Zava Character Analysis in Herland

Zava is Jeff’s tutor in Herland. Zava is assigned to teach Jeff about Herlandian language and culture, as well as to learn about the English language and American culture from Jeff. Zava and Jeff get along well because Jeff sees her as a mother figure and is prone to idealizing all women.

Zava Quotes in Herland

The Herland quotes below are all either spoken by Zava or refer to Zava. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

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“They are a protection,” Terry insisted. “They bark if burglars try to get in.”

Then she made notes of “burglars” and went on: “because of the love which people bear to this animal.”

Zava interrupted here. “Is it the men or the women who love this animal so much?”

“Both!” insisted Terry.

“Equally?” she inquired.

And Jeff said, “Nonsense, Terry—you know men like dogs better than women do—as a whole.”

“Because they love it so much—especially men. This animal is kept shut up, or chained.”

Related Characters: Vandyck “Van” Jennings (speaker), Jeff Margrave (speaker), Terry O. Nicholson (speaker), Zava (speaker), Moadine

Page Number and Citation: 58

Explanation and Analysis: