I Think I Get This Book Finally!

So after finishing up "Herland" and discussing it in class, I think I finally understand why we read the book in the first place. I was really confused as to why this was read in a “time travel class”, as it does not involve a time machine or any physical movement through time. However, the quotes we discussed on pages 110-111 about the lack of reverence for the past gave me some ideas on the time moving aspect. There is not a physical movement from one time period to another, as there is in the previous books we have read. Rather, it is ideas from different time periods that have created a sense of movement from one era to another.

To further explain, I want to look at the differences in culture and religion that is explored within the text. According to the women in the book, they are unaware of many things we take for granted in our own time period, including marriage and men in general. The fact that they are not aware of certain things in everyday society makes it seem like these people are less advanced, as if the explorers had gone back in time. However, there is a different feeling later in the book, as they seem more advanced in some regards to outside society. For instance the women do not feel jealousy, are good mothers, do not have issues with their power structure, and so on. It reminds me much of Looking Backward, where an advanced society is portrayed as “perfect”, and seemingly is much more advanced than any previous era. In my eyes, this creates somewhat of a paradox: we have the society looking ignorant and oblivious, and yet they are far more advanced than Van, Jeff, and Terry in many regards.

In trying to figure out my thoughts on the above situation, I came to the conclusion that, in essence, time travel takes place without actually moving in time. Going to another land where culture are different and have never meshed creates the idea that traveling to a foreign land can be just like traveling through time in terms of learning cultures. Besides moving forward or backward, all time travel is is the blending of new ideas that are previously unknown to both sides. In Hank Morgan’s tale, he is exposed to a new culture, and consequently shares his knowledge with the people of old times. In Bellamy’s novel about Mr. West, the protagonist learns of what the new time period is like, and subsequently tries his best to accept it and be understanding of it. This is exactly what happens in Gilman’s book. Three characters go to a foreign land, and learn about each other’s habits. This, in turn, makes societies look either complex or prehistoric, depending on how one looks at it. As I said before, the ladies of Herland look ancient because they do not know many of our common cultures, but at the same time look incredibly advanced in their societal ideas because of the notions and lifestyle they enjoy.

So, just to sort of sum things up here: I finally understand why we read this book in the first place. The notion of time travel is more than just physically moving from one time period to another. Its main feature is that it combines different, seemingly incompatible cultures together, and compares and contrasts how “modern”, “ancient”, or “futuristic” they look in comparison to one another. This book has taught me a lot about time travel narratives, and has helped me appreciate "Herland" much more than I thought I would. It is somehow a time travel book without actually travelling in time! It does not seem possible, but because of my logic above, hopefully it makes sense. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know! Write on my blog! Pleaseeeee!!!!