In this set of works, women seem to have discovered the usefulness of fantastic and unusual imagery to disguise some rather intense eroticism in poetry. Subtle misdirection is also used in a novel to enable homoerotic scenarios. We also have a conventional work of romantic partnership. The male authors are largely sticking to sensational and decadent eroticism and misogynistic satire, with one set of poems lapsing to a more neutral, if voyeuristic, depiction.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
19th century American author whose work depicted women challenging traditional roles. A poem expressing her beliefs about the afterlife is presented in the voice of a woman mourning a female friend with the implication they had been lovers.
