Outside Reading: Herland #2

     At this point in Herland, many of the connections with time periods I made in my first reading have remained the same. Connections with Rationalism can be seen throughout still, as the last few chapters have consisted of interrogation and a pursuit of knowledge on behalf of both the women and the men. Characteristics of this time period can be seen especially in areas where the men are being interrogated about aspects of American society which conflict with the society of Herland, in which the women basically use logic to and reason to identify what they see as faults in American society. Romanticism can be seen in the strong affection the women have for children in their society, which differs from the first reading in that less emphasis is put on describing the beauty of nature. As for Puritanism, the same connections can generally be made with the fact that the society is very utopian.

     Perhaps the most significant connection I made with this book and what we are learning in class is with Realism, as virtually the entire past three chapters have consisted of an indirect criticism of American society. The author tried to make the message more subtle by granting the Herland women an inhuman politeness, such as when she writes, "As I look back now, knowing them better, I am more and more amazed as I appreciate the exquisite courtesy with which they had received over and over again statements and admissions on our part which must have revolted them to the soul" (60). Here, I saw an obvious attempt by the author to make the women seem not annoying in their superiority. Nonetheless I deduced, quite easily, due to Gilman being a woman writing from a male perspective and due to the subject of the book being on a society of perfect women, the impact she was trying to make on the reader (I will say this got bothersome at times as the message was practically shoved down my throat). Gilman attempted in the past few chapters to identify problems in American society, especially those concerning differences in gender, by contrasting these problems with the perfect society of Herland. I would throw in a few quotes to give examples of the problems she tries to address, but they are very numerous and range from animal cruelty to sanitation to caring for children to poverty to unwarranted male superiority. In making this criticism of society, however, Gilman makes a strong connection with Realism, which is a time period mainly focused on society and societal issues. One of her most prominent suggestions was removing some of the differences between males and females in society, which can be seen in her characterization of the women of Herland: "These women, whose essential distinction of motherhood was the dominant note of their whole culture, were strikingly deficient in what we call 'femininity'" (50). Here, the suggestion is made that, when looking at how well the Herland society is doing, removing these distinctions between men and women might not be so bad.

     These past few chapters have made a gradual connection with the focus of my American Literature definition of the American Dream. The women of the Herland society strive to make a perfect society through their idea of "motherhood," as well as their ideals of "Beauty, Health, Strength, Intellect, [and] Goodness" (51). Gilman uses this as a basis for defining how she thinks Americans should strive to achieve a perfect society, showing Gilman's (and likely other women's) American Dream. Similarly to how the inhabitants of Herland hope to achieve a greater sense of happiness and improvement through these things, Gilman tries to make the impression on the reader to strive for a better society by similar means.

     In terms of relating to other books, I found the largest correlation to be with McTeague: A Story of San Francisco, by Frank Norris. This is mainly due to the criticisms of American society that are made throughout that book and Herland. McTeague: A Story of San Francisco emphasizes downfalls of society such as greed and malice by portraying these in the characters of the story, and Herland does so in a similar way by discussing aspects of society such as poverty and economic competition while the men are being questioned about America.

     I'm about half-way through the book so far, and I have to say I didn't enjoy the last few chapters as much. There was some interesting content regarding the history of Herland, but the majority consisted of identifying the wrongdoings of American society with the author hiding behind the identity of a male protagonist. Now, I don't believe males should be completely superior to women in any way, but there is a limit on how much feminist ideas I can take thrown in my face. These past few chapters, I nearly reached it. I understand that this was a different time when conditions for women were worse, but the author started hitting below the belt when she made generalizations of how Americans don't parent their children well enough or *wipes away tear* how we treat our dogs like prisoners. In addition to all of this, I'm not so sure that the author's society is as perfect as she makes it out to be. Herland seems almost to be a communist society done right, in a way, but there's a line between perfect coordination and acting like the alien race from Ender's Game. I hope something dramatic happens soon as I continue reading through the rest of the book, as my interest and patience with the author are wearing fast.