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Chapter 3: A Peculiar Imprisonment
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Herland, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Womanhood and Femininity
Gender Roles and Relationships
Community
Motherhood and Reproductive Control
Summary
Analysis
After successfully reaching the path below the garden, Jeff, Van, and Terry quickly put as much distance between themselves and the fortress as they can. They load the numerous pockets of their Herlandian clothes with nuts from a nearby tree and drink from a stream before retiring to a well-hidden crevice on a steep bank at sunrise. The men sleep through the day and travel by night until they find their plane. However, the plane has been covered by a strong cloth that they are unable to tear apart with their hands. As they struggle with the cloth, they suddenly notice Celis, Alima, and Ellador watching them from a short distance away. Jeff, Van, and Terry cautiously approach the women, but they signal for the men to stop. The women throw them some cakes and set up a game to play.
The fact that the plane has been covered implies that the Herlandians predicted that the men would try to escape and took action to stop them. This, again, shows a higher level of organization and unity than the men believe the women are capable of.
Themes
Literary Devices
Jeff, Terry, Van, Celis, Alima, and Ellador enjoy playing the game, but Van tells the other men that they should hurry and get away. They beg the women for knives to cut through the covering, but the women refuse to give them any. The men desperately grab sharp rocks and try to cut through the cloth, but to no avail. Terry suggests that he, Jeff, and Van should make a dash at the girls to steal their knives. However, this attempt fails as Celis, Alima, and Ellador easily outrun them. Jeff, Van, and Terry reluctantly return to their plane. When they get back, they are surrounded by Colonels and peacefully brought back to the fortress. On the way, Van observes the towns they go through and notices that although there are a lot of children, none of them are boys. Furthermore, the towns are uniformly clean and beautiful.
The children that Van sees are direct evidence that the women of Herland are mothers, but the lack of boys or men also seems to confirm the rumors that Herland is made up entirely of women as true. The uniform cleanliness of the cities is also more evidence that taking care of the country is both a community-wide effort and an important priority for all the women.
Themes
The next day, Somel, Moadine, and Zava tell Jeff, Van, and Terry that not only did everyone know they would try to get back to their plane, but that they were followed and watched the entire time. Terry is humiliated by the news, but Van is amused by what the tutors say. The tutors do their best to explain that if the men can master the language and promise not to do anyone any harm, then eventually they will be shown around the country. The men rededicate themselves to learning the language and studying their books. Terry, however, soon grows bored and complains that the books are dull. Van points out that he can’t expect wild or romantic adventure stories in a land with no men. At this, Terry grows angry and decides to ask the tutors where the men are.
Terry’s short temper is sharply contrasted with the patience of both Jeff and Van, who enjoy learning more about Herland. This shines a light on the different motives each man had in choosing to come to Herland: both Jeff and Van saw it as an opportunity to learn, but Terry expected excitement, adventure, and romance. Because of this, Terry is doubly embarrassed by the fact that during the one adventure the men do have—trying to escape—they were not even remotely as sneaky or successful as he believed they were. In this, as in many other things, the women of Herland prove themselves much more intelligent and organized than the men believed.
Themes
One afternoon while Jeff, Van, and Terry sit with their tutors, Terry asks if there are any men in the country. Somel tells him that there hasn’t been a man in the country in 2,000 years. Astonished, Terry brings up the existence of children and Jeff says that what Somel says is hard to believe because in no other part of the world are women able to reproduce on their own. Zava asks if it happens in any other form of life and Jeff explains that some species of insects reproduce through parthenogenesis, or “virgin birth.” When Zava asks what a virgin is, Jeff explains that it is used to describe women who have not had sex. Zava then asks if the same word isn’t applied to men as well; Jeff says it is, but only rarely.
The conversation between Jeff and Zava about the use of the term “virgin” highlights a very important sexual double-standard in Western culture. The term “virgin” usually applies to women because women are expected to be virgins whereas men (who are rarely described as virgins) are not. However, this calls into question how necessary it is for women to be virgins because in order for men to lose their virginity (in an acceptable way, that is; same-sex attraction, whether between men or women, was extremely taboo in the early 20th century), they must have sex with women. The difference is that only women risk losing their reputations when they lose their virginity outside of marriage; men, on the other hand, are free to use sex as a source of personal pleasure and pride.
Themes
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Van asks if the tutors expect him, Jeff, and Terry to believe that no men or boys have existed in Herland for 2,000 years. Somel tells him that this is the truth, although she and the other women know from observing animals about the existence of fathers. Somel also tells Van that she, Zava, and Moadine have been anxiously waiting for the men to learn enough of the Herlandian language to be able to share their knowledge of the outside world. To the reader, Van insists that these women, despite their isolation, are not ignorant. Rather, they are deeply wise and quick to understand everything they’re told and are endlessly patient. Somel tells Van that she wants him and the other men to teach the tutors as much as they can. In return, the tutors will teach the men all about Herland.
The earnest desire Zava, Moadine, and Somel have for information about the outside world is reflective of the entire community’s love of learning. Later, they will explain to Jeff, Terry, and Van that learning in Herland is considered a lifelong process that everyone enjoys. This also explains why the women assume the men will be as eager to learn about Herland as the women are to learn of the outside world.
Themes
Jeff asks if there were men in Herland over 2,000 years ago. Zava confirms that there were and promises to let the men read a book of Herland’s history soon. Zava also expresses interest in comparing the history of Herland to the history of the rest of the world with the men’s help. Terry asks if there are any animals other than birds and insects in Herland. Zava says they keep cats as pets and Somel jumps in to explain that larger animals, including dogs and cows, were allowed to go extinct because they took up too much space. Terry asks how the women get milk without cows and, confused, Somel explains that the women make their own milk. Jeff struggles to explain the dairy industry in America (including how calves are removed from their mothers), which makes their tutors turn pale and hurry out of the room.
Zava, Moadine, and Somel have a strong reaction to Terry’s description of the American dairy industry, particularly his account of how calves are removed from their mothers while they are still nursing. Although the men know that the Herlandians are mothers, this is their first indication of just how important motherhood is to them—the mere thought of a baby (any baby, no matter the species) being taken from its mother horrifies them and drains the blood from their face. It is also the first time the tutors express genuine horror in reaction to what life outside of Herland is like.
Themes
