The Review of Contemporary Fiction

With Her in Ourland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Sally Perry

Charlotte Perkins Gilman. With Her in Ourland. Ed. Mary Jo Deegan and Michael R. Hill. Praeger, 1997. 216 pp. Cloth: $55.00; paper: $15.95.

With Her in Ourland brings the intrepid Ellador from Herland into the world of her husband, sociologist Vandyck Jennings, as World War I is raging, in time to witness the destruction of much of Western Europe. Gilman’s 1916 sequel to the utopian novel Herland (1915) provides interesting insight into what one American feminist thought about her society. As Ellador and Van travel the world, their voyage becomes a vehicle for a critique of various societies. Their last stop is the United States, because Van thinks that his democratic nation will compare most favorably with Herland. Although Ellador thinks America holds more promise than the other societies she has seen, the last third of the novel is primarily Ellador’s critique of America’s housing, health care, education, and economic system.
With Her in Ourland makes much more sense when read in connection with Herland and I hope that one day the two texts will be published in one volume. Herland is the more dramatic story since it places three different men in a peaceful society of women. In the sequel, when Ellador ventures out to her husband’s world, the tone becomes more didactic and little happens until the very end when she becomes the first woman in her country in 2000 years to give birth to a boy.
The lengthy introduction by Mary Jo Deegan is useful in placing Gil-
man’s work in a cultural context, but it could be much more concise. She integrates information about Gilman’s life with discussions of sociologists who influenced her such as Jane Addams and Lester Ward. However, much like Gilman’s novel, Deegan’s introduction becomes too pedantic at times.
With Her in Ourland is a troubling portrait of the world in 1916 that will undoubtedly make readers glad they live in the present and sorry that there is still so much to be done to make the United States into a true democracy. [Sally Perry]


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The Review of Contemporary Fiction With Her in Ourland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Sally Perry Charlotte Perkins Gilman. With Her in Ourland. Ed. Mary Jo Deegan and Michael R. Hill. Praeger, 1997. 216 pp. Cloth: $55.00; paper: $15.95. With Her in Ourland brings the intrepid Ellador from Herland into the world of her husband, sociologist Vandyck Jennings, as World War I is raging, in time to witness the destruction of much of Western Europe. Gilman’s 1916 sequel to the utopian novel Herland (1915) provides interesting insight into what one American feminist thought about her society. As Ellador and Van travel the world, their voyage becomes a vehicle for a critique of various societies. Their last stop is the United States, because Van thinks that his democratic nation will compare most favorably with Herland. Although Ellador thinks America holds more promise than the other societies she has seen, the last third of the novel is primarily Ellador’s critique of America’s housing, health care, education, and economic system. With Her in Ourland makes much more sense when read in connection with Herland and I hope that one day the two texts will be published in one volume. Herland is the more dramatic story since it places three different men in a peaceful society of women. In the sequel, when Ellador ventures out to her husband’s world, the tone becomes more didactic and little happens until the very end when she becomes the first woman in her country in 2000 years to give birth to a boy. The lengthy introduction by Mary Jo Deegan is useful in placing Gil- man’s work in a cultural context, but it could be much more concise. She integrates information about Gilman’s life with discussions of sociologists who influenced her such as Jane Addams and Lester Ward. However, much like Gilman’s novel, Deegan’s introduction becomes too pedantic at times. With Her in Ourland is a troubling portrait of the world in 1916 that will undoubtedly make readers glad they live in the present and sorry that there is still so much to be done to make the United States into a true democracy. [Sally Perry]

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