In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the role of women began to change drastically. Woman began to rally for rights, and suffrage became more popular. Woman became more independent, and they weren’t afraid or ashamed to even go so far as to be jailed for their protests. It wasn’t until 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment that is finally became unlawful for individual states or the government to deny women the right to vote.

Along with these political changes came overall changes in the way that woman were reflected. Writers began to endorse women’s liberation and equality. Literature and plays during the modernism era were often considered scandalous.

Marriage was one subject of writers of the period. A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, was a play about a woman who was treated childishly by her husband and father, and in the end she leaves her husband. It was so controversial, that the play had to be rewritten to include and ending where she stayed for the sake of her children. It is considered to be the first feminist play.

Other writers helped society accept the role of women outside of the home. Women no longer wanted to be viewed as domestic, but instead wanted do things that showed their intelligence and skills. The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, was written during this time. It was a satirical story that symbolized the oppression of women.

Art and literature during this time depicted the changes in women, addressing marriage, divorce, rights, and independence in general. It was a movement that began to change the way women were viewed. It is mostly because of the authors and artist of this time period that the stage was set for the rights that women have