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Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland

Because of a life of repression living as a career woman in a male dominated society, Charlotte Perkins Gilman was well aware of the impact on personalhty and developmdnt from repression. The psychological criticism approach to literary criticism reflects the effect of modern psychology on literature. Sigmund Freud was unveiling new psychoanalytic theories during GilmanÆs era, while physicians were prescribing rest cures for female hysteria as Gilman portrays in her famous short story ôThe Yellow Wallpaper.ö Such new psychoanalytic theories pertained to repression, the unconscious mind, wish-fulfillment, and sexuality. In one sense, one might argue that GilmanÆs utopian version of a society of all women is somewhat of a wish-fulfillment on behalf of the author. Psychoanalytic criticism often focuses on the creative process of the author and how their own biographical circumstances influence their literary creations.

Psychoanalytic theories also focused on experiences and developmental stages in early childhood as relating to any number of psychoses in adult life. Therefore, mothering and child-rearing were provided new significance for their impact on emotional and psychological well-being. This psychoanalytical criticism of Charlotte Perkins GilmanÆs Herland, will explore the themes of repression, the unconscious mind, and child development as illustrated by the author and how these apply to her own life experiences.

In Herland, three male adventurers come upon a mythical land inhabited by women only, a land where men are not needed for even procreation as the women are able to procreate through parthenogenesis. Women give birth by willing it but this does not equate to all women being fitted for mothering. Child development, a psychological term, is seen as too important a task for some women just because they are capable of birth. In this, a central premise of Herland, we see the psychological impact of Gilm...

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Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:49, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1710725.html