53 pages 1 hour read

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Herland

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1915

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Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “A Not Unnatural Enterprise”

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of sexual assault.

Vandyke “Van” Jennings, a sociologist, details the events of an adventure with his friends Terry O. Nicholson and Jeff Margrave. They embark on a scientific map-making expedition; however, other than noting the general environment, Van does not provide the location of the expedition. The Indigenous American people they speak to share a legend about a country inhabited only by women. The three men scoff at the idea but grow interested after hearing of a colorful river. Hoping to find valuable resources, they travel to the river, where they find a piece of high-quality fabric unlike anything they’ve seen among past tribes. Their guide tells them that the “Woman Country” is over the tall cliff, near the river.

Terry, Van, and Jeff decide not to share the location with the other members of their expedition, and they make plans to return on their own. Terry uses his wealth to fund the private adventure, including a steam yacht, motorboat, and biplane. They plan to leave the yacht at a port and to take the motorboat up to blurred text
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