the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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subverts the existing stereotyped images of the mother,
blending the so-called 'femlnine' and 'masculine' traits,
thus reaching an androgynous vlsion
In Herland, the women
are physically aglle, rationally sound, capable of
organlzatlon, independent and self-sufficient, the 'Land-
Mother' is called 'Mera' - meaning thlnker
By attrlbutlng
the so-called 'masculine' tralts to the women of Herland,
Gllman ellminates any false, artificial dlvlslon of
femlnlnlty and mascullnlty, embracing lnstead a common set
of human values
In the novel, Vandyck, and to some exten:
Zeff, learn from their experience rn Herland, they begln to
understand that femlninlty 1s not a physiological
characterisclc b u ~ an rdeological construct as is
mascul~n~ty In P~ercy's Mattapolsett, the slmllarlty In
appearance, career and style of functlon of both males and
females, and the replacement of natural gesratlon and blrth
by a number of mothers (~ncludlng males) for each chlld,
wlth hormone In2ectlons for these male mothers so that they
may suckle, reduces the barrlers between the sexes to the
lowest posslble polnt.
4.8.0. P11 alteration In famlly structures 1s the dlrect
outcome of reproductive technology, the advent of whlch
signifies a masslve change in heterosexual relationships
With reproduction no more relylng on sexual intercourse, the
relatlonshlp between the sexes undergoes a slgnificant