according to Elaine Showalter's Towards a Feminist Poetics, the Female Phase (1920s–present) emphasizes self-expression and identity in women's literary history.
Showalter divides women's literary history into three phases:
The Feminine Phase (c. 1840–1880) – Women writers imitated male literary traditions and often wrote under male pseudonyms to gain acceptance.
The Feminist Phase (c. 1880–1920) – Women actively protested male dominance in literature and society, advocating for rights and equality.
The Female Phase (1920s–present) – Women moved beyond imitation and protest to explore self-discovery, female identity, and autonomy in writing, developing their own literary styles and themes.
