Three classmate friends—Terry, Jeff, and Vandyck—embark on an explorative expedition towards an unknown area after hearing rumors about a strange country inhabited solely by women. Soon after discovering an advanced and secretive society in the nearby mountains, the three scientists return in Vandyck’s airplane to explore. Noting that the area looks to be civilized, the crew insists that there must be men somewhere amongst the all-female society. As soon as they land, the three men venture off into the uncharted civilization.
At first, it struck me as odd how Terry was quick to conclude that there must be men in the civilization solely based off of the fact that it looked “civilized” from above during the flight. Terry’s character, I feel,…show more content… The location of the civilization is never fully revealed; however, it is known that the isolated society is somewhere in the unchartered tropics, near mountains, and surrounded by “a dark green sea of crowding forest.”
Herland is narrated by Vandyck Jennings, one of the three main characters who voyage to the unexplored, utopian society. Told in the first person, the reader is able to get a sense of Van’s personality and character through his recall of events and voice. Though he seems worried and troubled at first, Van’s character changes and eventually becomes accepting of the differences in Herland, ultimately marrying one of the natives, Ellador.
One of Gilman’s most important features of her novel is the utilization of flashback. The opening begins with Van stating, “This is written from memory, unfortunately.” After Van states, “It began this way”, he traces the story and history of his expedition chronologically, being careful not to reveal “where it was.” The novel is separated into twelve chapters, each explaining a different aspect of the history of Herland. At the end of the novel, Gilman utilizes a full-circle design with the women asking the men not to disclose the location of their society, linking the introduction with Van choosing not to state the exact
