Re-reading a book ~ plus two more in the trilogy

Herland ~ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1915, literary fiction, 168 pages

This is a book I have read many times, usually re-reading it roughly every ten years.  When the title popped into my mind, I thought, "Time to read it again."  Then I found that I'd last read Herland on 6/21/17.  How funny!  That is exactly FIVE years ago to the day.  Only HALF a decade!  That proves I'm getting old, as if I need proof.  Anyway, I'm ready to read it yet another time.  I've read both of those versions shown above.  The one I have on my Kindle is on the left.

At the turn of the century, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (July 3, 1860 - August 17, 1935) was a celebrity — acclaimed as a leader in the feminist movement and castigated for her divorce, her relinquishment of custody of her daughter, and her unconventional second marriage.  She was also widely read, with stories in popular magazines and with dozens of books in print.  But her most famous short story, the intensely personal "The Yellow Wallpaper," read as a horror story when first published in 1891 and lapsed into obscurity before being rediscovered and reinterpreted by feminist scholars in the 1970s, and her landmark feminist utopian novel, Herland, remained unavailable for more than sixty years.  She was a prominent American feminist, sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform.  She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle.  Her best remembered work today is her semi-autobiographical short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," which she wrote after a severe bout of postpartum psychosis.  She was only 75 years old when she died on August 17, 1935.  I say "only 75" because I am now 82 years old.

PLOT:  The story is told from the perspective of Vandyck "Van" Jennings, a student of sociology who, along with two friends (Terry O. Nicholson and Jeff Margrave), forms an expedition party to explore an area of uncharted land where it is rumored lives a society consisting entirely of women.  The three friends do not entirely believe the rumors because they are unable to think of a way how human reproduction could occur without males. The men speculate about what a society of women would be like, each guessing differently based on the stereotype of women which he holds most dear:  Jeff regarding women as things to be served and protected; Terry viewing them as things to be conquered and won.

When the explorers reach their destination, they proceed with caution, hiding the biplane they arrive in, and trying to keep themselves hidden in the forests that border the land.  They are quickly found by three young women who they realize are observing them from the treetops.  After attempting to catch the girls with trickery, the men end up chasing the young women towards a town or village.  The women outrun them easily and disappear among the houses, which, Van notes are exceptionally well made and attractive.  After meeting the first inhabitants of this new land (which Van names Herland) the men proceed more cautiously, noting that the girls they met were strong, agile, and completely unafraid.

Their caution is warranted because as the men enter the town where the girls disappeared, they become surrounded by a large group of women who march them towards an official looking building.  The three men attempt an escape, but are swiftly and easily overpowered by the large group of women and eventually anesthetized.

The men awake to find themselves held captive in a fortress-like building.  They are given comfortable living accommodations, clean clothes, and food.  The women assign each man a tutor who teaches the men their language.  Van makes many notes about the new country and people, commenting that everything from their clothing to their furniture seems to be made with the twin ideals of pragmatism and aesthetics given equal consideration.  The women themselves appear intelligent and astute, unafraid and patient, with a notable lack of temper and seemingly limitless understanding for their captives.  The women are keen to learn about the world outside and question the men eagerly about all manner of things.  Often Van finds himself having difficulty justifying the practices of his own society such as the milking of cows, and the keeping of property, when faced with the apparent utopia the women have managed to build.

I decided to download the entire trilogy onto my Kindle and read all 341 pages in order:  The Herland Trilogy: Moving the Mountain, Herland, With Her in Ourland, 2015.  I have never read the first and last books, only Herland.