Herland, Gender Expectations In Society

1165 Words5 Pages
Herland, Gender Expectations in Society The cultural and social setting affects the acceptance of gender expectations is a society. The role that men and women play in society is influenced by the expectations of each and is formed over time. Traditions are created and are difficult to transform when there needs to be adjustments in these beliefs and philosophies. Different societies view women and men’s roles in various ways. Although fictional, in the book Herland, the men arrive in a different society and each man responds in different ways to what they perceive as foreign culture, “there was no accepted standard of what was ‘manly’ and what was ‘womanly’” (Gilman79). The men’s expectations are all separate from one another with different levels of acceptance of the new female gender in Herland. The isolated setting and female only society of the imaginary country of Herland along with the modern world issues in “There is No Unmarked Woman” and “Boy Problems” impacts society’s acceptance of non-traditional gender expectations. Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is the story of three men who discover a society with only women. The men’s ideas and expectations of what a typical relationship should be are frustrating for them to try to convey to the women. The women are unwilling to drastically change their behaviors and way of life too quickly due to their skepticism of the men’s traditional views. Their lives are peaceful and they take their time to study the men and listen to determine if changes should be made. On the other hand, the men are impatient for the women to change and adopt their idea of a traditional relationship. “After marriage there arose is us a surge of feeling that called for a separate house; but this feeling found no response from the hearts of those fair ladies” (Gilman 106). The distinction of gender in the Herland society

More about Herland, Gender Expectations In Society

Open Document