After reading the first three chapters of Herland, write three to four pages in which you answer one or more of the following questions about gender and society that Gilman embedded within the Herland narrative:
How do the status of and attitudes toward women during Gilman’s time compare to the lifestyle of women in Herland?
How does Gilman challenge widely held views about women’s nature, which began as early as the Renaissance lady, reappeared as the Victorian ideal, and were still present in 1915 when Herland was published?
Remember that in 1915, women in America still did not have the right to vote even while the “new woman” was emerging with modernism and innovations.
Be sure to provide page-referenced examples from the assigned chapters from Herland to illustrate your view.
Finally, what attitudes about women and limitations on women’s lives do you see in your own lifetime?
What changes have occurred compared to Gilman’s lifetime?
