women, true women, and new women. Among the characters in the novel Mrs. Sarah Maitland and Mrs. Helena Richie are two sub-characters. Mrs. Sarah Maitland represents a ‘New Woman’ in this novel. She is a widow. Yet she is strong in mind and body. So, she is considered an ‘Iron Woman’. The title signifies her personality. This paper is an attempt to bring out the merits and demerits of her personality. While she succeeds in her public life, she miserably fails in her family life.</jats:p>