The ending: Herland blog 4

The book towards the end gets a little repetitive and boring.  It is moving slow and is more of the same about how wonderful this land and these women are and the difference between their way of life and life for women in the United States.  There is a lot of back and forth trying to explain the role of women and mothers.  The women of Herland are confused by the explanations and clearly not impressed.  The guys spend a lot of time trying to convince the women that the society in America is great place to live. 

The most interesting part is that the three guys marry their assigned companions in a triple wedding.   Jeff worships Celis and they are very much in love.  Although Terry falls in love with Alma, they are not going to live happily ever after.  Terry wants their relationship to be something more than it is and Alma is not interested.  Terry loses it and Alma and friends are ready to hang him (for real).  Terry has worn out his welcome and is ready to get back to American women.  It’s time to go!!!  But Jeff wants to stay and Van agrees to go back with him and have Ellador (his wife) leave with them.   I find it hard to believe, although Jeff sounds like a really great guy, that he (or any man) would stay behind and live with three million women.  I also do not think that the women of Herland would allow him to permanentlystay.  I also do not think that they would accept having a man live among them forever.  One married couple would disrupt this country.  The dynamics would change, but this is utopia so maybe they adjust and make it happily ever after.

The final part of the story is the departure of Terry, Van, and Ellador.  The plan is for the three to go to America, but Terry and Van have to promise to not tell anyone where Herland is located.  I am not really crazy about the end.  It just ends.  You don’t know if they make it back, if Jeff lives happily ever after, if Ellador and Van make it, etc.  Although I do not LOVE the ending, I do like the plot.  I think it is creative, interesting, and thought provoking.  The story made me think about the role and treatment of women in our society. 

Unique: Herland blog 3

The uniqueness continues and I remain interested in Herland.  The country was the size of Holland, 10-12,000 square miles with a population of about three million.  These mothers figured out food supply, education, work assignments, and pretty much everything else to run a society in perfect harmony.  According to Van, the narrator, the most impressive feature of Herland was the intelligence.  Van wanted to find fault in all their perfection, but it was not possible. 

Everything the men thought and expected was wrong.  “We had expected a dull submissive monotony, and found a daring social inventiveness far beyond ours.”  Instead of pettiness they found a social consciousness.  Instead of jealousy they found a broad sisterly affection and a fair minded intelligence. And instead of hysteria they found a standard of health and vigor.  I expected the same as the travelers.  There has to be something wrong with these girls.  They are not human.  This book has become a fantasy.

The visitors are intrigued, but they are becoming impatient with their confinement.  Terry is irritable.  He thought he was going to be surrounded by beautiful and submissive women whom he could charm.  Van and Jeff are more tolerant and interested in their history and culture.  Each of the guys is “assigned” a teacher and then a “companion.”  I don’t think the teaching is going to last much longer and I don’t think the relationships with the “companions” will be successful either.  So how will this end?  The reader knows from the beginning that the visitors return to the United States, but the story is not predictable.

How did Herland come about? Herland blog 2

How did Herland come about?  The history is very unique.  “at about the time of the Christian era this land had a free passage to the sea.”  There were men and women.  The country was larger and they had ships, commerce, an army, a king, and a bi-sexual race.  Then 2000 years later there was a succession of historic misfortunes.  War, invasion, and struggles to defend their mountain reduced the male population.  Then there was a volcanic outburst and the result was the complete filling of the pass, their only outlet.  They were walled in and very few men were left alive, except the male slaves.  The slaves revolted and killed the remaining masters even the youngest boys, old women, and mothers.  The young women “rose in sheer desperation and slew their brutal conquerors.”  And the remaining young women and girls figured it all out!

I can accept Herland’s evolution so far, but how they continued to exist without men is a lot harder to accept.  But I have to admit the writer’s creativity is a reason why the book is so enjoyable.  “For five or ten years they worked together, growing stronger and wiser and more mutually attached and the miracle happened- one of these young women bore a child.”  Her name was Maaia (they all have nontraditional names) and this wonder-woman bore child after child, five girls.    And when these five girls reached the age of 25, they had five daughters.  Herland is one family all from one mother and motherhood dominated their culture.

The power of mother-love and sister-love is the key to the success of Herland.  There is no fighting or jealousy.  I don’t have a sister, but I have observed that most sisters fight and mothers and daughters definitely fight.  But not in Herland.  At this point I am just enjoying the fiction.  I can’t imagine living such a peaceful existence, but it also appears boring.   I like the crazy element to my life, although world peace and no poverty or illnesses would be nice.   

The Snake: American literature themes

"The Snake" relates to the theme of freedom in American literature.  Freedom is what best describes this poem because the snake is unrestrained and in control.  The poet, Theodore Roethke, observes a young snake as it is gliding out of the shade.  It is hanging limp on a stone and even his tongue is motionless.  There is a calmness about the snake and in the air.  There is no hurry, stress, or worry.  The snake has choices and is without restrictions.  It comes out, is observed, then quickens and is gone.  I believe this type of freedom is exactly what many Americans throughout history and today want. From the colonists who wanted religious freedom, to slaves who wanted personal freedom, and women who wanted equal rights, Americans desire personal control over their lives.        

Roethke longs to be the snake. Just like the colonists, slaves, women, and immigrants, Americans throughout history have been longing for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  To be allowed to live how you want with limited government involvement is still a theme that is exhibited today.  This is a continuous struggle for many Americans and will be into the future.  I too want personal, religious, and any other kind of freedom now and forever. 

Herland or Feminisia?

Herland was written from 1909 to 1916 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and so far is one of my favorite books.  It's of course fiction, but the plot is intriguing, unique, and thought-provoking. What if there was really an ALL female civilization?  Would it be chaotic, ruthless, miserable, and hormonally challenging where everything was broken and unmanageable?  Or would it be paradise because you are surrounded by beautiful land in a peaceful existence with everything figured out and no one competing for boyfriends or worrying about what to wear?  I would definitely sport the Miley Cyrus shaved haircut for sure. 

"They had the evenest tempers, the most perfect patience and good nature- one of the things most impressive about the all was the absence of irritability."  These resourceful women, of all ages, seem to have everything figured out.  From food, clothing, and shelter to pets (just cats), this is dreamland.   What I like most so far is that the three main characters (Terry, Jeff, and Vandyck) are American citizens, classmates, and friends discovering a lot more about life, themselves, and women.  This personalities of this threesome range from complete jerk to really great guy, so their perspectives should be fascinating. 

So far this vision of utopia has my attention and I am eager to read on.  I have never thought of myself as a feminist, but if I was living in the early 1900s, I would relate to this novel better than a 21st Century gal.  The gender stereotypes are alive and positively entertaining.  Almost as amusing as Grey's Anatomy and Alex Karev's consistent beliefs about women.  Terry and Alex may have been separated at birth.