In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s novel Herland, a main cultural aspect that is often discussed is motherhood and the role of women in their respective time period. It’s important to understand the role of woman in the Herland country that the men in the story discovered, and what it was really like during the United States.
The time period of this novel took place prior to World War I. The role of woman in the United States consisted of living in a home and taking care of the children. It was custom for women to marry and raise children. Women were raised to be mothers, and received little to no education. Women had no independence, and usually depended on their husbands to provide a living for a family.
In this fantasy country in the novel, the women are totally independent from men and provide their own living, very different from the other countries around the world during this time period. They cared and raised their children without help of a father, but at the same time were able to work and maintain prosperity and happiness in Herland. In addition, nearly all the women in Herland were very intelligent and in very good physically condition. This defines a very bizarre culture that did not relate to any other parts of the world.
It is evident that the culture in Herland had no relation to the way of life of women in the United States and other countries. Today however, this is not the case. The United States believes in total equality between men and women. Many women can now live independently and survive without a husband.
They can receive an education, and attend the world’s finest universities. In short, Women have the ability to work and be successful just as much as men. Despite the change of the role of women, most still choose to live with a man and depend on one another. Unlike Herland, both men and women take equal responsibility to raise a family.
Unfortunately, not all countries have changed their culture relating to women. Many 3rd world countries believe women are subordinate to men, and the idea of women being independent is absurd to them. An example is just by the way woman dress. In the United States women are free to wear what they want. In other countries, women are forced to wear Burkas which does not allow them to reveal their face in public.
Women’s role in the novel Herland is a great representation of what their role is today. They no longer rely on men as they did in the past, and their free to choose what they want to do in their life.
