Åbo Akademis bibliotek

When three male explorers stumble upon an uncharted land, they discover something they never expected—a society composed entirely of women, thriving without war, poverty, or inequality. Certain that no civilization can exist without men, they attempt to analyze and explain Herland through their own patriarchal lens. But as they witness a world built on reason, education, and cooperation, their deeply ingrained beliefs about women are tested. While one embraces this new society, another resists, and the third finds himself caught between admiration and the fear of losing his dominance. A groundbreaking feminist utopian novel, Herland questions the foundations of patriarchal society and explores the psychological struggle of men confronting a world where their power is meaningless. With sharp wit and thought-provoking insight, Charlotte Perkins Gilman crafts a vision of what could be—and what still remains out of reach.

CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN (1860–1935), born in Hartford, Connecticut, was an American feminist theorist, sociologist, novelist, short story writer, poet, and playwright. Her writings are precursors to many later feminist theories. With her radical life attitude, Perkins Gilman has been an inspiration for many generations of feminists in the USA. Her most famous work is the short story The Yellow Wallpaper (1892), written when she suffered from postpartum psychosis.