By Women, for Women, about Women: Social Novels of the Progressive Era, 1900–1920

Abstract

Between 1900 and 1920, Progressive social activist women wrote novels that depicted female characters who struggled with the cult of domesticity and “New Womanhood,” and who fought for social issues such as conservation, social purity, labor rights, and women’s suffrage. These authors used their novels as vehicles for their political beliefs and, in turn, their novels served as part of the cultural foundation of Progressivism, articulating the tenets of the movement, preparing the public for the ideas and political goals of reformers, and thus spearheading social change.