Bernice Bobs Her Hair
by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Bernice Bobs Her Hair: Setting 1 key example

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition

Key Examples in Bernice Bobs Her Hair

Setting
Explanation and Analysis:

“Bernice Bobs Her Hair” unfolds in the early 20th century during the beginning stages of the “flapper” period and the Jazz Age, a time when young people in particular were beginning to challenge traditional values and ideals of femininity. This historical backdrop is crucial, as the story centers around the bob haircut, one of the most recognizable markers of these social changes. Instead of keeping the same ideals of femininity as their mothers and grandmothers, young women began to defy expectations in fields from fashion to politics. Although it’s common and thus unremarkable in current times, short hair was extremely unusual for women in the Anglophone world before the 1910s.