Herland

The men are allowed to meet with other Herlanders, including young women, and the men get ready, trimming their hair and beards and dressing carefully. They are to speak to sizable audiences and answer questions, and they are given the outline of the information that has already been circulated among the population. During the meetings, however, the men struggle to answer the women’s questions, and they are more absorbed in their audiences of young women than in sharing their knowledge. After presenting, the men are allowed to talk with the young women. Jeff is met with differing responses—some Herlanders are intrigued by his worshipping women while others are offended. Terry briefly attracts a small group before driving them away with his objectification and offensive behavior. Van says, “Sometimes a girl would flush, not with drooped eyelids and inviting timidity, but with anger and a quick lift of the head” (64). Van is the most popular of the men, although Jeff has a following of the more sentimental women, and Terry is approached by the more “combative” individuals. When he learns what behaviors offend the women, he adjusts his behavior and is better received.

Van, Jeff, and Terry start courting Ellador, Celis, and Alima, respectively. Celis and Jeff have a stable relationship, while Terry and Alima’s relationship is tumultuous. Ellador and Van started as friends. While talking with Ellador and Somel, Van learns what the Herlanders think of the men. They assumed the plane was flown by men from the outside world, and they quickly formed a plan to catch and educate, and possibly tame, the men to hopefully reestablish heterosexual reproduction in the country. The Herlanders documented everything about the men while they were in their training and spread the information throughout the population.

When the men were first “exhibited” to the women, no one expressed interest in dating them. The women were not interested in romantic relationships but considered the idea of procreating with the men as a social service. While the Herlanders are disappointed in the lectures and uninterested in dating, they like Van because he is like them—he behaves as a person rather than as a man. Jeff and Terry fall flat because the women are self-sufficient and do not need protection or want gifts. Their relationships with Celis and Alima are hindered; meanwhile, Van focuses on his growing friendship with Ellador. He has continued to learn and feels at home in Herland. Over time, Van’s feelings expand from friendship into a deep romantic love for Ellador. Since Ellador, Celis, and Alima saw Van, Jeff, and Terry first and waited for them at the biplane, they feel they have a special claim to the men. The differences in cultural values make dating between the men and the women of Herland difficult. Jeff argued to Celis that she, as a woman, shouldn’t carry heavy loads or do physical labor, calling it a convention. When Alima questions the convention, Terry tells her not to be “literal” and suggests that they should be happy to be worshipped by men. She counters that the men don’t like it, and Terry avoids responding. Terry slowly adjusts his dating methods, and his relationship with Alima becomes steadier. Jeff suggests they all go to the outside world so they can get married, but the women refuse. Terry tells the others to be patient and suggests that they will be able to “master” the women. When Van warns Terry against trying to “master” Alima, Terry responds that they each have their own ways.

Ellador, Celis, and Alima love Van, Jeff, and Terry like friends: “Visibly we were not mothers, nor children, nor compatriots; so if they loved us, we must be friends” (71). The women enjoy spending time alone with their respective partners, but they do not want to move into separate homes with them, as they do not understand the need. The men explain that wives are supposed to stay home to tend the house and children, sometimes with the help of servants, and wives, when they are not performing these tasks, are supposed to accomplish their “social duties.” Ellador says she and the others cannot fully understand such ideas because they have a single-sex culture, and she expresses interest in visiting the outside world.

Terry complains that there is no alcohol, tobacco, or other vices in Herland. When he goes off alone, one or more Colonels always follow him. Both Van and Jeff censure Terry when he talks degradingly about the Herlanders. Terry lives for drama and exploration, but Herland is peaceful. All three men feel that the Herland art and literature lack excitement, as the culture does not have sex, aristocracy, or war to drive creation. Despite the lack of drama, Herland values art as an integral facet of their culture and education system.

Ellador helps Van understand the educational system. The children are treated as people and raised with complete patience, tolerance, and kindness. Ellador describes how she became a forester; she found a beautiful moth and took it to a teacher to identify. The teacher told her that it was an invasive species and praised Ellador for finding it and helping to protect their food supply. She learned the history of the moth, and the Herlanders asked all the children across the country to help look for any remaining moths. The primary difference in raising children between Herland and the outside world is that Herland offers a safe, enriching environment designed so children can explore it freely, while the outside world is dangerous, and children are secluded in private homes for their safety. The Herland children are raised to prioritize motherhood and social responsibility, and children excitedly plan what they will do when they grow up. They did not feel shame because they had nothing to be ashamed of.

Originally, the men are astonished at the Herlanders’ foresight and innovation, having had assumed only men are capable of such traits. Van is particularly struck by the children’s literature, which is artistically crafted and “true.” Mothers nurse their infants for the first year or two, and babies are raised in the warmer part of the country and later acclimated to the colder regions. While watching the children, Van realizes that the peaceful Herlander culture is superior to the drama of the US. He is confused by Herland’s education, and he approaches Somel for clarification because he does not want Ellador to think him ignorant. Van argues that the children can’t be learning if they are having fun. Somel explains that they divide education into knowing things and doing things and that children are given enough new information and tasks to keep them engaged but without “overfeeding” and tiring their minds. People learn general and specialized knowledge, and they often study multiple specialties, so they are constantly learning. Van is intrigued to learn that psychology is grouped with history, and Somel says that is because psychology changes as people change. The core goals of the education system are to instill each person with strong judgement and will. As such, many of the education games involve making choices, and new and better games are constantly being engineered. Van reflects on the US educational system and admits that it is less engaging and effective than the Herland system.