Reshaping the Balance: How Gilman Critiques and Constructs a Feminist Utopia in Herland

Year 2022, Issue: 3, 75 - 88, 31.10.2022

Chang Li

Abstract

Based on the perspective of utopian fiction, this article examines Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland from three critical angles: social systems, gender consciousness, and ecological environment. In terms of social institutions, this article contends that Gilman uses Herland to criticise social Darwinism; in terms of gender consciousness, the article contends that Gilman designs the ideal characteristics of an independent woman by describing the duality of her characters; finally, in terms of the ecological environment, Gilman consciously connects women to Mother Earth, thus completing a critique of the industrial model of patriarchal reality and the problem of environmental protection. However, Herland also has some limitations. In some ways, the characterisation of women of purely Aryan descent reflects Gilman’s ethnocentric tendencies. Gilman combines eugenics and feminism, and her sense of racial superiority arises from the interplay of the specific historical circumstances of the time. In any case, as a female utopian novel, its critique of the social reality of the time is profound, and its exploration of an ideal society is positive.

Keywords

Charlotte Perkins Gilman , Herland , feminism , utopian fiction , feminist fiction

Dengeyi Yeniden Şekillendirmek: Gilman, Herland’da Feminist Ütopyayı Nasıl Eleştiriyor ve İnşa Ediyor?

Abstract

Ütopik türün bakış açısına dayanan bu makale, Herland’ı üç perspektiften incelemektedir: toplumsal yapı, cinsiyet bilinci ve ekolojik çevre. Makale, sosyal kurumlar açısından Gilman'ın Herland’ı sosyal Darwinizm eleştirisinde bulunmak icin kullandığını, cinsiyet bilinci açısındansa bağımsız bir kadının ideal özelliklerini karakterlerin ikililiklerini çizerek tasarladığını ileri sürer. Son olarak, ekolojik çevre açısından Gilman kadınları bilinçli olarak Toprak Ana ile ilişkilendirerek endüstriyel ataerkil gerçeklik modelini ve çevreyi koruma sorununun eleştirisini tamamlamış olur. Bununla birlikte, Herland’ın da bazı kısıtlılıkları vardır. Bazı yönlerden, saf Aryan soydan gelme kadınların karakterizasyonu Gilman’ın etnomerkezci eğilimlerini yansıtmaktadır. Gilman soy ıslahı ve feminizmi birleştirir, yazarın üstün ırk algısı ise dönemin belirli tarihsel koşullarının etkileşiminden doğar. Her halükarda, feminist bir ütopya romanı olarak, Herland'ın toplumsal gerçeklik eleştirisi derin, ideal toplum incelemesi ise yapıcıdır.

Keywords

Charlotte Perkins Gilman , Herland , feminizm , ütopik kurmaca , feminist kurmaca

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