Herland
A detailed Summary of Herland
Herland is the story of three men who stumble upon a society populated entirely by
women. This culture is superior in virtually all ways to the world of the men. The narrator
of the book is one of the visiting men , and he is constantly in awe of the perfection of the
country. In writing Herland , Gilman attempted to address the problems that go hand in
hand with gender roles. By creating a female utopia, Gilman shows the flaws in our
society created from these distinct roles. She takes the women of Herland and creates an
atmosphere where no men exist , and where women live in harmony and sisterhood. She
draws a picture of what she thinks an ideal unisex society would be like, and shows what
happens when men are brought into such a society. (Clemons 1)
The Herlanders have invented a language which is both easy to learn and beautiful.
Tammy Clemons states that "Without learning the language of the Herlanders , Van, the
book's narrator, would not be able to tell their story. Gilman was obviously aware of the
power of language to shape and reflect society, and in creating this utopian vision, she
acknowledges that a language invented solely by women would possess very different

motherhood is a first priority and each child is mothered primarily by those best fit for the
when Terry, who believes females should act like females and submit to men, suggests
expand their lands beyond their small, private little world. Even when the male intruders
become without the restrictions being put on them. (Simpson )
Indeed, the women have no interest in the men sexually except as potential
women what to do, they create their own thoughts and ways of life. ( Clemons 5-6)
love to challenge their minds and bodies. He understands why for each generation of
The women of Herland continually defy the expected norms of female behavior in
Some common words found in the essay are:
Mothers Gilman, Comfort Love, Herland Van, Ann Lane, Herland Gilman, Herlanders Van, , Human Motherhood, women herland, Tammy Clemons, wear hats, short hair, hats decoration, learning language, roles society, wear hats decoration, clemons 1,
Approximate Word count = 1049
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
Category: Novels
Saved Paper
Newest Essays
- My Personal Value System
- Iraq and High Energy...
- The Development of English...
- Critique of a Research...
- Visiting the Elderly in...
- Ad Critique: Peters, Jeremy...
- Catell's Structure-Based...
- Current Diabetes Epidemic:...
- Job Search: Push Pull...
- Proposal: Social...
Testimonials
-
"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M. -
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P. -
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J. -
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W. -
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.
