Changes in the relationship between the two sexes in the 20th century have influenced love letters greatly. In the beginning of the century, men are inclined to teach in their letters, they try to change their beloved or their bride according to their own views. The woman is considered to be a desired trophy and compared to a flower, which should be broken. Eventually word constructions like "you should" and "I want" begin to appear less and less. Letters of women become more frank and sincere. Today women are more independent and have liberated their feelings, which they express to men.
Some versions of love letters have died out in our century or became rare, like the humming-bird. For example, in the first decades of the twentieth century there was a tradition, which came from earlier centuries, of correspondence between the groom and the bride. These letters were written in the period between engagement and wedding which, according to existing norms of decency, should last not less than three months, and sometimes even longer, up to several years if required by circumstances. For example, if the groom was waiting for a job to support the family. It was considered indecent to meet each other often in that period especially, as young people were frequently already in love and were in the anticipation of family happiness. In these cases, correspondence contained unusually passionate love letters. Very often these messages remained the only written expressions of love.