Focusing on the works of Grau, Tyler, and Godwin, Susan S. Kissel shows how these writers portray their white southern women protagonists as "moving on," with their heroines not only renouncing southern patriarchal tradition but actually establishing independent lives and caring communities. These authors are beginning to close the gap that has existed between themselves and black Southern women writers, whose protagonists have long shown that the strength and independence of female maturity must be synonymous with complete character development.