Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman the feminist utopian book was published in 1915 and it is included on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list - 9 out of 10

 

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman the feminist utopian book was published in 1915 and it is included on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list

 

9 out of 10

 

Herland is an impressive science fiction work that imagines a society where only women live, the brilliant author also offers a poignant analysis of the world men have created, the criticism of various (or most) aspects of what they had about one century ago, and we mostly see today, with some progress and some of the same flaws

 

Vandyck aka "Van" Jennings is a sociology student and the narrator, he embarks with two friends, Terry Nicholson and Jeff Margrave, on an expedition to discover a land that is remote, hidden, mythical – invented obviously by the mesmerizing novelist – area, hard to get to, from which no man has ever returned

They are overwhelmed and the readers along with them (at least this one was) by what they discover there, a place with superb geography, everything is cultivated and in perfect order, even the forests seem to be cultivated, nothing is left unattended, and there are all the signs of a superior civilization, which indeed, Herland is

 

I am bound to think of some classics of psychology, one is The Female Brain https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-female-brain-by-louann-brizendine.html by Louann Brizendine, somehow offering evidence for the ‘genuine descriptions’ of Herland and the inhabitants, all female

The three explorers meet three girls, as they climb into some trees, and the cavalier, virile, somewhat, or very macho and chauvinistic Terry Nicholson has some trinkets with him, so he pulls out some necklace, which is taken by one of the girls, and then they disappear with the agility of marathon runners, all the people would be in splendid shape

 

The strangers arrive in a village, where they are met by a collective of women, then taken to something like a fortress, where they are detained, we could say, then observed, studied – some of the lines would reveal aspects that you may not want to know, so spoiler alert – and gradually they are offered access to Herland

These men and the reader are introduced to the history, culture, customs of this peculiar place, which looks in some ways as Shangri La from Lost Horizon https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/09/lost-horizon-by-james-hilton.html though Herland is in some ways the opposite of the place imagined by James Hilton, which offers immortality

 

Incidentally, Umberto Eco has said that “The person who doesn’t read lives only one life. The reader lives 5,000. Reading is immortality backwards.” When told about religion and the eternal afterlife, Herland people reject it, whereas Shangri La is about just that, religion is one of the most interesting topics in this marvelous opus

 

Women have an almost perfect system in Herland, eliminating conflict, they do not have any cattle, for the space is limited, the same is true for dogs, and there are some humorous and pertinent critiques of the ways our society is following (it is better now, but there are flaws still present) they do not have ‘punishment’ per se

The different faiths that Van explains do not meet with enthusiasm, or acceptance, because of the evident failures, the almighty god would have children burn forever in the afterlife, under certain circumstances, and the idea of eternity, as mentioned, does not appear enticing, it is incomprehensible for the women of that country

 

There are about three million of them, and they do have aspects of life in which they are behind, albeit the overall impression is that their society is way superior to what we have, if they would not invent the internet, nuclear power and submarines, then they would not have World War I, II and possibly III, a threat often made these days

We have a tradeoff and it has been often said, it is also true, that there are challenges, you could live like in the Middle Ages (and they were not peaceful) and then avoid more of the problems of this age, but it could become an existential problem, ‘to be or not to be’, if they carry on like this, there would be no more humanity

 

On the question of how they procreated, Terry is sure that there must be men somewhere, when they first arrive, and quite some time after that, but it becomes clear that they have had them, some two thousand years in the past, there have been traumas, and then they reproduce through pathogenesis, which sounds so farfetched

Another fundamental work comes to mind Emotional Intelligence  https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/08/emotional-intelligence-by-daniel-goleman.html indeed, women have much better EQ, and this is way more important than IQ, and the book reveals that, Herland is paradise on earth

 

It is not perfect, if a Panglossian take would surely be all for it, but the harmony, understanding, lack of conflict, affection that they have for each other, support given to those in trouble – when somebody errs, she -it is always a she, only the thought comes to mind that there would be a need for ‘they’, because among those females, there must be some in transition, two spirits, and we should apply it for that fictional country as well – she is helped

Eventually, the three men want to marry, with different views on what is to be expected, however, Herland has had no tradition of that, for the last 2,000 years, and a conflict is bound to ensue, especially when it comes to coitus

 

 Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world  – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”