Literature Review of the book "Herland"
Uploaded by Brainy81 on May 29, 2023
Terry in the book "Herland" held a misogynistic view of women before he went into this newly discovered land, and had a mystery to determine this new way of life. He was so confident in his overpowering nature that he had made several glaring mistakes at the beginning of the novel, such as not bringing any sort of weapon and trying to enchant the girls he first met when he arrived. Terry was defeated by the women of Herland on a number of occasions, yet he was unable to break his negative views of them. Even at the end of the book, Terry and his wife were in a strained relationship when compared to Van's newfound success. Several events through the story like his first interaction with the three girls, his attempted escape from the country, and his wedding with his new wife serve as examples of defeats that Terry suffered, but his refusal to learn highlights how Terry illustrates the failures of many in society to see women as equals. The book overall's purpose is to show that women are able to do things men can never dream of, and Terry stands in stark contrast to that.
Terry entered Herland expecting women to be surrounding him, acting in obedience to the first man they'd allegedly seen. The narrator Van made mention of his views about women at home, showing a dislike of his behavior. When Van, Terry, and Jeff found the three girls, it would be Terry who first attempted to make contact with them, believing they would be charmed by his abilities and attitude. When this did not work, Terry became outraged, the first of many signs that Terry would not attempt to learn about their lifestyle. His view of women prevented him from completing the task he set out to do, which was to learn more about this land. While Van would try and be more successful than Terry in communicating, it did not change Terry's views about fixing his character.
When the three men were captured and taken into what Terry considered a prison, they had made plans to escape. Their objective was to get out of prison and to go home without any forethought of how they were supposed to go all the way back to the original path of entering Herland. While they did manage to escape and create distance from the prison, they ran into...