Abstract: The object of analysis in this article is the first collection of American writer and publicist Ambrose Bierce "The Fiend's Delight", released in England under the pseudonym Dod Grill. The subject of the study is the analysis of female images in the collection in the context of the concept of delusion - "delusion". The need for such an analysis arises because, as the main causes of the decline of morality, the misconceptions in which modern society in the United States finds itself, firstly, the problem of education, the responsibility for which in traditional society lies with a woman, and secondly, the observed destruction of the traditional institution of the family, in which a woman acted as the archetypal guardian of the "home hearth". The scientific novelty of the research is due to the introduction into scientific circulation of the untranslated texts of Ambrose Bierce's first literary publication, as well as the selected perspective of the study of A. Bierce's depiction of female images in relation to the concept of delusion. The article uses descriptive, cultural-historical and sociological methods. It can be concluded that the key concept of delusion for the entire creative heritage of the author - "delusion" - was formulated already within the framework of the collection "The Fiend's Delight", the characters of which are in a painful gap with reality, especially with regard to female images, their inclusion in the circle of social and gender issues. Women are portrayed tragically: they are not capable of independent existence and by their nature personify an irrational principle that does not allow them to find their place in a material rationalistic society. On the other hand, they are unable to serve their nature as a mother and wife, because in marriage a woman becomes a hostage of her position and is suppressed by an aggressive masculine principle.