Herland

Van, Jeff, and Terry have different expectations of their marriages than Ellador, Celis, and Alima. In the outside world, Van writes, the woman’s expectations for married life do not matter as much as the man’s; however, in Herland, the men must conform to their wives’ views of married life. The men expected that they would share personal homes with their wives, that their wives would perform the housework, and that their wives would attend to their husbands’ sexual appetites. While Jeff supports the women’s perspective, Terry is furious, and Van takes a middle-ground approach—frustrated but compromising. Terry complains that the Herlanders don’t know what it means to be a wife, only viewing men as fathers. The women, including Alima, who must endure Terry’s anger, are patient, but Van alludes to a later conflict between Alima and Terry that severed Alima’s tolerance.

The men work as assistants for their wives, who continue their career as foresters. Van, Jeff, and Terry want to live in separate houses with their partners, but, as Ellador explains, they do not see why that should matter; the couples can be alone together in a variety of places, like their respective apartments or in restaurants. Van suggests in his narration that what the men want is a sense of possession of their wives. The men refer to “higher” purposes of sexual relations, and Van explains to Ellador that sex takes love and marriage to a higher level of development. Ellador questions the idea, suggesting monogamous birds only mate during the appropriate season. Van declares birds are lower lifeforms, and he expresses his passionate love for Ellador, who calmly accepts the sentiments before telling him that he needs to be patient: “We are Mothers, and we are People, but we have not specialized in this line” (92). She admits that the idea of a lasting love exhibited through sexual relations outside of procreation sounds beautiful, but she is uncertain. She says she wants to go to Van’s home country and meet his mother.

Van attributes the Herlanders advanced education and understanding of psychology for Ellador’s ability to divert his mind. He discovers that sex is a psychological rather than physical need, and he realizes that the women of Herland are not provocative. Ellador continues to decline Van’s requests for sexual intimacy and says she must consider Herland in general rather than just their relationship. Van clarifies that he was not completely rejected; he shared a deep love with Ellador, and he enjoyed exploring Herland and continuing to learn more about its culture. Van is happy to spend time with Ellador, and he does not resent her for postponing their sexual relationship.

Both Van and Jeff find great happiness in their friendly marriages, but Terry and Alima have a strained relationship. Van feels ashamed of Terry’s demanding and unreasonable behavior but partially blames Alima for her “femaleness” and her lack of psychological expertise. Terry claims that women enjoy being “MASTERED,” and he often sings offensive songs. Within a week of marrying Terry, Alima started avoiding him and refused to be alone with him. Van assumes that Terry talked her into having sex, and she now regretted the act and felt ashamed. Alima asked Moadine to move into the apartment next to hers. Terry hid in Alima’s bedroom one night, and he attempted to sexually assault her. Alima fought back and called out for Moadine; neighbors rushed to Alima’s defense, grabbed Terry, who was trying to fight back, and anesthetized him. Alima called for Terry to be killed, but the local Over Mother—a high-ranking citizen who had been asked to have more than one child—sentenced Terry with exile.

Terry is placed under constant guard, and Van and Jeff are allowed to visit him while preparations are made for Terry to leave Herland. Van and Ellador are to accompany Terry, but Jeff does not want to leave Herland—nor does he want Celis to have to endure the living conditions of the US. Seeing Jeff’s point, Van tries to prepare Ellador for the impending culture shock. While she logically understands the bad social elements in the outside world, she cannot empathize with the concepts. She longs to see the women and to witness other marriages, and she assumes Van is homesick, though he is not; he begins to dread returning to the US. When Van, Terry, and Jeff think of men, they think of worldly activities, while, when they think of women, they think of the female sex; in Herland, this perception is switched, and Ellador, having never witnessed the patriarchy, cannot fully imagine it.

The Herlanders are repulsed by Terry’s behavior, and Van again attempts to explain that, in their culture, men and women both enjoy participating in sexual relations outside of procreation. Although Ellador feels a sexual attraction toward Van, she is not yet sure that it is “right” to engage in sex without the intent to create a child. She says she can somewhat understand what drove Terry to commit his crime, and Van jumps to Terry’s defense: “Oh, come, that’s a pretty hard word for it. After all, Alima was his wife, you know” (100). Ellador disagrees.

Celis gets pregnant, and the Herlanders celebrate. Ellador is briefly jealous but then suggests, since they are leaving soon to explore the world, it is best that she is not with child. She suggests that Van could leave her behind, if he did want to try again, but he declares he would rather be with Ellador: “I’d rather have you with me—on your own terms—than not to have you” (101). Van addresses the unfairness and oppression women are subjected to under the patriarchy, criticizing Josephine Bacon, who wrote a guide about womanly duties. He says the men must “love ‘up’,” which Jeff easily does, Terry cannot do, and Van learned to appreciate; he describes the love as homey, safe, and free.

Terry admits that Alima could have probably subdued him without Moadine and the others’ help. Alima left the area and refused to return to see Terry one last time. The trip to the US is delayed from the excitement over Ellador leaving. The men discuss returning to Herland and forming an easier entry route that would involve killing the Indigenous people living near the cliff; however, the Herlanders hold a council and decide to remain hidden from the rest of the world. They formed an accurate idea of the negative aspects—disease, prejudice, ignorance, violence, poverty—of the outside world from the things the men did and didn’t say. The Herlanders ask the men to keep the existence of Herland a secret; both Jeff and Van agree, but Terry refuses. The Herlanders say he will have to remain their prisoner, and he assents and agrees to remain silent, and he, Ellador, and Van leave.