Symbolism In Herland

Herland Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born July 3, 1860 in Hartford Connecticut, committed suicide August 17, 1935. Gilman was most notable for being a very powerful American feminist and social activist. Perkins encouraged women to stand up for themselves and gain economic independence. She was most famous for writing novels, short stories, and poems. Charlotte Gilman is most known for her story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, which was published in 1892. The haracters in this novel play a huge role as they paint the big picture of what the Gilman was focusing on. The male characters in the story, are three men who are from a society that is normal and that most people are accustomed to. The three men have the same views as people in today’s society on woman, crime, and competition. The men are used to depict the basic humanistic views. In comparison, the woman in this story are what woman are not typically seen as. In the story the woman characters are very strong, intelligent, hardworking, and dedicated to having a balanced equal life. Gilman uses the male and the female characters to show how different people see woman compared to how life should be with equality. Herland is a novel that is centered on woman in a utopian habitat. It starts off

In Herland, the importance of clothing to women is a form of symbolism. To the characters, clothes were a way for woman to reach their full human potential. The main reason the woman wear clothes are to feel useful and beautiful (Tyson). Gilman intentionally writes about the world of woman and how the utopian society views clothes and also how the real society in today’s world views clothes. The clothes that the woman wear in Herland are meant to be stylish and yet comfortable as well. When the three men were a part of Herland, they were forced to wear the clothing that the woman had given them. At first the men did not want to corporate but soon did and realized that the clothes they were given were actually