The first decades of the 20th century witnessed the first feminist mobilizations in Chile, which culminated in obtaining the feminine vote in 1949. Pioneering figures in the fight for civil and political rights of women were writers such as Ines Echeverria de Larrain (Iris), Delia Rojas (Delie Rouge), Elvira Santa Cruz Ossa (Roxane), Amanda Labarca and the younger Marta Vergara, who combined their literary work with political demands. The present article analyzes a series of texts written by these authors, in an effort to elucidate the understanding of their literary activity, as well as the status of being a woman and a feminist. The principal discursive forms in which these categories are conceived, as well as their tensions and contradictions will be reviewed. These texts make up a symbolic arena where the possibilities of meanings are rehearsed.