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The Yellow Wall-Paper, Herland, and Selected Writings
A superb collection of fiction and poetry from a major feminist voice in American literature Wonderfully sardonic and slyly humorous, the writings of landmark American feminist and socialist thinker Charlotte Perkins Gilman were penned in response to her frustration with the gender-based double standard that prevailed in America as the twentieth century began. Perhaps best...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
September 29th 2009
by Penguin Classics
(first published September 1st 1999)
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Ellen
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
readers interested in early feminism, utopian cultures, women's issues, and the like.
Recommended to Ellen by:
No one. Just found it at the library.
SPOILER WARNING!! This review contains spoilers. You may not wish to read past this point...
Turned out to be a really fun read. Gilman was way ahead of her time, and in "Herland" she created a utopian country composed only of women and children, no men. The society had developed a tightly knit culture in which the good of the group came in way ahead of the good of the individual, competition and other "masculine" values had been virtually eliminated, and everyo...more
Turned out to be a really fun read. Gilman was way ahead of her time, and in "Herland" she created a utopian country composed only of women and children, no men. The society had developed a tightly knit culture in which the good of the group came in way ahead of the good of the individual, competition and other "masculine" values had been virtually eliminated, and everyo...more
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WOW!!! This book REALLY took my imagination to another level. When I read this book, I was taking a course on reproductive techologies and frankly I was in awe of all the options the future seemed to hold... and scared too. This book took the traditional concepts of man and woman and threw it out the window. Who would have thought that a society of women could function so well and only dismantle with the appearance of man ::sarcastically speaking::
Too much of the same thing. I wasn't a fan of the novel because it was too optimistic and Utopian. I like my utopias with a bit of dissent. You can't please everyone. The stories were ok until I realized that they were all variations of the same theme. I like the poetry the best, but some of it still harped on the same theme. I get that you're a feminist, but you don't have to beat it over my head nor do you have to write all your stories about it.
gilman tells a tale of 3 men, who each represent 3 views toward women, as they enter an isolated Utopian society of only women who reproduce asexually. You have:
terry the dominant male type who feels women must be mastered.
vandyke, or van, represents the compromise between extreme views on women. he's in the middle.
jeff believes women are angels to be worshiped and held up on a pedestal.
at first, i very much enjoyed the story gilman portrayed, but as i kept re...more
terry the dominant male type who feels women must be mastered.
vandyke, or van, represents the compromise between extreme views on women. he's in the middle.
jeff believes women are angels to be worshiped and held up on a pedestal.
at first, i very much enjoyed the story gilman portrayed, but as i kept re...more
Yellow Wall-Paper was pretty bangin but the rest of the stories are bland as all hell. Herland was a cool idea for its first few chapters but then continued to show little nuance for the rest of the thing. here's a coolass society of women, surely you can think of cooler things to say for 200 pages than 'it's perfect in every way'
Charlotte Perkins Gilman is one of the first feminist writers. She was born in mid-1800, committed suicide, while suffering from cancer, in 1935.
Herland is a country of women only. The men had been killed during a war and earthquake. For centuries the women had built up their country -- beautifying and improving it. Three male explorers accidentally find this country. At first the men are thought to have great insight for humanity and invention, but after learning from them, t...more
Herland is a country of women only. The men had been killed during a war and earthquake. For centuries the women had built up their country -- beautifying and improving it. Three male explorers accidentally find this country. At first the men are thought to have great insight for humanity and invention, but after learning from them, t...more
Well written short stories and poems. Not male bashing, just glimpses of strong women during a time when that was frowned upon. Herland itself drags a little toward the end -- I'm glad the author mostly stuck with short stories. Many of the stories twist at the end, which is enjoyable. Worth a read.
The book was obvious in its references to socialism and challenging the social norm of Gilman's time. I read it for my Great Lives and Works class and it wasn't the best I've read in school but it most certainly wasn't the worst either.
What can I say about Herland? I wish that I had skipped the first 60 pages. I like learning about the land more than the men's experiences in it. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a reflection of her era and can brush over race while referencing it. Why weren't there any lesbians!? Seriously a land of only women and not one lesbian! This review is more about my frustrations than the actual content of the novel. I'll have to revisit when I can remember what I liked about it.
As much as I love Charlotte Perkins Gilman, I was not as impressed by Herland as I expected to be. I found it didactic in places rather than letting the story just flow and get the message across. For my taste, her short stories get her message of women's equality across in a much more powerful way because the stories are less didactic and preachy. I think it's an important book, don't get me wrong, but I think other writers have created these women's countries and utopias in a much more beli...more
I read the Yellow Wallpaper in school and was blown away by it, unable to forget the details. It's not often that a short story touches me so deeply.
I wrote a really long review of this book, but somehow it got deleted. Anyways, basically it said that Herland and "The Yellow Wallpaper" are the only two writings Gilman is known for, and her writing in "The Yellow Wallpaper" is far superior to that of Herland (as judged by the millions of English teachers who now assign "Yellow Wallpaper"). In Herland, which is a story of three men who find an isolated commune of self-reproducing women, the writing is somewhat m...more
Only the yellow wallpaper ...
Blah. More utopian fiction. For an all-female utopia Herland is waaaay un-sexy.
A Utopian vision of the perfect world that women would create were it not for the aggression and competetiveness of men. Okay, it's very biased, but it is a beautiful vision and an interesting read, particularly if you consider the time period in which it was written.
I'm reading this slowly. I'm pretty sure it will take me some time to get through it, but I don't mind taking the time to digest it. So far, I like her style, and the story (while obvious in places) is entertaining.
One of my favorite utopian writings, Herland imagines the victorian world if women were in charge. The Yelllow Wallpaper is also another favorite - CPG vividly describes the descent into madness.
Dear God,
I'm not enjoying this trite, obvious, simplistic view of gender, nature and sexual and physical impulses.
Sincerely,
Alonso
I'm not enjoying this trite, obvious, simplistic view of gender, nature and sexual and physical impulses.
Sincerely,
Alonso
"the rocking chair" is another excellent fear-ridden short story. i identify with gilman's protagonists far too deeply.
Katie
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Recommends it for:
Anyone and everyone
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books-i-loved
This book, and this author, for that matter, are absolutely vital readings in feminism. I can't even say enough.
I read this in my 20's and found it interesting. Just reread at age 49 and found a whole new meaning.
Motherhood!!! Sisterhood!!! Parthenogenesis!!! This book has it all.
Every woman should read and understand her stories, ok maybe I'm biased
Actually, I only read the Yellow Wallpaper, but it rocked.
Don't stare at the walls too long or else!
"The Yellow Wall-Paper". The single most terrifying piece of literature I've read...even more than the murder scene in Crime & Punishment... even more than Torturer's Apprentice... I can't read it again...
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Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and non fiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist during a time when her accomplishments were exceptional for women, and she served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. Her best remembered work today i...more
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