The women's suffrage movement was a determined effort in the United States to secure voting rights for women and promote gender equality. Beginning in the mid-19th century and lasting several decades, it involved diverse strategies like lobbying, protests, and legal battles. Despite facing significant opposition and challenges, activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and others persisted. The movement's culmination came with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, granting women the right to vote. While a landmark achievement, it's essential to recognize that the struggle for suffrage wasn't universal, and racial discrimination persisted. Nonetheless, the movement remains a powerful symbol of resilience and progress in the fight for equal rights. The Women's Suffrage Movement was a very powerful and influential time in history and impacted many lives, including Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin. The Women's Suffrage Movement impacted Charlotte Perkins as in 1898 Perkins published a manifesto called Women and Economics. According to the article "Charlotte Perkins" in Encyclopædia Britannica, it states, "Called for economic independence for women, she dissected with keen intelligence much of the romanticized convention surrounding ideas of womanhood and motherhood". In short, this manifesto emphasized that the ideals of women brought on my society and men were just that, ideals. The aspect of "Gender Roles" was unnecessary, men did not have to work and women did not have to take care of the children and household. The roles could switch, or men and women could do both. Perkins also goes into detail about women's need for accessible education. Perkins did a good job of critiquing the prevalent notion of one's genitalia depicting what their future holds and standing up for gender equality. Perkin's beliefs on gender equality lead her to become an activist during the movement and long after, as well as influencing her literary works. The Women's Suffrage Movement also influenced Kate Chopin. Kate Chopin is depicted as a woman who, "would write about her feelings. She felt that women had a sexual appetite and deserved independence" (Teen Ink). Due to her "taboo" writing style during her time, her works especially The Awakening, "Was roundly condemned in its time because of its sexual frankness and its portrayal of an interracial marriage and went out of print for more than 50 years" (Encyclopædia Britannica). Kate Chopin has stated that she was, "neither a feminist nor a suffragist, she said so" states the article, Kate Chopin: A Re-awakening - Interviews - PBS. This statement states that she never considered herself to be one or the other however, "she was nonetheless a woman who took women extremely seriously. She never doubted women's ability to be strong" (Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening - Interviews - PBS). This is significant as it represents Kate's acknowledgment of women being strong and independent figures within society. Chopin's literary work The Awakening highlights her views on how women should be able to be upfront with their sexuality, be who they are, and want who they want. It may not be as impactful as being an activist, but her literary pieces act as a form of activism for women every, afraid to be who they are. Overall, learning this information about both of the women gave me a narrower understanding of who they were as people. I strongly believe that Chopin had to have been a suffragist or feminist due to her book, but I believe she did not like having labels, she just wanted to be Kate Chopin. Understanding Perkin's background revolving around her birth and troubling marriage, her short The Yellow Wallpaper does make a lot more sense now. I understand more that during that time they had no idea what post-partum depression is, nor any knowledge of how to treat it. Therefore, being locked in a room by your husband or friends/family and being considered "crazy" because of a massive amount of hormones running through your body, can damage one's mental health; more than you would believe. I think these two authors bring impactful ideas and beliefs into light through their literary works, whether they are activists or not.
Works Cited
"Anonymous" Teen Ink, www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/629426/Kate-Chopin-and-the-…. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“Charlotte Perkins Gilman.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 6 Mar. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Charlotte-Perkins-Gilman.
“Kate Chopin.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 4 Feb. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Kate-Chopin.
“Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening - Interviews.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html#:~:text=On%20Chopin%20and%20femi…. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“Women’s Rights National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/wori/index.htm. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.
“Women’s Suffrage - the U.S. Movement, Leaders & 19th Amendment.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage. Accessed 31 Mar. 2024.
“Women’s Suffrage in the United States.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Mar. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_States. Accessed 31 Mar. 2024