T.C. KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AMERICAN CULTURE AND LITERATURE TWO FEMINIST UTOPIAS: HERLANDANDWOMAN ON THE EDGE OF TIME M.A.Thesis in American Studies by FUNDAŞÜKÜR ÖNAY THESIS ADVISOR: ASST.PROF. JEFFREY HOWLETT İSTANBUL, 2008
iiACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my family for all the love and support they gave throughout my education.I’m deeply grateful for them as they have stood by me, encouraged me and believed me in every phase of my life. I also would like to thank my aunt Derya whose ideas inspired me during the process of writing this thesis, and I would like to thank my husband Savaşfor his assistance and patience. Finally I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Jeffrey Howlett who read this work multiple times; guided me with great patience; supplied the materials I needed and made this work possible.
CONTENTS Page number 1. Abstract 2.Introduction(Utopian Writing and Its Social Function)…………………….1-8 3. What Makes a ‘ ‘Utopia’’ Feminist?.................................................................9-17 4.Herland………………………………………………………………………18-38 5.Woman on the Edge of T ime……………………………………………………….39-63 6. Common Points inHerlandandWoman on the Edge of Time…………………64-68 7.Social and Political Developments between the Two Novels…………………69-72 8.In What WayWoman on the Edge ofTimeDiffers fromHerland?……….…73-82 iii
ivABSTRACT ‘ ‘Utopia’’ can be expressed in a variety of ways, but it can simply be defined as an imaginary world in which people can live happily, peacefully and harmoniously; everyone can lead secure lives without fear of anything.A utopia is a visionary world in which people can have adequate food and shelter; a utopia is a fictitious world all the debilitating conditions, ills and faults of the present societies are eliminated.So, this thesis tries to examine utopian writing and the basic characteristics of utopias in general; it investigates feminist utopias and how women’s literary writing produces visions of the present and the future by analyzing Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herlandand Marge Piercy’sWoman on the Edge of Time.Thomas More’sUtopia, as an example written by a man, is also analyzed from feminist perspective, and in this way feminist utopias are compared to the traditional utopias.So, how the world is perceived bythe feminist utopia writers are explored from different angles. It is known that utopias are the products of their times like the other literary works; thus, it can be said that they are wonderful formats for examining the traditions, customs and ethics of their times.Therefore, feminist utopias, apart from the traditional utopias, question sex and gender issues, women’s place in a patriarchal society, and they explore the multiple layers of oppression of women in detail.Moreover, they criticize and redefinethe traditional roles of women as wives and mothers by presenting alternative worlds from feminist perspective.
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