After Sappho is a biographical book set in Italy in the 1880s. The narrative voice in this novel is inspired by Virginia Woolf's biographical essay "A Sketch of the Past," which talks about her infinite age, instincts, and rapturous pleasure as a woman. The women in the 1880s are fighting for their place in a male-dominated society in every aspect. After Sappho boldly calls for women’s freedom. The book largely explores autobiographical sections of the lives of past renowned women who fought for their rights and enhanced the freedom the modern woman enjoys today.
The autobiography commences in the 1880s in Italy, where the protagonist Lina Poletti is born. As the autobiography progresses, Schwartz introduces more renowned women of that time, including Natalie Barney and Gertrude Stein, who are fighting for women’s rights. However, Poletti is the most ambitious and inspiring making her a role model among women. The interesting aspect of After Sappho is that these women learn to love and adore themselves. Consequently, these women do not need men to be happy because they can also satisfy themselves sexually. After Sappho depicts the start of the feminist revolution because the autobiographical fragments of renowned women show that a woman can do better when independent.
Most modern feminist novels follow Schwartz’s autobiography, After Sappho, which shows the genesis of the woman’s desire to be independent. Consequently, women are reminded to look back at where they have come from and always fight for their place in society.
