"Pure America":Utopia In Herland From The Perspective Of Eco-feminism

Charlotte Perkins Gilman?1860-1935?was an important writer,theorist and sociologist in the first wave of feminist movements and one of the most influential feminists in the late 19^th century.Herland,created in 1915,was Gilman's maturest feminist Utopian novel.In Herland,Gilman created an ecologically harmonious utopia by shaping a group of intelligent women who pursued freedom and equality.At present,domestic and foreign researches on Gilman's works mainly focus on The Yellow Wallpaper,while this Utopian novel Herland has not been paid enough attention.Based on the theory of Eco-feminism,this research combines the theory of“the other”to comprehensively analyze the text and discuss the ideal utopia that Gilman yearned for,with the methods of textual close reading,document analysis,and historical criticism.Eco-feminism,which combines ecology with feminism,objects to anthropocentrism and masculinity.It advocates changing the idea that humans govern nature,criticizes the cultural values of patriarchy,and strives to improve the situation of women and nature.Moreover,eugenics was popular in the United States from the end of the 19^th century to the 1930s,and attracted many female scholars'attention.Feminist pioneers,such as Gilman,not only incorporated eugenics into feminism,but also extended the scientific discourse of eugenics to the imagination of literature.This research analyzes the images of“the other”in the novel from the following three aspects:subverting male hegemony and constructing female self-identity,abandoning anthropocentrism and maintaining ecological balance,as well as eliminating inferiority and advocating superiority.It aims to explore the utopia constructed by Gilman in Herland,how to achieve the“purity”of Eco-feminist utopia by means of eugenics,and unearth Gilman's intention of creation hidden behind the novel.Through the research on the text,the following conclusions have been drawn:Firstly,what Gilman pursued was a pure feminist utopia where there was full of liberty and equality,with an ecologically harmonious environment.Secondly,Gilman supported eugenics.She incorporated eugenics into Eco-feminism to guarantee the purity of blood lineage in“herland”by eliminating inferior people in the novel.Thirdly,the utopia constructed by Gilman actually symbolized the establishment of a pure America.She was ideologically influenced by the mainstream consciousness at that time,and unconsciously revealed the imperialist colonial consciousness.