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WOMEN OF THE DARK CONTINENT: NEGOTIATING IMPERIAL CONQUEST, RACIAL IMPURITY, AND MODERN FEMINISM IN CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN'S HERLAND

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Date Issued:
2011
Abstract/Description:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland grapples with the interregnum between changing ideological constructs. At once, it engages in the urgent debates of Progressive Era America at the turn of the century and reflects the residual force of the Western paternalism that accompanied U.S. imperial aspirations in the nineteenth century. Taking place in a world removed from patriarchy, Herland mirrors the social progress of women's roles and independence; however, the novel's feminist utopia depends upon sciences of racial purity and eugenics at odds with its progressive agenda. In a consistent push and pull between social progression and digression, Herland makes headway toward feminine agency yet falls subject to the contamination of imperialistic masculinity and patriarchy both in the content of the novel as well as Gilman's own attempt to conquer and appropriate a masculine form. Gilman's appropriation creates a novel that is both liberating and dangerous for the modern woman and the success of the home and population. The juxtaposition of Gilman's progressive feminist ideas with her decidedly regressive views on eugenics in Herland illustrate how even the most progressive feminism can be bound by and defined by imperialist patriarchal tenets.
Title: WOMEN OF THE DARK CONTINENT: NEGOTIATING IMPERIAL CONQUEST, RACIAL IMPURITY, AND MODERN FEMINISM IN CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN'S HERLAND.
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Name(s): Lewis, Christina Joanne, Author
Earle, David M., Committee Chair
Blyn, Robin R., Committee Member
University of West Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2011
Publisher: University of West Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland grapples with the interregnum between changing ideological constructs. At once, it engages in the urgent debates of Progressive Era America at the turn of the century and reflects the residual force of the Western paternalism that accompanied U.S. imperial aspirations in the nineteenth century. Taking place in a world removed from patriarchy, Herland mirrors the social progress of women's roles and independence; however, the novel's feminist utopia depends upon sciences of racial purity and eugenics at odds with its progressive agenda. In a consistent push and pull between social progression and digression, Herland makes headway toward feminine agency yet falls subject to the contamination of imperialistic masculinity and patriarchy both in the content of the novel as well as Gilman's own attempt to conquer and appropriate a masculine form. Gilman's appropriation creates a novel that is both liberating and dangerous for the modern woman and the success of the home and population. The juxtaposition of Gilman's progressive feminist ideas with her decidedly regressive views on eugenics in Herland illustrate how even the most progressive feminism can be bound by and defined by imperialist patriarchal tenets.
Identifier: WFE0000250 (IID), uwf:60889 (fedora)
Note(s): 2011-05-01
M.A.
Department of English and Foreign Languages
Masters
Subject(s): Women's literature, imperialism, feminism, eugenics, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, motherhood
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/uwf/fd/WFE0000250
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UWF

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