Resumen
Resumen de Herland
Para quién es
For readers who love ideas wrapped in a brisk adventure, early feminist writing and utopian fiction, with humor and questions about family, work and society.
De qué trata este libro
Herland is a short novel by the American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It appeared in 1915 in her own monthly magazine, The Forerunner, and was not printed as a book until 1979. Gilman was a leading thinker on the place of women in society, and she wrote the story to show, in the form of an adventure, what a world run by women might look like.
Three American men hear of a hidden land in a remote region where only women live. They go looking for it, sure of what they will find. What they meet is a country with neat forests, safe roads, calm cities and no war. Its people have built it over many centuries, and they are curious, strong and not at all afraid of visitors. The story is told by one of the three men, a sociologist, who tries to explain this place to us and keeps getting his own assumptions wrong. You get a comic and thoughtful tour of a society that asks hard questions about family, work, schooling and what men think they are for. Let us begin with the men and the rumor that sends them upriver.
En este resumen
- 1Three men chase a rumor of womenFree
- 2The women capture the intruders calmly
- 3Lessons in language reveal a different world
- 4A mother-centered society shows its design
- 5Courtship tests the men's old habits
- 6What the story argues and how it speaks
Idea clave 1 de 6
Three men chase a rumor of women
The story begins with three friends who meet on a scientific expedition in a little-known part of the world. Vandyck Jennings, called Van, is a sociologist and the one who tells the tale. Terry Nicholson is rich, bold and sure of himself, and he pays for much of the trip. Jeff Margrave is a doctor and botanist, gentle and given to admiring things. They are good companions, though their views differ a good deal.
While working near a great river, they hear stories from local guides. Far up in the mountains, the guides say, lies a country where no men live, only women. The three laugh at first, but the tale comes up again and again, and it starts to nag at them. Terry in particular cannot let it go, and he dreams of the adventure and of the welcome he expects.
They finish their first work and then plan a second trip, with an airplane to scout the land. Their talk shows what they believe. Terry assumes any country of women must be soft, silly and desperate for men. Jeff pictures something gentle and graceful. Van, who likes to study how societies work, thinks a land without men could not have much in the way of order or invention.
This opening matters because it sets the men up as the target of the joke. The reader is meant to see how much they take for granted, long before they climb any mountain. The story will test each of their expectations in turn, and the three will be changed by it in very different ways.
So the trio sets out, equipped and cheerful, toward a place that will shortly refuse to be what they imagined.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Vandyck Jennings
- Called Van, this sociologist narrates the expedition he undertakes with his friends Terry and Jeff.
- Terry Nicholson
- A wealthy, confident explorer, Terry helps finance his friends’ expedition and expects women to admire him.
- Jeff Margrave
- A doctor and botanist, Jeff is the gentlest visitor and admires women more reverently than his companions.
- Ellador
- A curious, direct young woman of Herland, Ellador forms a bond with Van and questions his assumptions.
- Celis
- A woman of Herland, Celis grows close to Jeff while challenging his expectations about love.
- Alima
- A strong, independent woman of Herland, Alima becomes Terry’s partner without accepting his assumptions about women.
- Somel
- A patient tutor, Somel helps the visitors learn her language and understand the society around them.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 54,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 3 h 35 min
- Listening time6 h
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about Herland
What is Herland about?
Herland tells how three American men find a hidden country inhabited only by women. As they learn its language and customs, they discover a peaceful, orderly society that challenges their ideas about gender, family and work.
When was Herland written and published?
Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote Herland in 1915 and ran it in monthly installments in her magazine, The Forerunner. It was not published as a book until 1979, long after her death.
Who are the main characters in Herland?
The three male explorers are Van, Terry and Jeff, and Van tells the story. Their partners in Herland are Ellador, Alima and Celis. Somel is one of the women who teaches them the language.
Is Herland a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction and a utopian novel. Gilman invented the hidden country to imagine how a society might work if women ran it and focused on the care of children and the land.
What is the main message of Herland?
The book argues that many traits seen as natural to women or men come from custom and upbringing. Gilman imagines a society built on cooperation, shared child raising and education to show other possibilities.