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    Herland
    Herland
    Herland
    Ebook195 pages3 hours

    Herland

    By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    3.5/5

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    "Herland" is Charlotte Perkins Gilman's utopian novel about a fictitious society of women who reproduce by asexual means resulting in an ideal society that is free of conflict and war. Originally published in serial form in Gilman's self-published monthly magazine "Forerunner" from 1909 to 1916, the title nation of "Herland" is symbolic of the argument for social reform in the area of woman's rights that took place in the early part of the 20th century in America. By placing women in such an ideal light, Gilman is arguing that women should have as much say in the matters of the world as men and if they did society would be better off for it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateJan 1, 2010
    ISBN9781596745469
    Author

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), author of the celebrated short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," is regarded by many as a leading intellectual in the women's movement in the United States during the first two decades of the twentieth century. Michael Kimmel is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at SUNY, Stony Brook, and the author of Manhood in America: A Cultural History. Amy Aronson is a professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Fordham University.

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    Reviews for Herland

    3.5/5

    481 ratings29 reviews

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    • 3/5
      On an exploratory trip in "savage" lands, three young American men find a country composed entirely of women. As these men learn about the history and culture of Herland, they are at first dismayed but later impressed at the asexuality and absolute social perfection of these women. For the first time, they notice the flaws in their own society and feel ashamed. I'm having a really hard time deciding what to think about Herland. I tend to prefer plot-driven novels, or at the very least character-driven novels. Herland was neither plot- nor character-driven...it was concept driven. Gilman was trying to convey a set of principles using an allegorical dialog. Gilman felt that women are subjugated by their sexuality. Because their economic happiness depends on their ability to attract men, they resort to jealousies and obsessions with fripperies. In Herland, there are no men...therefore they do not depend upon their sexuality to land them a desirable place in life--they depend only upon hard work and virtue. Since there are no men, they have no reason to be jealous, catty, gossipy, or hysterical. Thus, they are perfect. For the most part, I did not enjoy reading Herland. I found the dialog grating due to the sickening perfection of the women and the irksome sexism of the men. The men's characters were very flat--their purpose was simply to present a contrast to the perfection of Herland. The three men came in three stereotypical varieties: gentlemanly to the point of sexism, brutishly sexist, and imperfect-but-somewhat-objective observer. Other than these characteristics, the men had no personality at all. The women also lacked character partly due to their obnoxious perfection, but also due to their nature as a social "we" instead of being unique individuals. In other words, the perfection and socialism merged them into one character with many names (with the slight exception of Alima who brought Terry's brutish behavior on herself by having a "far-descended atavistic trace of the more marked femaleness, never apparent till Terry called it out.")I think Herland was an interesting thought experiment, but I personally didn't enjoy reading it. If your'e interested in concept-driven allegories, especially feminist and socialist allegories, then this is the book for you.
    • 1/5
      I gave up on this book 3/4 of the way through it. It was far too didactic. Maybe it was enlightening for the time it was written, but from a 21st century perspective it just reads as condescending.
    • 4/5
      I've loved Charlotte Perkins Gilman since the first time I read The Yellow Wallpaper, but this was actually the first work of hers I've read besides that. (My love was somewhat shallow.)

      In light of The Yellow Wallpaper, and in particular Gilman's own time spent subjected to the "rest cure" favored by patriarchal, early-twentieth-century society (no surprise she left her doctor-husband who forced it on her, is it?), Herland is a pretty complicated book, examining gender roles and assumptions of what femininity is, through the eyes of three men. (The three men who found Herland are sort of a Goldilocks trio: this one is too brutish, this one is too sentimental/worshiping, and this one--the narrator--is Just Right, as he's the sociologist who sees the women as People, not Potential Conquests of Goddesses.) It does run to the preachy sometimes, with long passages of anthropological fascination with the women's culture, but overall, I really enjoyed this. I would have liked to see what happens once they leave Herland, but for that I need to track down the sequel.

    • 3/5
      This book grew on me slightly as I picked it into different levels. There is good work here - and a message to ponder. However, I find other elements in it that are horrifying - eugenics, superiourity of the Aryan race, 2 dimensional characters on all fronts. Basically this is a novel length political pamphlet. Three men discover a country entirely made up of women cut off from the rest of "civilization" for the last 2,000 years. They have a utopian (dystopian viewed now) society run and peopled entirely by women. Hilarity ensues. Not really - mostly staggeringly Rand-like soapboxing. Still the message has value, even if the vehicle is flawed.
    • 3/5
      A short book that took me a while to finish. Unfortunately, too much exposition reduced this to an average read at best. I'm glad to have experienced this classic of feminist fiction but I hope my next book features a bit more excitement.
    • 3/5
      Herland is an early 20th century piece of adventure fiction showcasing feminism and gender roles in an interesting way. The book tells the story of three male explorers who hear rumors of a hidden city populated entirely by women. Intrigued by the idea they set off on an expedition to discover this hidden society and learn the truth of how such a thing is possible.The writing style is simple and easy to follow. This is especially nice when it includes extensive exposition and detailed description. The story is told in first person which gives it a conversational narrative style and keeps it approachable. By making the narrator a sociologist we are given thoughtful contemplation into the interactions between the characters in the newly discovered culture.The book starts out simply enough by introducing us to the characters and the plot. Our three male characters each have different views/stereotypes towards women and they span the spectrum from end to end. Jeff is at the end that views women as treasures that should be served, protected and idolized. Terry is at the end that sees them as things to be conquered and made to submit and fit into their 'appropriate place' in the world. Our narrator, Van, sits in the middle of the spectrum trying to piece together his viewpoint. He acknowledges a disagreement with Terry's perspective of women as objects to be conquered but he also somewhat pities Jeff's perspective of women as beings to be worshiped. The banter between the three characters as they begin their expedition illustrates the nature of each character and also brings up the big question of "how can a society with only women survive for generations...how does the population continue?"When our "heroes" first arrive in Herland, they admit that they do not see any men but they are still skeptical that such a thing is possible. After some misadventures and some struggle to learn the language the men eventually learn the history of the land. Gilman ads a bit of fantasy/religion and explains how the females are miraculously impregnated without any interaction with males. This is presented as a sort of religious miracle but not in the sense of the Biblical Virgin birth but as a different sort of miracle that evolved a physiological/biological change on the women to allow them to survive in a situation that came upon them when their men were all lost to them. The skepticism of our male explorers continues for a bit but eventually they relent and acknowledge that the women have indeed changed in a way to allow birth without being impregnated by men.Once the men have learned the language of the people they have daily discussions with the women to learn about their society and to answer questions about the outside dual-gender world. In addition to discussions and studies the men also gradually explore the country and see the physical and social and cultural distinctions of Herland.In terms of a story, the plot is somewhat generic and not terribly gripping. In terms of literature, the writing is fairly simple and not especially noteworthy. The merit and interest of the book comes in the commentary that Gilman presents on feminism, gender relations and the place of women in the world. Early in the book, Terry vehemently protests that a society with only women would not be able to survive or that if it did survive it would be backwards and barbaric with constant jealousy and infighting. The culture of Herland is so far from Terry's prediction that it drives him to outrage that gets him in trouble numerous times. The women of Herland have the strong feminine characteristics of compassion and empathy but they also excel in the characteristics that are stereotypically considered masculine such as confidence, ambition, intelligent and physical strength and prowess. The commentary goes on to show that because they lack the competitive 'one-upmanship' that comes in a male society, the culture of Herland has excelled because every member of the society is focused on the overall betterment of their civilization. Generally speaking they do not praise one woman over another because of some given achievement or skill nor do they have any concept of elitism or poverty. They do have added respect for mothers and for some of the most wise members of their society but they do not do so at the expense of any other citizens.The book turns gender roles on their head by having our three male adventurers thrust into a land in which they are essentially neutered (or perhaps effeminized) while the women of the land take on roles normally associated with men (teachers, captors, leaders, hunters, etc.). While a lot of the commentary of the book focusses on the very personal relations between men and women it also takes the argument a step higher and seems to suggest that the problems of society are all due to the masculine viewpoint and can be resolved by removing it. The land of Herland has no poverty, no crime, no illness. They have achieved amazing advances in education, innovation and technology (of the time). While I found the commentary to be interesting, much of the book failed to age very well (it's over 100 years old now) and as such I found many of the arguments to be overly simplistic. And yet there is definitely some merit to be found in the concepts. I agree that many of the problems in our modern world are either caused by or exacerbated by traits that are often considered to be masculine (and many of these problematic traits are praised or encouraged). That's not to say that we need to do away with men or masculinity but we need to look at the positive and negative impact of each trait and action. Our culture can be too self-centered and focused on a single individual/family/group getting ahead and this advancement too often comes at the expense of others. As a culture we do need to cultivate a better sense of respect, concern and understanding while we minimize our notions of greed, prejudice and judgment. Overall this is an interesting book in terms of the gender concepts and social observations it presents. While not every argument is convincing, the commentary provides food for thought and works as a good starting point for social discussions to try and improve society as a whole.***3 out of 5 stars
    • 4/5
      When I read the book I tried to keep in mind that this book was written by a radical feminist , at a time where women still were considered something like "second class". She saw that if society was to allow women the right of full "humanity", that the changes had to start at the root of society. These wishes (demands) have been, IMO, well reflected in Herland.The story starts with three man trying to discover a society run entirely by woman. The first one is Terry, a rich womanizer, macho who truly believes women have to be subservient to man, and definately would never accept a woman as his equal. Still, a very strong general opinion of men during that time period. The second man is Jeff, the dreamer, very poetic, who idolizes women to the point, that he thinks women should not perform any physical or mental labor, and require to be sheltered at all times. The last guy in the lot is Vandyck a sociologist only interested in human activities.Arriving in Herland they find nothing the way they expect it, they thought they will find a society of women who need to be civilized - in their opinion women can't be civilized without men showing them how to do it. But what do they find? A highly civilized world, run by well educated women, who managed to achieve a thriving all-female society through parthenogenic birth. A perfect world, where everyone is happy, everyone is educated at the same standard, no disease, a community with equal opportunies. Terry finds it impossible to adjust to this world and tries at every turn to dominate the women, he feels they are not women, they are to masculine, they have no right to be as they are, views them as objects without any substance to them, and that the Herland women are abnormal. Jeff settles in well and adores the women and sort of views them like prized goddesses. Vandyck is the only one of the three who enjoys this world and tries to learn as much as he can.All in all, this was a very interesting read which explores the differences between a patriarchal and matriarchal society, trying to show the need for a balanced gender performance, demonstrating the importance of accepting women as equals. Considering that this is a very short book Perkins managed to get quite a few points across, aside from it being about feminism, it also discusses religion, the importance of democracy and socialism.What I didn't like in the book was that some parts were very racist, for example the Herlander women developed a breeding programme to further the purity of their race. So, what does that say - was that her opinion? Or just something, she wanted to address racism with?
    • 5/5
      Herland is a small, inaccessible utopia of about three million women, who live without men entirely. They have children by parthenogenesis, and devote themselves to making a perfect environment for these beloved children. Unfortunately, one day their society is disrupted by three British students, who heard about the society second-hand and had to see it for themselves.Herland is filled with strong and capable women, and the men from our own society, full of chivalrous but patronizing notions of women, have a difficult time acclimating. Gilman discusses women's roles in society, contrasting the utopia of Herland to our own rather shameful existence in comparison. And although this book was written nearly a century ago, some of it still struck a bit too close to home for how we perceive and act out gender differences. It's a very small and unassuming book, but full of a lot of thoughtful and still-relevant ideas on feminism
    • 4/5
      "Herland" is, in a way, timeless. Considering how long ago it was written the language and situations can be applied to the modern world quite easily. I've read a lot of reviews on here saying that it isn't relevent to today's world and I think anyone who feels that way isn't really understanding of the feminist movement and the rights women are still fighting for. We may no longer feel we belong to men, but there are most definitely still men on this planet who feel we do. The character of Terry - the womanizing, dominant male - can be found in every bar, club and office in the world. I tutor in my college and the treatment I recieved last week from a male I was tutoring was definitely reflective of the gender bias and discrimination that still exists, and the power of the male ego.

      The ending:

      I took away a star because this book definitely could have been better. The language, though beautiful, was excessive at points. The foreshadowing suggested a much more climactic ending, and that just didn't happen.
    • 3/5
      Explorers discover a lost civilisation in the Amazon consisting only of women. Although the narrator has his criticisms, the author is clearly suggesting that such a land would be a utopia, devoid of all the problems caused by men. There are some odd ideas here presented as ideals, particularly with regard to religion (a version of pantheism) and sex (being undesirable for women except for procreation). It's basically a soap-box for the author to outline her feminist views which would have been quite extreme at the time of writing. Interesting but not great. Oh, and there's an undercurrent of racism regards the civilised white races vs. the savage natives.
    • 4/5
      I read this for the Readercon Book Club, which I *finally* attended. I was surprised to find that another friend had read this in a Utopia/Dystopia class, but it is a utopia. The discussion pointed to the "lost world" genre as the form that Gilman was following/satirizing, esp. H. Rider Hagard's _She_. The discussion also drew a lot of connections between Gilman's own life and that in her Utopia. As with any utopia, the narrative is limited: it's really a work of ideas, and there are *a lot*. Gilman's Socialist, racist, sexual, and eugenic ideas are all present along with her feminist ones. It's intriguing that the culture that she imagines for Herland is centered around motherhood: instead of rejecting this role that women are limited to in our world, she amplifies it there. At the same time, she does away with sex and marriage: this is not a lesbian paradise. While she rejects some stereotypes of women, she engages in others. There are some really interesting critiques that are still relevant to contemporary American culture: the narrator describing our standard idea of feminity as simply "reflected masculinity" because it is defined by what appeals to the male is really intriguing.
    • 4/5
      "If they were only younger," he muttered between his teeth. "What on earth is a fellow to say to a regiment of old Colonels like this?"In all our discussions and speculations we had always unconsciously assumed that the women, whatever else they might be, would be young. Most men do think that way, I fancy."Woman" in the abstract is young, and, we assume, charming. As they get older they pass off the stage, somehow, into private ownership mostly, or out of it altogether. But these good ladies were very much on the stage, and yet any one of them might have been a grandmother.We looked for nervousness—there was none.For terror, perhaps—there was none.For uneasiness, for curiosity, for excitement—and all we saw was what might have been a vigilance committee of women doctors, as cool as cucumbers, and evidently meaning to take us to task for being there.Herland could have been quite dull if the dreadful Terry hadn't been there to provide some humour.
    • 2/5
      Herland was a curious read. Perhaps if you're making a study of feminist literature over the past 100 years it might be something worth reading. As something fun to read, I'd say don't bother. Part treatise for Charlotte Perkins Gilman's vision for a feminist utopia, where for various reasons men no longer exist and women have evolved to reproduce by parthenogenesis, and part Boy's Own Adventure with a bizarre fixation on the usefulness of garments with many pockets, I was bored by most of it. I didn't share Gilman's ideal, particularly not one where there exists a form of eugenics that prevents those deemed 'unfit' from bearing children or, if they are permitted to reproduce, from raising their offspring in order to prevent their 'unfit' traits being normalised. In some ways the writing was quite clumsy and I had to remind myself of when it was written, how different women's lives were 100 years ago, and the broader point Gilman was trying to hammer home. In other ways, it was clever - the switch in perspective so that the three adventuring men who try to enter the matriarchal society have a similar experience to that of the women trying to break down the gender barriers of American patriarchal society at the time Gilman was writing, and the way they become increasingly fixed on their appearance as a way of asserting their masculinity, having been robbed, as they see it, of their natural male authority. Gilman did a reasonable job of inhabiting the minds of the male characters, even if they were a little broadly sketched. Terry is utterly unlikeable, a misogynist pig of the highest order. Van, the narrator, is a social scientist and therefore tries to approach everything rationally. Jeff is the eager to please, optimistic one, always looking for the good in everything, always trying to give people what he thinks they want. The men are like something out of a Ripping Yarn, though, and I wonder whether Gilman tried to create male characters that men would want to read, in the hope that her allegorical tale would then open their eyes to the lot of women. Some things left a bad taste - the eugenics I've mentioned, but also the attitude to people of different racial heritage, all described as savages, all portrayed as simple and child-like. I read up on Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Yeah. Bit of a white supremacist. It both horrifies and confuses me that people who see themselves as a minority in terms of gender or sexuality can still view the colour of their skin as a symbol of superiority. Even setting those misgivings aside, the book was preachy, blinkered and not to my taste. I am a feminist. I believe that all humans are equal and therefore women should have equal rights and equal access to the same opportunities in life as men, and should be judged on ability and not on looks or some twisted idea of what is or isn't feminine behaviour. I think Gilman believed that, too. Where she loses me in this book is in advocating for a world where equality is achieved by eliminating everyone who doesn't fit a central idea of perfection.
    • 2/5
      Oh, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, if we were in Herland with six doughty Herlandians (Herlandettes? Herlanderinnen?) to help us, I never would have missed connecting with my friend tonight and waited around in the cold, or had a gun pulled on me on Friday, or fought with my girlfriend on the Great Wall, or developed a stomach problem, would I?No, I mean, you can't review this like a proper book, just because it's lived on in such a way that its reputation precedes it and you're unlikely to be approaching it without some foreknowledge of how silly it really is - Aristasia with less sexy times and consumerism and more weird big love for eugenics. But it is less devoid of literary merit than "The Sun Grows Cold," (which I think is still my lowest-rated book on this thing) and of course it's interesting to see the weird different way this eternal trope gets expressed by a WWI-era suffraggette as opposed to Thucydides or whoever first wrote about the Amazons - or, as mentioned above, the Aristasians (if I put it in twice maybe you'll google it and be as happy knowing these things exist as me). It was also somehow gratifying to know that Gilman's 1915 take on women as a whole, their development and destiny, was just as reductive as - indeed, identical to - mine at 19, in 1999. We truly have come a long way, baby.
    • 4/5
      This book is a little wooden and strange, not high fiction. However, there are two good reasons to read it: her view on what women were not allowed to do, and her development of three different kinds of men. Indeed, her description makes clear that gender norms limit men as well as women, although on average they still had more power and choices.
    • 3/5
      An isolated land of women, an interesting idea and portrayed somewhat idealistically in this book. The male characters are really just stereotypes and the ending a little weak but an interesting enough read.
    • 4/5
      An interesting view into a world with only women in it. This is a utopia world where everything revolves around nurturing children and each other. I'd like to live in a world like this. There are some problematic topics though, such as racism and the idea that eating only plants as an ideal diet. I do suspect that if women ruled the world it would look something like this.
    • 4/5
      I was taken by surprise to find that this feminist classic is told from the point of view of a man! However, the approach of 3 men experiencing this all-female society (and of course, the women are experiencing their first men!) worked very well. The book itself is an easy & fast read.
    • 3/5
      Early (Victorian) feminist sci-fi, in which three Victorian males discover a land which has been all-female for two thousand years. The three men have different preconceptions about women (one is a Lothario, another has an exaltedly idealistic view of the feminine), but none of them are expecting what they find. I found this very amusing to start with. For example, the men are surprised when they meet large numbers of women who are in their forties - none of them had pictured anything but young and attractive women. I think that would probably be the same today.But as the men discover more about the land, it becomes apparent that it is a place where everything is perfect - a paradise on earth. And then it started to get kind of boring. I was waiting for the moment when the dark side of it all was revealed... but it turned out there wasn't one.So I would say this was an interesting historical document, but it was too overstated. Part of what Gilman was trying to say was that if women were allowed to, they could be full members of humanity and not just fluffy creatures who are only interested in flirtation and later children. I'd have been happy with that.
    • 2/5


      The only other Charlotte Perkins Gilman story I'd read was "The Yellow Wallpaper", which at least had a nice creep factor to it. This one is interesting in the same manner you might read a textbook. Which is to say, there are interesting bits in it, but it's not pleasurable. There was just no tension what so ever. Slogger.

    • 4/5
      Three male sexists discover an isolated country where only women live and have their assumptions about women challenged.Herland is a utopia, and like all utopias, it is much more about ideas than plot. The three guys do make a pathetic attempt to escape at one point, but when that is foiled, they settle down to learn about the religion, philosophy and other ideas espoused in Herland, and also to eventually get married. There are a lot of interesting ideas here, especially for the time in which it was written, such as on controlling reproduction and the place of religion in society. And sure, there are plenty of times I've daydreamed of living in a world without men. But there are problems with the all-female utopia that Gilman fails to address. For instance, in Herland the women all seem asexual, which seems to ignore a fundamental aspect of our nature in favor of combatting the sexual objectification of women. Also, there seems to be no conflict, which is difficult to imagine of any group of human beings living together, no matter what their gender. Finally, and most importantly, it's not practical. We must imagine ways women can achieve equality while still keeping men around, if only for the very practical reason that we are all one species who are all in this together--or at least, we should be. Still, I'd recommend Herland, a quick read, just for its historical value as an early work of feminism, even if does end avoid some of the more difficult questions and then ends rather abruptly.Read in 2015 for the SFFCat Challenge.
    • 4/5
      A rare modern Utopian novel in a world of dystopias. An interesting conversation on women's and men's roles at the turn of the century, especially considering it was written pre-Suffrage.
    • 1/5
      Herland is... hm. Unfortunately bland, really. Charlotte Perkins Gilman seems to have set out to portray a utopian, perfect society of women that shows up all the faults and contradictions of the contemporary world. Unfortunately, that society seems so flat and lacking in individuality that I wouldn't want to be there. It also makes motherhood the pinnacle of a woman's being, something to long for.I'm female-bodied and apparently possessed of the various bits you'd expect given that. I really, really don't want children, and I'm not interested in motherhood in any way, let alone some sanctified, deified version of it.It is, of course, very much of its time. For when she lived, Gilman was pretty liberal, with anti-racist views and so on. But her vision of what could be was limited by that and ends up seeming rather pathetic.
    • 2/5
      Tja, wo soll ich bei Herland bloß anfangen? Die anfängliche Idee eine Welt zu beschreiben, die ganz ohne Männer existiert, fand ich zunächst einmal spannend und es gibt ein paar gute Ansätze, auch in Sachen Religion und Politik. Wie so oft bei Klassikern, basiert aber auch hier das Qualitätsversprechen auf völlig veralteten Zuständen der Gesellschaft zu jener Zeit und dem Umstand, dass es noch leichter war als heute, neue Ideen vorzubringen. Ich schicke mal vorweg, dass es sich um eine feministische Autorin handelt, die das Buch 1915 geschrieben hat. Komischerweise liest es sich trotzdem wie die Geschichte dreier Männer die Herland erleben, anstatt der Geschichte der Frauen, die Herland ausmachen. Von da aus geht es dann leider steil bergab.Jeff, Van und Terry gehören wohl dieser Entdeckerphase an, da sich reiche weiße Schnösel auf den Weg machten, um die Geheimnisse der Fremde zu erkunden, ein paar rassistische Ansichten zum Besten zu geben, hier und da eine Pyramide zu plündern und weiß-der-Kuckuck, was zu der Zeit sonst noch Inn war. In diesem Szenario tingeln die Herren jetzt durch den Amazonas und werden von der Gruselgeschichte angefixed, dass es einen Ort geben soll, an dem ausschließlich Frauen leben. Ein gefährlicher Ort, den schon viele gesucht haben. Niemand ist je wieder zurückgekehrt. Klingt erstmal mysteriös? Ja, dachte ich auch. Während der eine Abenteurer aber schon feuchte Hosen kriegt, beim Gedanken an all die schönen, jungen Frauen, widerspricht sich die Autorin direkt mal. Die drei Helden finden das zweitausend Jahre alte Land nämlich völlig problemlos, es ist auch nicht allzu schwer versteckt, und es zeigt sich, dass die Frauen von Herland noch nie einen leibhaftigen Mann gesehen haben. Wo also sind die angeblich verschollenen Suchenden gelandet, wenn sie nicht dort waren? Wie ist dieses gruselige Kindermärchen entstanden das Jeff, Van und Terry so neugierig gemacht hat, wenn kein Mensch Herland je gesehen hat? Vielleicht hat die vorangegangenen Suchenden der Orientierungssinn verlassen und sie sind in die falsche Richtung gelaufen? Ich dachte zwar das wäre ein Frauenproblem, aber vielleicht ist das ja eine der geheimen Botschaften von Herland. Wer weiß.Beinahe hätte ich eingangs begonnen mit »Drei Sexisten machen sich auf den Weg, …«, konnte mich aber noch zusammenreißen, obwohl die Hauptfiguren dieses Romans alles Stereotype der einen oder anderen Form sind. Jeff ist ein Bilderbuch-Gentleman der Frauen idealisiert und nahezu unterwürfig anbetet, Terry ist das dominante Arschloch, das glaubt Frauen stehen drauf (gerne auch mit Gewalt) »erobert« zu werden und Van soll der gemäßigte Mittelweg sein, der Mann der erkennt, dass Frauen Männer zwar nicht brauchen, aber ihre Gesellschaft schätzen können. Vielleicht könnte man Van durchgehen lassen, aber insgesamt sind doch alle Herren zu schlicht, als dass sie auch nur ansatzweise interessant sein könnten. Außerdem haben alle drei ähnlich stereotype Vorstellungen von den Frauen. Jeff hält Herland für ein Hausfrauenparadies, Terry nimmt an er wäre der begehrte Hahn im Korb und Van … was Van denkt weiß ich eigentlich nicht. Der erzählt und beobachtet viel und lernt irgendwie, im Laufe der ereignislosen Handlung, dass Frauen tatsächlich ein Gehirn haben und es auch nutzen können. – Holy shit! Ich war fast so beeindruckt wie Van.Es sind sich aber im Vorfeld immerhin alle drei einig, dass Herland ein harmloser Ort sein muss, denn schließlich sind Frauen, per biologischer Programmierung, alle nett. Hier behalten sie damit auch leider Recht, denn Herland ist sowas von klischeehaft weibisch, da könnt’ ich rosa Einhörner kotzen.Zunächst einmal wird uns diese Stadt als ein fortschrittlicher Ort vorgestellt, der sich weit besser entwickelt hat, als unsere bekannte Gesellschaft. Es ist ein männerloses Utopia, wo sich die Frauen durch reine Wunschkraft fortpflanzen. Alles in und an der Gesellschaft von Herland ist schön, hübsch, sauber, strukturiert, gesund, ökonomisch und gepflegt … Ich will ja keine perfekt geformte Seifenblase zerplatzen lassen, aber auch Frauen beherrschen die Kunst, einen Schweinestall aus den eigenen vier Wänden zu machen. Sehr gut sogar. Die Wenigsten kriegen einen mentalen Orgasmus, wenn sie Fenster putzen oder Töpfe spülen dürfen. In Herland könnte man aber fast zu dem Schluss gelangen, dass sich die Damen um Aufgaben der Ordnungshaltung prügeln würden, wenn sie denn irgendeine Form von Leidenschaft besäßen. Tun sie aber nicht. Die Frauen kennen keine Konkurrenz und sie tragen keine Wettkämpfe aus. Es gibt ganz grundsätzlich keine Konflikte, keine Kriminalität, keinen Neid. Nur das Streben nach gemeinsamem Glück und Fortschritt. Und wie drückt sich das am besten aus? Genau, durch Babies!Die Frauen von Herland sind dermaßen fixiert auf die Mutterschaft, das hält frau im Kopf nicht aus. Die Idee, dass es Frauen geben könnte die gar keine Lust aufs Kinderkriegen haben, kommt der Autorin nicht einmal im Ansatz. Stattdessen wird das Muttersein zu einer Art fanatischen Religion und wer nicht 200% in der Spur läuft, bei der wird der biologisch einsetzende Mutterschaftswunsch durch produktive Ablenkung einfach unterdrückt und die Schwangerschaft verhindert.Ich habe mich in zweiter Instanz übrigens die ganze Zeit gewundert, warum die Frauen eigentlich wieder Männer in ihre Gesellschaft integrieren wollen. Die Frauen haben keinerlei sexuelle Interessen (für lesbisches Gedankengut war die Autorin dann wohl doch noch nicht bereit). Sex ist für sie nur ein neues Mittel um Kinder zu kriegen. Das muss ja keinen Spaß machen. Ich sehe sie schon wie Bretter daliegen, im Geiste ihre Putztücher und Babylätzchen aufreihen, während der Mann seine eheliche Pflicht verrichtet. Sexy, huh?Brauchen tun die Frauen die Herren auch nicht. Warum sie es also plötzlich so erstrebenswert finden aus ihrer xx-Gesellschaft wieder eine xy-Gesellschaft zu machen, erschließt sich während der Lektüre nicht wirklich. Das muss man dann einfach mal so hinnehmen.Während Herland zur damaligen Zeit vielleicht für Aufsehen gesorgt hat, ist dieses Buch aus heutiger Sicht einfach nur schlecht. Es ist sprachlich simpel und inhaltlich bietet es nichts als Gefasel und Klischees. Es gibt keine Spannungsbögen und die Figuren sind allesamt einfältig. Blasse Pappfiguren. Auch Herland selbst strahlt nichts aus. Man lernt es leider nicht richtig kennen, da man es nur durch Vans analytische Augen sieht. Erstrebenswertes oder etwas, dass einen zum Nachdenken anregen würde, sucht man in diesem Roman ebenfalls vergeblich. Obwohl das Buch außerdem als feministische Literatur gilt, würde ich es als in jeder Hinsicht sexistisch beschreiben. Gegenüber den Männern sowieso, aber auch gegenüber den Frauen, mit all seinen altbackenen Vorstellungen vom Frausein. Solltet ihr in die Versuchung geraten Herland lesen zu wollen: lasst es! Es lohnt sich nur, wenn ihr eine Studie über den Feminismus von damals bis heute schreiben müsst. Andernfalls ist Herland einfach nur überbewerteter Bockmist.Mein liebstes Schmankerl übrigens: Intelligenz maskiert die Weiblichkeit und macht eine Frau weniger attraktiv. Und das aus der Feder einer Feministin …
    • 4/5
      There is a lot to like about this book. First, it focuses on a society where women have been living together for thousands of years without war, poverty, jealousy, or disease. (And they somehow worked out the whole birth thing.)

      What's more to love is how Gillman did it. The narrator is a man. A man who is recounting his beautiful year in Herland.

      The only thing I feel this book is missing is what Ellador felt when introduced to our 'civilized' world. That would be a good book, but strays from the points Gillman was trying to make about our society: boo paternalism, question religion, equal rights, war is bad, use your brain, capitalism is bad/socialism is good.

      With all of those themes: me gusta.
    • 2/5
      This was written in 1915 and is an account of three male explorers discovering a land entirely composed of women. With no plot to speak of, and some dreadful writing, it's pretty much just an exposition of how lovely an all female world would be. I'd give it a miss if I were you!
    • 5/5
      Although fiction, I used this book in my class when discussing utopias to point out how societies construct themselves and how members and outsiders react. Instead of falling apart like most utopian societies this one actually worked. It worked so well that outsiders couldn't understand it, couldn't break through their own ideas and experiences to truely experience it.
    • 4/5
      So these three guys are exploring and hear rumours of a land entirely populated by women. They go there, learn that it is some kind of amazing utopia, and are sexist and creepy in a variety of ways! It was interesting to read, especially how the narrator seems to think of himself as being the most enlightened of the three guys and not being too sexist, but actually still being an idiot about pretty much everything. There isn't a whole lot of plot, and the whole miraculous parthenogenesis thing was a bit strange. I enjoyed it, though, I suppose.
    • 3/5
      Like most utopian classics, not much of a plot, but a worthwhile read as a look into early 20th century feminist thought.

    Book preview

    Herland - Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    HERLAND

    BY CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN

    A Digireads.com Book

    Digireads.com Publishing

    Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-3067-2

    Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-59674-546-9

    This edition copyright © 2011

    Please visit www.digireads.com

    CONTENTS

    CHAPTER I. A Not Unnatural Enterprise

    CHAPTER II. Rash Advances

    CHAPTER III. A Peculiar Imprisonment

    CHAPTER IV. Our Venture

    CHAPTER V. A Unique History

    CHAPTER VI. Comparisons Are Odious

    CHAPTER VII. Our Growing Modesty

    CHAPTER VIII. The Girls of Herland

    CHAPTER IX. Our Relations and Theirs

    CHAPTER X. Their Religions and Our Marriages

    CHAPTER XI. Our Difficulties

    CHAPTER XII. Expelled

    CHAPTER I. A Not Unnatural Enterprise

    This is written from memory, unfortunately. If I could have brought with me the material I so carefully prepared, this would be a very different story. Whole books full of notes, carefully copied records, firsthand descriptions, and the pictures—that's the worst loss. We had some bird's-eyes of the cities and parks; a lot of lovely views of streets, of buildings, outside and in, and some of those gorgeous gardens, and, most important of all, of the women themselves.

    Nobody will ever believe how they looked. Descriptions aren't any good when it comes to women, and I never was good at descriptions anyhow. But it's got to be done somehow; the rest of the world needs to know about that country.

    I haven't said where it was for fear some self-appointed missionaries, or traders, or land-greedy expansionists, will take it upon themselves to push in. They will not be wanted, I can tell them that, and will fare worse than we did if they do find it.

    It began this way. There were three of us, classmates and friends—Terry O. Nicholson (we used to call him the Old Nick, with good reason), Jeff Margrave, and I, Vandyck Jennings.

    We had known each other years and years, and in spite of our differences we had a good deal in common. All of us were interested in science.

    Terry was rich enough to do as he pleased. His great aim was exploration. He used to make all kinds of a row because there was nothing left to explore now, only patchwork and filling in, he said. He filled in well enough—he had a lot of talents—great on mechanics and electricity. Had all kinds of boats and motorcars, and was one of the best of our airmen.

    We never could have done the thing at all without Terry.

    Jeff Margrave was born to be a poet, a botanist—or both—but his folks persuaded him to be a doctor instead. He was a good one, for his age, but his real interest was in what he loved to call the wonders of science.

    As for me, sociology's my major. You have to back that up with a lot of other sciences, of course. I'm interested in them all.

    Terry was strong on facts—geography and meteorology and those; Jeff could beat him any time on biology, and I didn't care what it was they talked about, so long as it connected with human life, somehow. There are few things that don't.

    We three had a chance to join a big scientific expedition. They needed a doctor, and that gave Jeff an excuse for dropping his just opening practice; they needed Terry's experience, his machine, and his money; and as for me, I got in through Terry's influence.

    The expedition was up among the thousand tributaries and enormous hinterland of a great river, up where the maps had to be made, savage dialects studied, and all manner of strange flora and fauna expected.

    But this story is not about that expedition. That was only the merest starter for ours.

    My interest was first roused by talk among our guides. I'm quick at languages, know a good many, and pick them up readily. What with that and a really good interpreter we took with us, I made out quite a few legends and folk myths of these scattered tribes.

    And as we got farther and farther upstream, in a dark tangle of rivers, lakes, morasses, and dense forests, with here and there an unexpected long spur running out from the big mountains beyond, I noticed that more and more of these savages had a story about a strange and terrible Woman Land in the high distance.

    Up yonder, Over there, Way up—was all the direction they could offer, but their legends all agreed on the main point—that there was this strange country where no men lived—only women and girl children.

    None of them had ever seen it. It was dangerous, deadly, they said, for any man to go there. But there were tales of long ago, when some brave investigator had seen it—a Big Country, Big Houses, Plenty People—All Women.

    Had no one else gone? Yes—a good many—but they never came back. It was no place for men—of that they seemed sure.

    I told the boys about these stories, and they laughed at them. Naturally I did myself. I knew the stuff that savage dreams are made of.

    But when we had reached our farthest point, just the day before we all had to turn around and start for home again, as the best of expeditions must in time, we three made a discovery.

    The main encampment was on a spit of land running out into the main stream, or what we thought was the main stream. It had the same muddy color we had been seeing for weeks past, the same taste.

    I happened to speak of that river to our last guide, a rather superior fellow with quick, bright eyes.

    He told me that there was another river—over there, short river, sweet water, red and blue.

    I was interested in this and anxious to see if I had understood, so I showed him a red and blue pencil I carried, and asked again.

    Yes, he pointed to the river, and then to the southwestward. River—good water—red and blue.

    Terry was close by and interested in the fellow's pointing.

    What does he say, Van?

    I told him.

    Terry blazed up at once.

    Ask him how far it is.

    The man indicated a short journey; I judged about two hours, maybe three.

    Let's go, urged Terry. Just us three. Maybe we can really find something. May be cinnabar in it.

    May be indigo, Jeff suggested, with his lazy smile.

    It was early yet; we had just breakfasted; and leaving word that we'd be back before night, we got away quietly, not wishing to be thought too gullible if we failed, and secretly hoping to have some nice little discovery all to ourselves.

    It was a long two hours, nearer three. I fancy the savage could have done it alone much quicker. There was a desperate tangle of wood and water and a swampy patch we never should have found our way across alone. But there was one, and I could see Terry, with compass and notebook, marking directions and trying to place landmarks.

    We came after a while to a sort of marshy lake, very big, so that the circling forest looked quite low and dim across it. Our guide told us that boats could go from there to our camp—but long way—all day.

    This water was somewhat clearer than that we had left, but we could not judge well from the margin. We skirted it for another half hour or so, the ground growing firmer as we advanced, and presently we turned the corner of a wooded promontory and saw a quite different country—a sudden view of mountains, steep and bare.

    One of those long easterly spurs, Terry said appraisingly. May be hundreds of miles from the range. They crop out like that.

    Suddenly we left the lake and struck directly toward the cliffs. We heard running water before we reached it, and the guide pointed proudly to his river.

    It was short. We could see where it poured down a narrow vertical cataract from an opening in the face of the cliff. It was sweet water. The guide drank eagerly and so did we.

    That's snow water, Terry announced. Must come from way back in the hills.

    But as to being red and blue—it was greenish in tint. The guide seemed not at all surprised. He hunted about a little and showed us a quiet marginal pool where there were smears of red along the border; yes, and of blue.

    Terry got out his magnifying glass and squatted down to investigate.

    Chemicals of some sort—I can't tell on the spot. Look to me like dyestuffs. Let's get nearer, he urged, up there by the fall.

    We scrambled along the steep banks and got close to the pool that foamed and boiled beneath the falling water. Here we searched the border and found traces of color beyond dispute. More—Jeff suddenly held up an unlooked-for trophy.

    It was only a rag, a long, raveled fragment of cloth. But it was a well-woven fabric, with a pattern, and of a clear scarlet that the water had not faded. No savage tribe that we had heard of made such fabrics.

    The guide stood serenely on the bank, well pleased with our excitement.

    One day blue—one day red—one day green, he told us, and pulled from his pouch another strip of bright-hued cloth.

    Come down, he said, pointing to the cataract. Woman Country—up there.

    Then we were interested. We had our rest and lunch right there and pumped the man for further information. He could tell us only what the others had—a land of women—no men—babies, but all girls. No place for men—dangerous. Some had gone to see—none had come back.

    I could see Terry's jaw set at that. No place for men? Dangerous? He looked as if he might shin up the waterfall on the spot. But the guide would not hear of going up, even if there had been any possible method of scaling that sheer cliff, and we had to get back to our party before night.

    They might stay if we told them, I suggested.

    But Terry stopped in his tracks. Look here, fellows, he said. This is our find. Let's not tell those cocky old professors. Let's go on home with 'em, and then come back—just us—have a little expedition of our own.

    We looked at him, much impressed. There was something attractive to a bunch of unattached young men in finding an undiscovered country of a strictly Amazonian nature.

    Of course we didn't believe the story—but yet!

    There is no such cloth made by any of these local tribes, I announced, examining those rags with great care. Somewhere up yonder they spin and weave and dye—as well as we do.

    That would mean a considerable civilization, Van. There couldn't be such a place—and not known about.

    Oh, well, I don't know. What's that old republic up in the Pyrenees somewhere—Andorra? Precious few people know anything about that, and it's been minding its own business for a thousand years. Then there's Montenegro—splendid little state—you could lose a dozen Montenegroes up and down these great ranges.

    We discussed it hotly all the way back to camp. We discussed it with care and privacy on the voyage home. We discussed it after that, still only among ourselves, while Terry was making his arrangements.

    He was hot about it. Lucky he had so much money—we might have had to beg and advertise for years to start the thing, and then it would have been a matter of public amusement—just sport for the papers.

    But T. O. Nicholson could fix up his big steam yacht, load his specially-made big motorboat aboard, and tuck in a dissembled biplane without any more notice than a snip in the society column.

    We had provisions and preventives and all manner of supplies. His previous experience stood him in good stead there. It was a very complete little outfit.

    We were to leave the yacht at the nearest safe port and go up that endless river in our motorboat, just the three of us and a pilot; then drop the pilot when we got to that last stopping place of the previous party, and hunt up that clear water stream ourselves.

    The motorboat we were going to leave at anchor in that wide shallow lake. It had a special covering of fitted armor, thin but strong, shut up like a clamshell.

    Those natives can't get into it, or hurt it, or move it, Terry explained proudly. We'll start our flier from the lake and leave the boat as a base to come back to.

    If we come back, I suggested cheerfully.

    'Fraid the ladies will eat you? he scoffed.

    We're not so sure about those ladies, you know, drawled Jeff. There may be a contingent of gentlemen with poisoned arrows or something.

    You don't need to go if you don't want to, Terry remarked drily.

    Go? You'll have to get an injunction to stop me! Both Jeff and I were sure about that.

    But we did have differences of opinion, all the long way.

    An ocean voyage is an excellent time for discussion. Now we had no eavesdroppers, we could loll and loaf in our deck chairs and talk and talk—there was nothing else to do. Our absolute lack of facts only made the field of discussion wider.

    We'll leave papers with our consul where the yacht stays, Terry planned. If we don't come back in—say a month—they can send a relief party after us.

    A punitive expedition, I urged. If the ladies do eat us we must make reprisals.

    They can locate that last stopping place easy enough, and I've made a sort of chart of that lake and cliff and waterfall.

    Yes, but how will they get up? asked Jeff.

    Same way we do, of course. If three valuable American citizens are lost up there, they will follow somehow—to say nothing of the glittering attractions of that fair land—let's call it 'Feminisia,' he broke off.

    You're right, Terry. Once the story gets out, the river will crawl with expeditions and the airships rise like a swarm of mosquitoes. I laughed as I thought of it. We've made a great mistake not to let Mr. Yellow Press in on this. Save us! What headlines!

    Not much! said Terry grimly. This is our party. We're going to find that place alone.

    What are you going to do with it when you do find it—if you do? Jeff asked mildly.

    Jeff was a tender soul. I think he thought that country—if there was one—was just blossoming with roses and babies and canaries and tidies, and all that sort of thing.

    And Terry, in his secret heart, had visions of a sort of sublimated summer resort—just Girls and Girls and Girls—and that he was going to be—well, Terry was popular among women even when there were other men around, and it's not to be wondered at that he had pleasant dreams of what might happen. I could see it in his eyes as he lay there, looking at the long blue rollers slipping by, and fingering that impressive mustache of his.

    But I thought—then—that I could form a far clearer idea of what was before us than either of them.

    You're all off, boys, I insisted. "If there is such a place—and there does seem some foundation for believing it—you'll find it's built on a sort of matriarchal principle, that's all. The men have a separate cult of their own, less socially developed than the women, and make them an annual visit—a sort of wedding call. This is a condition known to have existed—here's just a survival. They've got some peculiarly isolated valley or tableland up there, and

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