The women of today are not the women of yesterday. Women have undergone a theatrical transformation that makes them bold, independent and free-spirited beings. A voice that was once repressed can no longer be tamed; this is illustrated by the rise of both male and female playwrights who continue to reinvent the role of women as more than “man's other.” In her book “Modern Drama by Women, 1880s-1930s: An International Anthology,” author Katherine Kelly references a quote from scholar Carrie Chapman Catt, which beautifully frames the state of transformation that women have undergone. According to Chapman: “Women are organizing, speaking, working… [and] now is a crucial moment, when our Western aid can give momentum and stability to the Eastern women's movement, and when delay can mean a much longer and more continuous oppression of Eastern women”. women” (Kelly, 1). In light of this, gender identities and stereotypes that previously required women to act, look, speak and even interact socially with others are being exposed. This is represented through Sarah Raul's In the Next Room, which exemplifies the ideology of a "new woman" through the characterization of Catherine Givings, a woman who learns to reject society's definition of what it means to be a woman in relation to his sexual identity. From now on, in this essay I will examine sexuality in the context of the Victorian era in parallel with In the Next Room; furthermore, I will analyze how Raul breaks down gender roles and representations through characterization and staging techniques. Sexuality and Victorian Women During the Victorian era, women were prevented from exploring facets of their sexuality; furthermore, their sole existence revolved around the submissive…… middle of paper……tended from the living room to the operating room of Dr. Givings through the notion of sexual equality in which sex was a pleasurable act for both male and female. Furthermore, Raul subverts common representations of men and women when they take part in sexual activity by featuring the naked male and the partially clothed female. The reversal of gender representation is reinforced by Catherine's language, as she is presented as the more dominant sphere. As the show closes, the caption reads: “She lies on her back and makes an angel in the snow. She lies on top of him…” Thus, one senses that Catherine is on top of Doctor Givings and controls the beginning of their love. The play ends with Catherine saying, “oh God. Oh, God, Oh, God, and for the first time she experiences erotic, passionate, sensual sex: for the first time she discovers her sexuality.