Trifles (1916), a one-act play by Susan Glaspell, served as the foundation for ''A Jury of Her Peers." This play was written and performed for the Provincetown Players, a theater group established in Cape Cod by Glaspell and her husband, fellow playwright George Cram Cook. Many critics consider it her finest work, and it is often featured in American literature anthologies.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892), by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a first-person narrative of a young woman subjected to bed rest and psychiatric care by her husband. He believes that her intellectual activities, such as reading and writing, are detrimental to her health.

Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), a novel by Zora Neale Hurston, narrates the journey of Janie Crawford, an African-American woman in the South. She grapples with her grandmother's belief that a woman should not marry solely for love. After adhering to this advice for years, Janie eventually marries Tea Cake, the only man she has ever truly loved. Their relationship tragically ends when Tea Cake dies, and Janie faces trial for his murder.

The Awakening (1899) by Kate Chopin is a short story about Edna Pontellier, a young married woman on a quest to find her own identity. Through a series of experiences that challenge her views on sexuality, womanhood, motherhood, and freedom, she ultimately asserts her independence by taking her own life.

''Lamb to the Slaughter," a short story by Roald Dahl published in 1953, is a dark comedy about a woman who kills her husband and cleverly disposes of the evidence with the inadvertent assistance of the police.