Oppression In Herland

Hope for a Sexually Egalitarian Society According to Gayle Rubin, literature on women often focuses on the nature and origin of female oppression and social subordination. By understanding many authors intent when writing female literature, one can infer that the novel Herland, by Charlotte Perkins, is an attempt to question the male role in female oppression. Understanding Rubin Perks and other writers who choose to speak in favor of female equality; one begins questions if equality is possible. Rubin states that “if innate male aggression and dominance are at root of female oppression, then the feminist program would logically require the extermination of the offending sex”. By analyzing Herland’s original society and taking male aggression

Women have always been depicted to be dependent of men; however this stamen is defied in the novel, Herland. In the beginning of the text, Herland is described as “a land in a state of perfect cultivation…a land that looked like an enormous park, only it was more evidently an enormous garden [they had] well-built roads,... [and] attractive architecture” (Gilman 10). The positive descriptions of the physical state and perception of civilization causes Van, the narrator, to state: "'But they look - why this is a civilized country!'…'There must be men'" (Gilman 10). The disbelief of a self-sustaining civilization of only women shows the popular belief of women need men for civilization. The disbelief is due to perceived dominance. Van, and others with him, believes they are dominant due to their sex as well as their level of social prestige in their society. However, Herland’s clearly shows that women can both survive and thrive without men. The use of the statement “a land in a state of perfect cultivation” is used to show that the land is utopic. This is shown by the word choice

The original society of Herland proves Rubin’s belief that the extermination of men in a society leads to no female oppression. During the description of Herland’s history, the narrator states: “The tradition of men as guardians and protectors had quite died out. These stalwart virgins had no men to fear and therefore no need of protection. As to wild beasts-there were none in their sheltered land.”(Gilman 49). The quotation is used to show the correlation of men in regards to female oppression by the analyzation of the word “men” in the quotation. Originally in the statement, men are clearly described as guardians and protectors based on word choice; however the use of the word “tradition” is used to indicate that the perception of men as guardians and protectors are just a societal custom. The quotation also implicates men as the source to female oppression. The statement: “These stalwart virgins had no men to fear and therefore no need of protection”, is used to show the double entendre of men in a society. The stamen implies that due to the lack of men in the society there is nothing to fear from this intern causes no need for male protection from other men. The description of men in this passage denotes that men are both the oppressors and protectors. However, the use of “no men to fear” implicates men as authoritarians who use fear as means