Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston. This novel narrates the journey of Janie, a young black woman with a strong sense of independence, and her experiences with the adventurous Tea Cake. Hurston masterfully depicts the vibrant life in small African American communities in the deep South.

The Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Prynne lives in a strict Puritan society that brands her an adulteress. Hawthorne explores the hypocrisy within the Puritan mindset and seeks to explain the prevalent New England thinking of the nineteenth century.

Pembroke (1894), by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. In Pembroke, Freeman recounts a tale inspired by an event in her mother's family. A conflict arises between the fathers of a couple about to wed. As a result, the young man is banished from his fiancée's home, and her father calls off the engagement. The young suitor embodies New England stubbornness and is so entrenched in the fatalism of his Calvinist beliefs that he is unable to pursue the woman he loves.

The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896), by Sarah Orne Jewett. This collection of short stories reflects the author's deep understanding of life in a small New England community.

The Custom of the Country (1913), by Edith Wharton. This novel depicts the ambitious pursuits of a young woman aiming to ascend the social ladders of New York and Paris. Through relentless ambition and actions that defy the social norms of her era, Undine Spragg achieves wealth and comfort at the cost of nearly everyone she encounters.

Main-Travelled Roads (1891), by Hamlin Garland. This collection of short stories offers a grim and unsentimental look at the lives of Midwestern farmers and their wives. By illustrating their daily struggles and limited existences, Garland advocates for a more compassionate economic system that he believes would enrich and enhance their lives.

‘‘The Yellow Wallpaper’’ (1892), by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This story follows an unnamed narrator confined to bed rest by her husband and doctor. Suffering from postpartum depression, she is forbidden from engaging in intellectual activities, as the men believe her condition worsens with thinking and writing. This enforced inactivity drives her into severe mental distress.

"A Jury of Her Peers" (1917) by Susan Glaspell tells the story of Minnie Foster Wright, who is accused of killing her husband. When the neighbor women accompany their husbands—one being the sheriff—to search the Wright home for evidence, they discover subtle clues hidden among everyday household items that point to her guilt. As they talk about Minnie’s isolated and impoverished life with an abusive husband, they silently decide not to share their findings with their husbands, who have dismissively remarked that the women wouldn't recognize a clue even if they found one.