Herland

by

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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Herland: Chapter 6: Comparisons Are Odious Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Van assures the reader that he had always been very proud of America, but the questions that Somel, Moadine, and Zava ask during his time in Herland leave him, Terry, and Jeff in the awkward position of having to discuss elements of American society that they would rather avoid. As the men grow more fluent in the Herlandian language, their tutors begin asking them more and more questions about American culture. They are particularly interested in what Terry said about working women.
Even though Jeff purposely brings up some of America’s faults for the men to discuss with their tutors, the men are still generally eager to make the Herlandians believe that American culture is superior. However, their desire to hide certain details about American culture shows that the men realize their culture isn’t actually superior, despite what they’ve always believed.
Themes
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Zava, Moadine, and Somel ask what “poor” is. Terry’s initial reaction is to assure them that most European countries tell Americans that they don’t know what poverty is really like, because American society is so successful. Zava innocently says that she and the other tutors simply don’t know what poor means and repeats the request for more information. Van explains how some people are able to work their way to the top of the pecking order (the upper classes) while those on the bottom (the lower classes) struggle to survive, which sometimes forces women to work for money. Moadine assumes that the women who are forced to work for money don’t have children, but Jeff explains that the poorer women are, the more children they usually have.
This conversation about poverty and motherhood highlights one of the biggest problems in American society: women’s lack reproductive control. The lack of reproductive control contributes to generational poverty as mothers bring more children into the world than they can adequately care for and those children go on to share their mothers’ poverty as adults. Part of the reason Zava and the tutors don’t know what poverty is, is because they do have reproductive control and that has helped them eliminate poverty in their community.
Themes
Womanhood and Femininity Theme Icon
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Motherhood and Reproductive Control Theme Icon
Moadine tells Terry that soon they will be brought around the country to meet more women and to let other women meet him, Van, and Jeff. More importantly, the men are to teach the women about life outside of Herland. Van notes that Herlandians have little to no knowledge of geology, geography (outside of their own country), anthropology, and history (aside from their own). However, Herlandians do have a deep understanding several different sciences (like botany and chemistry). Van is also surprised to discover that knowledge is so openly and widely shared in Herland that “what one knew, all knew, to a very considerable extent.” In fact, Van notes that the women there have a higher level of general intelligence than Americans enjoy. The men are asked to share their knowledge with groups of middle-aged women, but it is a long time before they are invited to talk to younger women.  
The high level of general intelligence in Herland is more evidence of their unity. As an egalitarian society, not only do the women equally distribute food, work, and resources, but they also do the same for knowledge. Because of this, there are no divisions on the basis of intelligence.
Themes
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Terry impatiently asks what the women plan to do with him, Van, and Jeff. Moadine calmly explains that she and the other women want to learn more about the outside world, and they want to teach the men about Herland. Terry asks why he and the other men are being kept shut up in the fortress, so Moadine explains that it is a question of safety. Rather pleased with this answer, Terry reassures Moadine that they won’t hurt any of the young women. However, Moadine explains that they are actually concerned for the men—because it is a society of mothers, if one of the men does accidentally hurt a child or young woman, the older women might hurt the men. As Moadine explains, the children are at the center of Herlandian culture and every choice the adults make is made with the children in mind.
Terry initially takes Moadine’s comment about not letting the men out yet as a compliment, because he believes it is a tacit acknowledgement that he might have a certain power over the beautiful young women—they might be helpless in the face of his dashing charm and surrender themselves to him just as women in America have. Moadine’s statement that it is actually Terry and the other men who are in danger effectively flips the script and casts the men as potentially helpless and weak (conventionally feminine qualities) and the women as strong (or masculine).
Themes
Womanhood and Femininity Theme Icon
Gender Roles and Relationships  Theme Icon
Motherhood and Reproductive Control Theme Icon
Quotes
Get the entire Herland LitChart as a printable PDF.
Herland PDF
To the reader, Van explains what motherhood means to the Herlandians. After the trauma of losing their men 2,000 years before and the sudden development of parthenogenesis, Herlandian women became preoccupied with developing the best possible society for the benefit and preservation of their descendants. Recognizing the importance of cooperation, the women learned the skills necessary to take care of their physical well-being (carpentry, weaving, farming, etc.). However, they also soon learned that if each woman continued having five children, the small country would become overfilled and cease to meet the needs of the women and children. Rather than fighting each other for land and resources, the women sat down together, decided how many people the country could support, and agreed to limit their population to that number.
This passage shows that the reason the women of Herland are so cooperative and unified is because of their common motherhood. They all experience the same kind of selfless love and devotion that is associated with motherhood, so it makes sense for them to use this as a basis for working together to make all their children’s lives better. Because of this system, what benefits one child benefits all children equally. Furthermore, the continued willingness of all women make personal sacrificing (limiting how many children they have) contradicts Terry’s belief that women are naturally quarrelsome and incapable of working together.
Themes
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Motherhood and Reproductive Control Theme Icon
Van explains that motherhood has a more complex meaning in Herland than it does in America, where motherhood is characterized by helplessness and an inability to adequately control reproduction. In Herland, mothers are “Conscious Makers of People,” and maternal love is more like a religion than an instinct. Included in this love is a sense of sisterhood because the women of Herland are closely related. Van notes that while American women become consumed with the love and care they have to provide to their own children, the women of Herland direct their love and care to all of the children.
Motherhood in Herland is a conscious choice (hence the term “Conscious Makers of People”), not something that is forced upon them. Because of this, Herlandians see motherhood as a positive thing, while American mothers largely experience it as a burden that they have little to no control over. Furthermore, motherhood in America is divisive (mothers focus on their own children, separating themselves and their families from others) whereas in Herland it is unifying (love is given to all children by everyone).
Themes
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Motherhood and Reproductive Control Theme Icon
Quotes
Literary Devices
After reading that the Herlandians decided to limit their population, Van asks Somel to explain how they do it. Somel explains that motherhood is considered sacred and each woman is only allowed to have one child. There are, however, very special exceptions made—a woman may be allowed to have more than one child as the highest honor the state can give an individual. The women who have more than one child are called Over Mothers. Van asks how the women prevent pregnancy, saying that they “surely” don’t kill the unborn. At this, Somel turns ghastly pale and Van realizes just how anxious he is not to let the women of Herland think ill of American women. He tells her that infanticide is rare, something only criminal women do.
Somel has the same reaction to learning about abortions and infanticide in America as she does to learning that nursing calves are removed from their mothers. This highlights that Herlandians believe all forms of motherhood—whether human or animal—are sacred and important. The existence of abortion and infanticide in America is further proof to Somel that motherhood is not revered as highly in the world outside Herland.
Themes
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Somel goes on to explain that, centuries before, Herlandians realized that when a woman is about to conceive, she goes through a period of exaltation. The women learned that if they direct their energy toward physical and mental work at this time, they can defer conception until they are ready to have their one (and usually only) child. Somel says that she thinks the reason the children of Herland are so deeply loved by everyone is because no woman has enough of her own children. Van grapples with how pitiful this seems, but Somel assures him that the women still have an outlet for their love by taking part in caring for all the children. Additionally, limiting population growth has allowed the Herlandians to perfect the art of educating children to embody the egalitarian and sisterly spirit of Herland and contribute to its progress.
Working for the good of the community not only helps women defer pregnancy but also gives them an outlet for all of the love they have to give. The women naturally reproduce five times, but by only doing it once, they are driven to spend more time caring for others. This increases the sense of community throughout Herland because all of the women enjoy helping each other and their children.
Themes
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Motherhood and Reproductive Control Theme Icon