Three adventurous friends—Vandyck Jennings (the narrator, also called Van),
Terry Nicholson, and Jeff Margrave—join a scientific expedition to one of
the few remaining uncharted areas of the world, although Van leaves the exact
region ambiguous as he tells the story. As they travel, the friends hear
persistent rumors of a strange land, hidden high in the mountains,
that is populated only by women. Intrigued, the men investigate the rumors
and do, in fact, find evidence of an advanced, isolated culture in the mountains,
cut off from the rest of the world. Doubtful about the existence of an all-female
country, the men are nevertheless excited by the chance to explore an unknown land,
and they resolve to return on their own to find it. The three are driven by a
genuine desire for knowledge, a love of adventure, and, although Van is
ashamed to admit it, by fantasies stoked by the tales they have heard
of a land full of women without men.
The friends equip an expedition back to the hidden plateau and begin to survey
the area using Terry’s airplane. From the air, they see signs of an advanced
civilization and decide to land. As they explore the hidden country, the men notice
the obvious cultivation of the forests and the great skill with which the roads have
been laid. Terry takes these signs of agricultural and technological skill as
evidence that there must be men around after all.
At first, the men are unable to discover any of the inhabitants, but soon they
notice three young women watching them from the trees. The men make several attempts
to entice them to come closer but have little luck, although the women obviously
find the men interesting. Terry uses a necklace to draw one of the women closer,
then makes a grab for her. The women flee, showing amazing athleticism. The men give
chase but are soon left behind. The men follow them into the nearest settlement,
where they are greeted by a large gathering of women. The women are unlike any the
men have ever encountered: strong, self-confident, clearly intelligent, and
obviously unafraid of men. The women indicate that they want the men to follow them,
but the three friends are unwilling to be taken into custody. The men decide to make
a break for it, but they are soon overcome by the women, who drug them into
unconsciousness.
The men awake to find themselves unharmed but captive. The women treat the men
well and begin to teach them their language, although the men are still not allowed
to roam freely. After a while, the men, especially Terry, become impatient and
decide to attempt an escape. They fashion a crude rope and lower themselves to the
ground outside their window. From there, the men sneak back toward their airplane,
hiding themselves carefully during the day. When they find the airplane, the men
also encounter the three young women they met upon their arrival: Celis, Alima, and
Ellador. The men begin talking to the women and become so distracted that they are
soon recaptured. Back in custody, the men learn that their escape attempt
had been anticipated and that they had, in fact, been observed the whole
time.
Now resigned to their gentle captivity, the men begin to question their tutors
about the history and organization of what they have come to call
“Herland.” They are told that Herland has been without men for 2,000
years, ever since a sequence of wars, natural disasters, and internal strife
combined to leave a small population of women alone atop their hidden plateau.
Forced to fend for themselves under extreme circumstances, the women organized their
society along the most rational lines possible, realizing that they would never
survive without cooperation. After a time, a young girl miraculously became
pregnant, and her descendants (each of whom was female, and each of whom inherited
the gift of solo reproduction) are the present inhabitants of Herland. Over time,
the women of Herland developed a peaceful, orderly, highly efficient society in
which competition, crime, and antisocial behavior are unknown. As befits a society
of mothers, childbearing is the greatest honor of the women’s lives, as well as
their highest duty. In fact, Herland is essentially a giant family, an organic
community pursuing the common good. As such, property is held in common, there is a
loose system of authority based on experience and wisdom, and the wellbeing and
education of children are the highest priorities.
As the men, especially Van and Jeff, come to learn about and appreciate the
social structure of Herland, the women begin to learn, through the men, about the
outside world. All three men begin with the assumption that any comparison of
Herland and the “civilized” world of Europe and the United States will be to the
advantage of the latter. Van and Jeff, however, soon realize that, in comparison to
the society they have left behind, Herland is a veritable paradise. The women of
Herland are shocked to hear of the poverty, disease, exploitation, and violence of
the modern world, so much so that the men find themselves dissembling out of shame
and often hiding the full truth. The women are able to perceive the true nature of
the society the men describe, despite their reticence: women are particularly
exploited in the competitive, money-driven modern world, as their maternal function
is used to keep them in a subordinate position. The women are horrified to learn of
the practice of abortion, for example, seeing it as violence against motherhood
itself. The more Van and Jeff see of Herland, the more they are convinced of its
goodness and of the fundamental sickness of their own society. Terry, however,
refuses to see anything good in Herland apart from the beauty of its inhabitants.
Terry is convinced that women are naturally subordinate to men and that women, in
fact, desire to be “mastered” by men. The very existence of Herland is an affront to
Terry’s sensibilities, and the more he learns of it, the more he resents the
“unnatural” state of affairs.
The women of Herland are themselves concerned about their lack of men, feeling
that their society would benefit from a masculine perspective and contribution.
Accordingly, Celis, Alima, and Ellador are encouraged to continue the courtship the
men had so crudely begun upon their first arrival. The primary obstacle the lovers
have to overcome is the assumption, by the men, that theirs is the active, dominant
role in the relationship. The young women see themselves as equal partners with the
men and cannot understand why the men would want it any other way. Jeff is a
romantic, full of chivalry and southern notions of gallantry, and his tendency to
put women on a pedestal sometimes becomes condescending and hampers his relationship
with Celis. Jeff is, however, the most ardent convert to the ways of Herland. Terry,
in contrast, woos Alima in a brusque, aggressive way, convinced that she desires a
“masterful” man and that all men should have a submissive mate. Alima is fascinated
by Terry, but wary; the two quarrel and make up often. Van and Ellador have the
best, most equal relationship, soon becoming best friends and true lovers. The
entire society of Herland watches the three couples with great interest, seeing that
the outcome of the experiment could determine the future of Herland and mark their
return to a “bi-sexual” state.
At the insistence of the men, a marriage ceremony is arranged for the three
couples. After the wedding, the women are uncomfortable with the idea of “private
life,” preferring to remain part of the larger community. They are also confused by
the notion of nonprocreative sexual activity. The men respond to this new challenge
in different ways. Jeff is a thorough believer in the superiority of Herland. Van
wants to find some way to combine the best aspects of companionate marriage as he
understands it, including romantic and sexual intimacy, with the socially minded
attitude of Herland, in which the needs of the larger group always prevail. Ellador
shares this desire, feeling romantic love for Van along with her familial desire to
procreate for the community. Terry is outraged by Alima’s continued insistence on
her own autonomy, feeling that he now “owns” Alima by marriage.
Terry’s sexual advances become more aggressive and even brutal, and Alima is
forced to defend herself physically. The leaders of Herland are shocked by Terry’s
attempted rape of Alima and decide to exile the men. Celis is now pregnant, much to
the joy of the Herlanders, and so Jeff decides to stay behind with her forever.
Terry is more than pleased to leave Herland behind. Though he threatens at first to
return in force, he eventually promises to keep the location of the plateau a
secret. Ellador decides to accompany Van in order to see the outer world in his
company and to report back on what she observes to Herland. Taking the airplane on
which the men first arrived, Terry, Van, and Ellador return to the troubled world
below.
