Izzy´s eBook Library - The Utopian “Herland” Trilogy by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Utopian “Herland” Trilogy
Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Herausgeber: The Forerunner
Published: 1911
eBook Creator: e.c.menting
eBook created: 2022-02-14
Topic: Science Fiction
Topic: Utopian Ficton
Topic: Feminism -- Fiction
Topic: Women -- fiction
Topic: Political Fiction
Copyright: Public domain
Source: MobileRead

“MOVING THE MOUNTAIN” — Gilman pointedly calls this book “a short-distance Utopia, a baby Utopia, a little one that can grow.” — At a remote location in Tibet, a man in local costume, backed by a group of native people, confronts a woman at the head of an exploratory expedition; there is a sudden sense of realization as the man and woman recognize each other as siblings. — Thirty years earlier, at the age of 25, John Robertson had been traveling through rural Tibet and had fallen over a precipice. He was nursed back to health by local villagers, but his memory was deeply impaired until he regained his recollection upon meeting his sister Ellen. He returns with her to the United States, to face a society that is vastly different from the one he knew in his youth.

“HERLAND” — Three young American men discover a country inhabited solely by women, who reproduced by parthenogenesis (a form of asexual reproduction), and had borne only girl children for two thousand years; eventually they marry three of the women. — The central theme of Herland is defining gender — the roles, how it is socially constructed, and how it is viewed as unchangeable by both genders. It also focuses on motherhood and individuality.

“WITH HER IN OURLAND” — This book immediately follows the events of “Herland”, with Terry, Van, and Ellador traveling from Herland to “Ourland” (the contemporary 1915-16 world). The majority of the novel follows Van and Ellador’s travels throughout the world, and particularly the United States, with Van curating their explorations through the then-modern world, while Ellador offers her commentary and “prescriptions” from a Herlander’s perspective, discussing topics such as the First World War, foot binding, education, politics, economics, race relations, and gender relations.

Contents

• … Titlepage / About
• MOVING THE MOUNTAIN
• HERLAND
• WITH HER IN OURLAND