According to Reithmayr, the feminist’s writing cuts straight to the core of many women’s struggles in the late 19th century. Towards the end of the century, female authors explored the themes of The literary giants of the age captured this dynamic century from many angles. literature, and make an impact on the society to accept women as beings with equal rights as men to freedom, independence, and self-expression. Nineteenth-Century Feminist Writings | Contemporaries sometimes called the nineteenth century "The Woman’s Century." Last Updated on May 20, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. The 19th century was a time of rapid social change brought on by the accelerated Industrial Revolution. Certainly it is true that there were dramatic changes in the status and rights of women between the 1790s and 1900, foreshadowing even greater changes in the twentieth century. Women's Literature in the 19th Century Start Free Trial Introduction. Lincoln, Neb. The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence on feminism well into the 20th century. Books & Authors Women writing in 19th Century America. In poetry, novels, essays, short stories, journalism, and other genres these writers provided a varied and exciting understanding of a world in flux. Unlike their predecessors, novelists, writers and authors of 19th century Britain rose from the ordinary and challenged class system, gave a real view of the deplorable state of the working class, offered us our first taste of feminist literature, and created some unforgettable characters that have immortalized British literature and litterateurs. See also: List of feminist literature Feminist literature is fiction or nonfiction which supports the feminist goals of defining, establishing and defending equal civil, political, economic and social rights for women. It was the beginning of the gender consciousness and feminist attitudes. “Gilman is so clear that while the love of others is welcome and needed, so, too, is her need to work,” says Reithmayr. What has come to be called the first wave of the feminist movement began in the mid 19th century and lasted until the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote. WOMEN IN THE 19TH CENTURY: EARLY FEMINISTS JENNIFER WAELTI-WALTERS AND STEVEN C. HAUSE (ESSAY DATE 1994) SOURCE: Waelti-Walters, Jennifer and Steven C. Hause. Published March 7, 2010 Submitted by: Lynn In the 1820s, James Fenimore Cooper's publisher stated that "the utmost limits to which the sale of a popular book can be published" would be 6,500. Essays and criticism on Feminism in Literature - Women's Literature from 1900 to 1960 ... Women's Literature in the 19th Century Start Free Trial Introduction. Introduction to Feminisms of the Belle Epoque: A Historical and Literary Anthology, edited by Jennifer Waelti-Walters and Steven C. Hause, pp. : University of Nebraska Press, 1994. 1-13.