In this paper I contend that a Franco-American woman's literary tradition exists and that a separate feminist criticism is needed to look at this literature.  Subsequently, I will then look at the ways that Franco-American women's literature is unique unto itself.  In order to do this, I will employ variant concepts of realism and sentimentalism to discuss Franco-American women's literature but more importantly, I will explore other components of criticism that can be incorporated to come to a deeper understanding of these ethnic women writers.