Herland

Herland (1915) is the second installment of The Herland Trilogy by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, but it is typically read as a standalone novel. Gilman was an American humanist, feminist activist, and author of both fiction and nonfiction. Her most famous work is “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892), a short story that depicts the late 1800s “rest cure”: a popular treatment for women’s mental health that Gilman underwent herself. Herland follows three men—Van, Jeff, and Terry—who find an isolated utopian country populated entirely by women. The novel is a criticism of patriarchy, demonstrating that women are only limited in their achievements by the oppressive nature of patriarchy.

This guide uses the e-book version of Herland published by Wisehouse Classics in 2016.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of sexual assault and uses outdated, offensive terms for Indigenous peoples.

Plot Summary

Vandyck Jennings, Jeff Margrave, and Terry O. Nicholson are on a mapping expedition when they hear from Indigenous tribes that there is a nearby country populated entirely by women. They are taken to a river that flows with bright colors next to a high cliff face, and they find a scrap of high-quality fabric. The three men plan to return the next day.