Women gained the right to vote in 1920 with the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment of the United States. Women had a long road to voting before gaining their human rights and the same equality as men. Literature from before the 19th century reflects on the treatment of women at the time. Male superiority has led women to make many sacrifices by not being able to pursue their own ambitions, careers and identity. For example, in the play “A Doll's House” by Henrik Ibsen, Torvald and Nora Helmer's marriage was unstable due to gender inequality. Being controlled by her father and subject to her husband's authority, Nora was unable to pursue her own desires and identity. Similarly, in the short story "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the marriage between scientist Aylmer and his wife Georgiana collapses because he is in love with the idea of ​​perfection and not his wife. Geogiana risks her life to satisfy Aylmer's passion for perfection. Another literature that reflects the same idea is the novel “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Sonya leads the cruel life of a prostitute because her father is unable to provide for his family. Sonya sacrifices her reputation to keep her family alive. The sacrifices these three women make take them all on different paths. Women begin to sacrifice themselves from the moment they are born, learning how to dress themselves and teaching all the choirs in the house instead of being educated. The father passes his daughter's hand to her husband and ties it to another link. In a marriage, a solid foundation is necessary to build a stable relationship. Often, marriage is defined as the male being the dominant provider, while the female takes on the role...... middle of paper ...... society expects of her. She makes the decision to abandon her duties towards her children and her husband to fulfill her duties towards herself and find an identity. Even today, women in many cultures go through the same situations as Nora and Georgiana, sacrificing their identities and desires. Works Cited Weinstein, Cindy. “The invisible hand made visible: the birthmark.” 19th Century Literature 48. (1993): 44-73. Source of human sciences. Internet. May 19, 2014. Rogers, Katharine M. (1985): “A Doll's House in a Course on Women in Literature,” in Approaches to Teaching Ibsen's A Doll House, Shafer, Yvonne (ed.). New York: Modern Language Association, p.82. Nesar, Uddin. (2013): “Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House and Komol in Saratchandra's Shesh Proshno: A Comparative Study from a Feminist Perspective,” in International Journal of English and Literature. Bangladesh, p...408-412.