Judging a woman by her appearance became a social norm in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Because women were not allowed to hold high or respectable positions, they often relied on their husbands to pay and bring in most of the bills and money. Such conditions often left a young woman struggling to find a husband, or rather that it was in her best interest to find one. Modern literature originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the time, real women were thought to display the following traits: piety, purity, submission, and domesticity (Welter). Not only did women criticize each other, but so did the media. Women were also responsible for maintaining their physical beauty. A woman might have all the traits that made her a true woman, but if she lacked physical beauty she was shamed by society. Most modern American texts began to shift away from standards that women were weak and submissive, but still viewed physical beauty as a trait that all women were expected to maintain and obsessed with.....