Key Facts
title ·
Herland
author · Charlotte Perkins Gilman
type of work · Novel
genre · Utopian fiction
language · English
time and place written · 1915, California
date of first publication · 1915
publisher ·
The Forerunner (Gilman's magazine)
narrator · Vandyck Jennings, one of the three men who discover
Herland
point of view · First person
tone · Politically earnest, with elements of humor and satire
tense · Past
setting (time) · Early twentieth century
setting (place) · A hidden plateau, somewhere in the unexplored tropics, where an
all-female society has been thriving in isolation
protagonist · Vandyck Jennings, a sociologist and amateur explorer
major conflict · The struggle of Van and his friends Jeff and Terry to come to terms
with the society of Herland, which challenges their sense of identity and their
understanding of relations between the sexes
rising action · From the entry of the three men into Herland through their education
and their deepening relationships with Ellador, Celis, and Alima
climax · Terry's thwarted assault on Alima
falling action · The subsequent division of the group, and the departure of Terry, Van,
and Ellador
themes · The subduing of women's humanity; the rationalism of Herland's society;
the rejection of tradition; the sanctity of motherhood
motifs · Embarrassing contrasts; female physical prowess
symbols · The well-tended forests; Herlandian clothes
foreshadowing · Van drops several hints about Terry's final explosion and the ugly end
of their stay in Herland throughout the story.
