One of the dimensions inherent in Parade's End is that of a case study of a particular class at a particular time in the history of England. This sociological aspect perhaps still remains underrated today. John Attridge has foregrounded Ford's sociologist aspiration in The Soul of London: he demonstrates that 'modernist sociology' as derived from Matthew Arnold's ideal is intrinsic in Ford's work and argues that it is to be understood as 'cognitive altruism', mentioning Ford's quotation of Terence's aphorism in the English Review: 'nihil humanum a me alienum puto' ('Nothing that is human is foreign to me'). 1 I wish to argue that this maxim applies to Ford's treatment of womanhood and femininity in Parade's End: his giving individual voices to his women characters derives from his profound humanism. Parade's End is a reflection on Edwardian and postwar English society; and within this reflection, the changing status of women takes a major place. In keeping with Ford's aim at impersonality, the narration renders the contrasting responses of various women to the challenges set them by modernity. Femininity may first appear as articulated along a clear-cut spectrum running from conservatism to modernity, with Edith Duchemin at the more traditional end, Sylvia Tietjens striving for modernity in an inconsistent manner, and Valentine Wannop portrayed as a torchbearer for social and political autonomy. and. But as is often the case in Parade's End, lines become blurred, and some of the characters' positions shift as the narration unfolds. This chapter is offered as a starting point for a wider study of the voicing of the feminine in Ford's narratives. Due to space constraints, the characters of Marie-Léonie and Mrs Wannop will not be discussed in detail.