53 pages 1 hour read

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Herland

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1915

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Essay Topics

1.

Compare and contrast Van, Jeff, and Terry. How are they alike and different? How do their attitudes toward women and toward Herland differ? What concepts do the men represent, and how do they grow, if at all, throughout the text?

2.

Analyze the agricultural system of Herland. How does the agricultural system relate to their morals? Why do you think Gilman chose to depict the Herland agricultural system in this way, and how would the text differ if the Herlanders practiced humane animal agriculture?

3.

How does the clothing in Herland differ from the clothing in the United States? If you envision a world in which women live only amongst women or men live only amongst men, how might their clothing look to you? What does this tell you about your own view of clothing as it relates to your society?