the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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of a class system in reproduction wlth the rlch reproducing
In ectogenetic laboratories while the poor continue to rely
on women's bodies for pregnancy
4.10.0. One of the maln reasons why women are conflned to
the prli.ate, domestlc sphere of the home is due to thelr
reproductlve role However, once women no longer have to
reproduce, the maln reason for keeping them at home
disappears Tt-e patriarchal dlvlslon of labour on the basls
of sex 1s overhauled with the advent of reproductlve
technology in Plercy's Woman on The Edge of Time In thls
androgynous utopla, both women and men are equally involved
In the worlds of nature and culture, and gender differences
are dei~berately mlnlmised By exchanging traditional
roies, ieavlng no d~stlnctlons of dress or degree of sexual
actlvlty and lntroduclng ectogenetlc reproductron to remove
the last differences between the sexes, Plercy reinforces
her polnt that work need not be gender-structured once
repraductlon takes place outslde the body
4.11.0. A:vood and Plercy volce their stances clearly, but
Gllman's concept of motherhood 1s replete wlth
contradlct~ons The question that stlll remalns 1s Is
Gllman's utopla yet another mystlque of motherhood' A
closer look may reveal that Herland 1s a feminist
apprapriation of femlnine motherhood. Instead of a