This small book by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is usually left forgotten by most feminists and is definitely unknown to most people. Herland is the answer to all the pessimism we encounter in feminist books, and the radical opposite to all female-related dystopias.
And I say radical because it is. Presenting a realistic women-only utopia that actually works both in theory and practice is, at least to me, a major achievement. The women of Herland explain their mentalities to the three male visitors, thus eliminating one by one all of the core established notions of the history of our world, of patriarchy’s history.
A nation of mothers, and it works perfectly right. P. Gilman seems to place motherhood at the centre of her work, but more in the notion of creating new life and educating future adults, not in terms of “property”. All matters are treated with keen insight and a subtle causticity at times. The only theme that P. Gilman left me unsatisfied with her Herland was that of sexual relationships. She seemed unsure, placing it towards the end of the book and somewhat hastily. Perhaps with a second read I’ll see what it was all about.
The three male visitors are another interesting part: they roughly represent the opinions world usually has about women. The first one, who in men’s world was successful and popular, in Herland he is spiteful and disliked (though he’s treated well). Blatantly misogynist, he cannot accept that a society of women stands just like his own and better (there is civilization… “there must be men!”). The second, adapts himself in Herland fairly well, though his vision of women is somewhat glorified. The divine mother, the goddess, and all that stuff that still place woman outside humanity, even if it’s slightly above it – at least in theory.
The third male, the narrator, is the perfect balance between the two: the (hu)man with ears and mind open, he’s normally shocked at first with this weird country, but completely understands, accepts and admires it as he gets to know it. Eventually, he discovers it is a utopia for himself too.
Herland is a must-read and I suggest it no second thought. Gilman wrote this during the first feminist wave and it’s still a classic. Utopias are fantasies, but should not be treated as such. We can always draw the most important elements of fantasy and make them real. It’s up to us.
