Herand

The title of Gilman's novel may be a bit misleading. The novel is described as a feminist novel. Yet, this is not exactly acurate. The absence of men in the utopian society may seem extreme to some, and it is. This is how Gilman makes her point. She does not create a world without men because men are terrible creatures who have corrupted the world. The utopia which lacks men is a clean peaceful place, …

…of jealousy. The women of Herland are able to live in "such universal peace and good will and mutual affection" (99) because "they lacked the sex motive and, with it, jealousy" (99). The women of Herland are free and equal because they are secure enough in themselves to offer and accept help for a joint cause, the betterment of their world. All readers, men and women alike, can learn a great deal from this humanist utopian novel.