Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

Early Feminist Utopias and the Essentialist Paradigm

Abstract

Feminist influences in society began to make an impact during the enlightenment of the late 18

th

century,

eventually gaining cultural, political and social recognition in the early decades of the 20

th

century. What

part did the literary field of science fiction and fantasy play in the communal success of feminism, whilst

edifying the complementary qualities of women? How have these works provided a way of exploring the

essentialist experience of womanhood, whilst championing the goal of political parity? Examination of the

works of Cavendish, Wollstonecraft, Stowe, Gilman, Bradley Lane and others will elucidate the

background of early feminist utopian sf and demonstrate the inherent idea of separatism, not only as a

perquisite of essentialist investigation, but as a reaction to dominance.

Introduction

Fantastic literature as a genre is not confined simply to the output of male authors. Within

the world of science fiction it is generally agreed that Aldiss contention proclaiming

Mary Shelley to be the author of the first modern science fiction novel has weight, yet an

examination of the history of SF reveals the field to be traditionally dominated by male

authors, characters and role models who, within their texts generally rely upon advanced

technology and sciences that reflect and reinforce a traditional sexist demarcation of

labour, especially in western thought and practice. (Aldiss 1986:51) Until recently, the

realm of science fiction has largely led to an exclusion of female authors, or, where they

did make headway against the tide of chauvinism, bent or forced their contributions to

conform to type as may be demonstrated in the works of C L Moore, Judith Merrill and

Leigh Brackett for example. This disregard, has led to a neglect of one of the most

important elements of extrapolation in the themes and motifs of SF, how does the female

element fit into future societies? What is their perception of, and reaction to, the

patriarchal societies and technologies which dominate SF? How can women utilize

futuristic fiction to illuminate their own aspirations, politics and desires? Pamela Sargent

pondered these questions and the observations they permit when she stated “Only SF and

fantasy literature can show women in entirely new or strange surroundings. It can explore

what we might become if and when the present restrictions on our lives vanish, or show

us new problems and restrictions that might arise. It can show us the remarkable woman

as normal where past literature shows her as the exception.” (Sargent 1974:48)

Since the 1960’s a growing sub genre of SF, classified as “feminist SF”, has been written

by women reflecting Sargent’s idealism. This classification exemplifies the narrow view

of the political and cultural establishment. Feminist science fiction is not a readily

definable term. It is a rubric designed by modern marketing to force such fiction into a

pigeonhole, a square peg in a round hole, and as such suffers from the typical confusion

of definitions common to mainstream SF. For example, Robin Roberts defines feminist

SF as the “empowering portrayal of female strength, with women appropriating the alien,

utopia and the ruler (or male role) and transforming them into feminist models” (Roberts

1993:3) According to Laura Quilter, who maintains the Feminist Science Fiction Fantasy

and Utopia website, the title “Feminist SF” has been used to refer to everything from

“fantasy and magic realism to utopias, dystopias and hard science fiction; from fiction

with a definite political agenda, to any fiction that includes a female character.

Occasionally, even the fact that the text is by a woman is enough to subvert it under the

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

rubric of feminism. How then does feminism translate into literature? Novels, essays and

features that examine gender issues, works that advocate equality, works that portray

women as strong, capable, or in unusual roles, even those in which the female character

assumes traditionally masculine responsibilities may qualify as feminist”. (Quilter 2002)

From these definitions, it would seem impossible to force the field of commonly

considered feminist literature into an easily identifiable marketing or literary rubric

Women’s writing has undergone a process of maturation over the last two hundred years

that in the main concentrates upon the extrapolation of character, theme and meaning as

opposed to gadgets, science, technology, space and exploration in mainstream SF.

Nevertheless, feminism within the bounds of SF is generally regarded as a modern

phenomenon. This is certainly explicit in critical works of SF which examine the role of

women and women writers within the genre. Works such as those of Russ, Lefanu, Barr

and Roberts concentrate primarily upon 20

th

century writers, but they ignore the genesis

of female writing in this context, presenting feminist SF as if it is a recent invention. It is

the ancestry of the movement that I wish to explore to enable a more complete

understanding of the context and background of later feminist works. To accomplish this,

it is important to examine the roots of feminism.

A fruitful way of investigating feminism is to place it in the context of essentialism. This

ideal is a philosophical construct of representation, a distilling of forms, style, language

and symbolism inclusive of cultural, sexual, political and even racial attributes resulting,

not in a stereotypical reduction of type, but an interesting paradigm against which the

evolving mores of the feminist movement can be considered. This paradigm represents a

“homogeneous and unbroken tradition” (Rushdie 1997:67) that reveals the latent

subversive, empowering influence of feminism throughout history. In the context of this

work, it is an examination of popular connotations and depictions of feminine roles in a

male dominated society, and how such roles have been expanded and enhanced by means

of political activism and fantastic literature.

Seeds of Discontent

“Utopia is the homeland where no one has ever been, but where alone, we are

authentically at home. It is the promised land which, in counter-biblical fashion can only

be attained by means of exodus: the thus designated realm of freedom develops not as

return, but as exodus though, into the always intended promised land, promised by

process”. This is the opinion of Carl Freedman in his essay Science Fiction and Utopia -

a Historico-Philosophical Overview. It is this ideal of exodus, of separation, that is

important in early works of feminist fiction; in a world dominated by men the escapism

and revolutionary politics of the utopian state has become a literary means of turning a

mirror on our world and examining its values and exclusions. Indeed the essential

function of utopia is a critique of what is present and therefore, feminist utopias become a

reflection of the discord of society magnified via satirical and fantastic means. The genre

of SF is admirably suited to feminist works in this tradition due to the fact that the worlds

described in such texts are a representation of utopos a place that is no place.

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

The first work that can be included within the fantasy pantheon that ties its author to the

twin mast of feminism and SF is that of Christine de Pizan of Paris, who penned the City

of Ladies in 1405. This utopian novel presents a dream-vision of a city inhabited by

educated, powerful and influential women who are taken out of time, as many are

celebrated ancient female scholars, saints and martyrs, chosen to advise the present

inhabitants who join the inner circle of women in the city. (Lerner 1993:87) The utopian

novel, from the very beginning thus became a vehicle for the dissemination of feminism.

One of the most influential women who accepted the torch of feminism was Margaret

Lucas, later Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle. Her life in the 17

th

century spanned a new consciousness within the world of science, politics and

philosophy, and yet she was expected to conform to type and leave such heady

awakenings to the world of men. In her autobiography, contained as a chapter in her work

Philosophical Letters: or, Modest Reflections upon some Opinions in Natural

Philosophy, Maintained by Several Famous and Learned Authors of this Age (1664)

Cavendish notes that her “breeding, or nature of upbringing, ... was according to my birth

and the nature of my sex...” Typical of most genteel ladies of her time, she was educated

at home in the feminine arts or “accomplishments”, created her own fashions, enjoyed

reading on diverse subjects and wrote a number of histories that are notorious amongst

historians for their inaccuracies. (Battigelli 1998 :54)

Her interest in feminist issues is strongly evident within her work In 1662 she wrote

Playes and Orations of Divers Persons which was a diatribe for the liberation of women,

their need for freedom and equality, whilst simultaneously making the paradoxical

acknowledgment that the power of women lies primarily in their ability to bend men by

love and romance! She had this contradictory approach to her science also. Whilst

praising its virtues, she examines the philosophy of Descartes and Hobbes and argues

within her 1666 text Observations upon Experimental Philosophy for the ultimate

triumph of reason over that of experiment, becoming extremely distrustful of scientific

instrumentation and the new worlds revealed by the telescope and the microscope. It was

almost a rallying cry for a return to the closed, reasonable, common sense world of

Aristotelianism. The following year, she made history by attending a session of the Royal

Society of London, the first woman to so. This bastion of the male establishment was

convulsed, and the request opened a floodgate of discussion and disagreement on the role

of women and science; however, she was allowed to attend a session in which Robert

Boyle presented several experiments. Her political and scientific background, sparse and

singular as they may seem, enabled women of the upper social classes, goaded by her

example, to work for new freedoms, freedoms that would hopefully, at this early stage of

feminism, filter across rather than down the class structure of the day as acceptance was

gained. The reaction to male dominance had begun.

Shortly after her Royal Society visit, she began work on A Description of a New World

Called The Blazing World (1668) which can be considered one of the earliest pieces of

feminist science fiction, telling the story of a voyage to a Utopian world in much the

same way that Thomas More had done over 150 years prior. The book reflects her

fascination with science, and the perceived role of women in society, giving her utopians

a more liberated approach to the question of feminism. It set the mode for literary

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

feminism, and was one of the few ways in which any woman, let alone a lady of

Cavendish’s stature, could make their political insights heard without bringing immediate

condemnation upon themselves. It was the culmination of her life and writings,

encapsulating her hopes and desires for the rights of women. Cavendish did not produce

any other work after this and died in 1673, achieving the distinction of being buried in

Westminster Abbey.

The influence of Cavendish and burgeoning humanist philosophies contemporary with

her can certainly be gauged from the consequent flowering of political, social and

religious movements of the 18

th

century that gave rise to a number of dissenting feminist

voices, one of the most influential of whom was Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft enjoyed the typical upbringing of a woman of her class. However,

her individualism began to assert itself strongly when in 1784 she encountered Richard

Price and Joseph Priestly; leading lights of a movement called the Rational Dissenters.

Price held radical political views and had encountered a great deal of hostility when he

supported the cause of American independence. Mary brought to the dissenters a social

agenda of her own - the education of women and the beneficial role it would have in

society. With the dissenters encouragement she wrote a book entitled Thoughts on the

Education of Girls (1786) In this work, Wollstonecraft attacked traditional teaching

methods and suggested new topics that should be studied by girls. The suggestion of

educational and social independence from male dominated society was anathema to the

male oriented educational establishment of the time, but her well argued role for equality

and parity had weight. Her role as a political radical was cemented by her publication A

Vindication of the Rights of Man (1788) in which Wollstonecraft pointed out the ills of

society, such as the slave trade and the mistreatment of women – not for the last time

would feminist literature see an equivocation of slavery with that of womens role in

society. This publication brought her to the attention of such radical thinkers as Tom

Paine, William Blake and William Godwin, whom she later married. Her friends Priestly

and Price were soon to form the Unitarian Society as a platform for the radical voice

engendered by the French Revolution and the dissolution of British society, a platform

that Mary would turn to feminist advantage (Todd 2000:67)
In 1792 Wollstonecraft published her most important book, Vindication of the Rights of

Women. In the book Wollstonecraft returned to her political penchant by attacking the

educational restrictions that kept women in a state of “ignorance and slavish

dependence.” She was especially critical of a society that encouraged women to be

“docile and attentive to their looks to the exclusion of all else.” She described marriage as

“legal prostitution” and added that women “may be convenient slaves, but slavery will

have its constant effect degrading the master and the abject dependent” (Woolstonecraft

1792: 28, 33). In it she argued that the rights of man and the rights of women were one

and the same thing. Irritating the male dominated establishment with her criticisms,

Wollstonecraft fled to France in 1794 with an American writer, Gilbert Imlay, with

whom she had a daughter. Eventually returning home she married William Godwin in

1797, but died giving birth to her daughter Mary, who would later achieve a form of

immortality with what is arguably the first work of modern SF: Frankenstein.

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The changing political role of women began to have an effect upon literature. The

Romantic period of the late 18

th

century gave the world its first recognized female

novelists who employed the feminist political flowering of the era to explore the potential

of their gender. Jane Austen, Lady Mary Hamilton (who wrote a feminist educational

utopia entitled Munster Village in 1778), Frances Burney, Sophia Lee and Elizabeth

Inchbald, all portrayed women in intelligent, purposeful, primary roles, setting an

essentialist standard in literature. Sarah Scott's Description of Millennium Hall, (1762) an

early feminist utopia with an essentialist theme, was typical of such offerings, containing

the ideal of an initial segregation of undercapitalized aristocratic women who came to

live at the hall, eschewing marriage in their communal society before eventually

capitulating and reinforcing gender stereotypes by marrying local farm boys and settling

down to domestic “bliss”. The pattern portrayed by these writers led to a closer

examination of female character roles, and a strengthening of the feminist – essentialist

paradigm. One novelist who furthered this ideal was Ann Radcliffe, author of

The

Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), a book that in the opinion of the Rictor Norton became the

world's first “best-seller”, propelling female authors into the limelight (Norton 1999:xiv).

In the same manner as Mary Woolstonecraft, Radcliffe emerged from a Dissenting

Unitarian, rather than a conventional Anglican, background, enabling the heroine of

Mysteries, a work in the gothic tradition, to overcome the general portrayal of females in

gothic literature as weak, sensitive and reliant on male assurance and assistance;

projecting a strong feminist character who is motivated, organized and not swayed from

her purpose. The novelty of a female protagonist controlling rather than being subjugated

by the situation prompted a re-examination of the accepted role of women in male

dominated literature. This examination carried over from characterization to authorship;

Robert Miles, past president of the International Gothic Association, states that

Radcliffe’s works made possible the genesis of a cultural history of writing women,

taking issue with and involving themselves in the radical culture of their times, bringing

to literary tradition and aesthetic discourse a new political innovation, warning of the

changing role of women in society through literature which can be judged to be overtly

feminist. (Miles 1995)

This change was slowly advancing via the socialist politics of the era. How did the

feminist cause draw inspiration from literature whilst utilizing the socialist politics of the

day to its own ends? The American experience of the 19

th

century remains a turning point

from the perspective of feminists.

Socialist Politics, Feminist Movements

Wendy McElroy draws attention to the two opposing traditions within 19

th

century

feminism - individualism and socialism. Both ideals held that women should have the

same rights as men; that women should be equal, but the meaning of that equality differs

within the feminist movement. (McElroy 1995:148) McElroy concentrates on the

American experience of feminism in politics and literature, which would benefit from a

brief discussion here. That is not to say that the American experience was different to that

of women elsewhere, merely that the freedom engendered within the American

constitution enabled a number of social experiments along political and feminist lines that

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

later had an overt influence on early feminist SF. Sarah Lefanu proclaims that “there is no

justification for trying to delineate British from an American science fiction” in regard to

the contemporary attitudes of society and politics during this period. (Lefanu 1988:8)

Throughout most of its history, American mainstream feminism considered equality to

mean equal treatment under existing laws and equal representation within existing

institutions. The focus was not to change the status quo in a basic sense, but rather to be

included within it. The more radical feminists protested that the existing laws and

institutions were the source of injustice and, thus, could not be reformed. These feminists

saw something fundamentally wrong with society beyond discrimination against women,

and their concepts of equality reflected this. To the individualist, equality was a political

term referring to the protection of individual rights; that is, protection of the moral

jurisdiction every human being has over his or her own body. To socialist-feminists, it

was a socioeconomic term. Women could be equal only after private property and the

family relationships it encouraged were eliminated. (McElroy 1995:49) To those who

held such views, equality would be attained firstly in small, self sufficient communities

which functioned according to principles of equality and property sharing.

Socialism in this context was set into operation following the ideas of Robert Owen in the

UK. (Harrison 1969:43) Owen’s model community in Lanarkshire became the template

for a number of similar experiments initialized from the 1820s through the 1840s in the

United States; their most famous community was built at New Harmony in Indiana.

(Weiner 1999:24) Earlier communal colonies represented the work of deeply religious

sects, but these socialist communities both reflected and heralded the change of political

climate in which feminism was to find fertile soil. However, feminism as an expression

of the equal status of women in society was still perceived, even within such societies to

be too radical, and the communities reverted to type or withered away after a few years,

interesting but fruitless experiments in the soil of the larger political climate. The feminist

tradition engendered did not die with these communities; they evolved along more radical

political lines.

As an organized force in the United States as opposed to a merely communal one,

feminism was contiguous with the political recognition of the inhuman treatment of

slaves which broadened into the abolitionist movement in the early 1830s. Abolitionists

demanded the immediate cessation of slavery on the grounds that every man was a self-

owner; that is, every human being has moral jurisdiction over his or her own body, an

arguments the feminists had already used in support of their cause. It became the first

organized, radical movement in which women played prominent roles and from which a

political feminist movement sprang. Abbie Kelley, an abolitionist-feminist, observed:

“We have good cause to be grateful to the slave, for the benefit we have received to

ourselves, in working for him. In striving to strike his irons off, we found most surely that

we were manacled ourselves.” (McElroy 1995:124)

Within abolitionism, women’s rights stirred hot debate. The strongest advocate of

women's rights was the libertarian William Lloyd Garrison, who became editor of the

Liberator, insisting that anti-slavery was a battle for human rights, not male rights. Many

of the abolitionists who opposed Garrison on this agreed that women were self-owners

but resisted mixing woman's rights with anti-slavery for fear it would hurt the

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

abolitionists cause. Nevertheless, Angelina & Sarah Grimke, and Abbie Kelley became

the first women in America to perform lecture tours before audiences that included men.

(Banks 1986:355) Not only did they use this platform to promote the emancipation of

slaves, but also to bring to the attention of the populace the slave like conditions of

women in society. If slaves were to be given the rights guaranteed under the American

constitution, why not women? Sarah Grimke produced a pamphlet dedicated to this

position in 1837. Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Woman was a

subtle argument that had ramifications beyond the scope of politics. The Grimke sisters

encouraged women to fight for their rights by utilizing the system, others, such as

Lucretia Mott advocated civil disobedience as a means of achieving their rights, though

the direct approach of Mott was wisely disregarded. It was a time to win males to the

cause, not alienate them by breaking social taboos.

Political feminism continued to draw attention over the next few decades. Elizabeth Cady

Stanton, who attended the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Conference, was embittered by its

treatment of women, who were partitioned off in a gallery unable to partake of the

proceedings. With Lucretia Mott, she planned the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention to

discuss women's rights and there introduced a women's suffrage resolution, which was

passed with a narrow margin. The American Civil War brought a brief cessation to the

widespread activities of the feminist movement, but when the war ended with

emancipation for the slaves, but the continued suppression of women, the feminists were

outraged and continued to press for political reform.

How did such themes move out of political discourse and into literature? The history of

the feminist movement of the early 19

th

century provides a bridge between the feminist

pamphleteers of the 18

th

century who began the large scale political movement towards

emancipation of women, and those of the post civil war period who influenced the birth

of the suffrage faction and propagation of the ideal of feminist essentialism “a belief in

the real, true essence of things, the invariable and fixed properties which define the

“whatness” of a given entity” in regard to a woman’s place in society (Fuss 1989:xi).

This feminine “true essence” could only be found in the parity with, or absence of men

and male ideologies, and the idea led to the literary promulgation of a complete

separation between man and woman, leading to a recognition and clarification of, the true

essence, culture and qualities of women. Just as the emancipated slaves still suffered a

social “fixed property and essence” imparted to them by the dominant ruling social order

separating them from true society, could the political freedom granted to women allow

them to be separate from male dominated society, or to form new exclusive societies for

themselves? Such a separation would be impossible in real circumstances, but some

female authors tended towards this ideal, resulting in the two feminist utopias that

epitomize essentialism in this context – Mizora and Herland. This essentialist paradigm

is not readily visible in the rise of female fiction, but its inspiration is nevertheless

embedded in the works of this early era.

Feminist Fiction and the Male Backlash

By the middle of the 19th century, feminists had several male allies, most famously John

Stuart Mill. His The Subjection of Women (1869) is often paired with Wollstonecraft's

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

Vindication as fundamental feminist philosophy, and found a ready audience in the

angered feminist movement in America. This impact of this philosophical work, and the

resultant political goodwill of many male sympathizers was heralded by the proliferation

of novels by female authors in the early years of the 19

th

century. These texts explored

the political and social perspectives of their gender in such works as Uncle Tom’s Cabin,

an anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, written on the advice of her abolitionist

sister, containing strong feminist overtones of freedom. The various works of Sarah Orne

Jewett highlighted the domestic situations of most women, and also drew the political

parallel with slavery, whilst the inimitable Louisa May Alcott, famous for Little Women,

penned several novels under the pseudonym A M Barnard that included female

protagonists as femme fatales, breaking social boundaries with the smutty content of the

stories. Her championing of the feminist cause is probably due to the influence of her

mother and maternal grandfather, Colonel Joseph May, who was a supporter both of

abolition and of women’s rights.

Further feminist influence widely felt was that of Sarah Josepha Hale, who was the editor

of Godey's Lady's Book from 1837-1877 a publication credited with having a great

influence over the reading, learning, and even political consciousness of women across

America, although Hale herself endeavoured to steer the annual away from political

controversy. A novel in the utopian mode which claimed a wide readership, and certainly

influenced the later Utopian works (both male and female) of the 19

th

century was Three

Hundred Years Hence (1836) by Mary Griffith, a gentle tale presciently detailing the

changing role of women; her female protagonists are not only landowners, scientists and

engineers, but attend with equal exuberance to their domestic chores. It was a placement

of women in their “proper” role in society, equality with men rather than a move towards

essentialism and separation. Nevertheless, within fiction, it was possible to explore a

world dominated by women in order to illuminate and examine the dominant role of men

and their failure to heed the rights of their feminine counterparts. A post civil war text in

this respect is Annie Denton Cridge's Man's Rights; or, How Would You Like It? (1870) a

role reversal novel where women are the governing species and men have to suffer their

dominance in a satire that is plainly feminist. It is also one of the earliest female utopias

in a recognizably SF mode; the novel is set on Mars. All these tales explore the ideal of

essentialism as defined by Fuss, and are a penetrating self examination of the meaning of

femininity and womanhood.

The later work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman is clearly influenced by these early feminist

compositions. Herland (1915) is a radical novel which deals with essentialist values – a

female society has learned to govern effectively, achieve artistic and technical

recognition, procreate without male intervention and live in a utopian paradise which is

invaded by three men, to the subsequent ruin of everything as the two cultures and their

paradigms clash. Here, gender and essentialism is challenged uncompromisingly, leading

to a permanent emotional and cultural severance of the two sexes (Seed 1995:xii) Gilman

drew upon her long history within the feminist cause for her sources, recognizing that

essentialism, the exploration of the feminine character and its spiritual, secular and

humanist tendency could only be accomplished in the absence of the dominating male

and his political and social repression. By creating worlds without men, feminist writers

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

could not only disavow the structure of the patriarchal world, but also nullify the female

dystopias penned in anguish by politically motivated men (Roberts 1993:67).

The success of these earlier female works, coupled with the political activities of the

feminist movement prompted a number of male oriented literary texts which warned of

the growing influence of women and the dangers inherent in giving political power to the

female sex. A prime example is The Coming Race (1871) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton,

which depicts a dystopian world (from the point of view of males at least) inside the

Earth which is run by a female dominated society, the Vril-ya. These aliens believe that

women should be the foremost members of any race, and point to the insect and animal

world as Darwinian proof of their assertions – a world where the female sex is the most

important. Bulwer-Lytton’s protagonist recognizes the superior science and technology of

the race whilst noticing that the female aliens could easily rout the comfortable male

dominated society of his world on the surface. He escapes to warn humanity of the power

of this coming race that will defeat mankind. The novel is an obvious political allegory

intended to warn his brethren against the power of women and perceived political roles

they may attain.

Walter Bessant’s novel The Revolt of Man (1882) is written in a similar fashion to

Bulwer-Lytton’s, a role reversal dystopia set in 2082. Roberts notes that the novel

“demonstrates a fanatical fear of female education and the suffragists” (Roberts 1993:30),

yet finishes with the overthrow of female domination and the re-assertion of the male

“right to rule”. The women are confined to their homes, a condition which is undoubtedly

considered natural and appropriate by the author, and his interesting use of Christianity as

a male underground religion both signals and establishes the social viewpoint of church

and state on the issue of feminism in the late 19

th

century. It would appear that

essentialism is acceptable, as long as such self interest in personal exploration is

performed when the males allow it.

Men and women toughed it out in the literary and political arena during the last decades

of the 19

th

century. Feminists had invested so much time energy and purpose in their

goals that it may appear inevitable that the female authors of the age could do little else

but extrapolate political and social climes in their literature. The disgust at the ruling

patriarchal society found an outlet in utopian writing as Roberts demonstrates : “through

the notion of utopia, a world that is both perfect and non-existent, feminist writers created

a separate space for women… by adapting ideas about progress to include women, the

feminist utopia provides a blueprint for the future” (Roberts 1993:67,69). This emphasis

on essentialism and separation is taken to an extreme in the utopian works of Lane and

Gilman, two authors who convincingly introduced the female only worlds of imaginative

literature that followed the feminist paradigm.

The Fantastic Reaction – the Epitome of Feminist Utopias

The ideal of what women could be, what they could achieve and how they could

politically control and successfully manage a world under which full exploration of the

feminist paradigm could be realized, is outlined in one of the most extraordinary utopian

novels of the 19

th

century. Mizora – A Prophecy by Mary E Bradley Lane is a work that

not only separates the male and female sexes, but requires the elimination of men

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

altogether so that the full expression of female potential can be attained. It is a powerful

work, which, to a 19

th

century woman denied educational, social and political

opportunities offered “a welcoming view of a world filled with wonders and free of

drudgery” (Saberhagen 1999:xi) This utopia enacted the strategy of separatism through

alternative science, a reworking of myths about mothering and the valorization of

qualities identified as feminine, e.g. the emphasis on community, home and family which

exemplify the essentialist paradigm.

The novel’s protagonist, Vera Zarovich is a Russian aristocrat who has fled her country

after killing a soldier in a revolutionary protest march. Vera is considered by scholars

Jean Pfaelzer and Wendy Chmielewski to be representative of Vera Zasulich, who

attempted to assassinate the Governor General of St Petersburg in 1878 after Czarist

police brutality led to the death of a friend. Zasulich was exonerated by jury, in contrast

to Zarovitch who has to flee the forces of retribution; escaping the bounds of her male

dominated world by going to the far North (Pfaelzer 2000:xiv). Lane’s novel was

published in the Cincinnati Commercial around the same period of time as the

assassination of Czar Alexander II; the work’s revolutionary overtones unconsciously

taking advantage of world events whilst promoting the feminist platform.

These events stand in stark contrast to the life Mary Bradley Lane. Mizora appeared in

print just three years after her marriage to the attorney Thomas Lane; the couple retired to

what then was a country backwater outside Cincinnati. Formerly, as Mary Bradley, Lane

was a teacher in Mercer County Ohio, and although events of her life are sketchy, she

must have been an ardent closet feminist, as it appears upon marriage that she simply

adopted her husband’s name to become Mary Bradley Lane. That she kept these feminist

leanings very close to heart as can be discerned by the lack of any political reference to

her in a period of increasingly vocal suffrage. Although it is known that she penned

another novel, Escanaba, it is unlikely that she wrote anything else in support of

feminism - no extant text exists of this work so comparisons to the explicit feminism in

Mizora are rendered futile. The secrecy surrounding her authorship even extended to her

family. According to Murat Halstead, the editor of the Cincinnati Commercial, she “kept

herself in concealment so closely that even her husband did not know that she was the

writer who was creating this stir in our limited literary world” (Halstead 1890: 2)

Considering the novel revolves around the wonders of maternity and the responsibilities

of rearing children, it is surprising that Lane had no children of her own, and the

depictions of childhood in the text reflect an alien, idealized image of motherhood which

is both naïve and extreme.

The world of Mizora is penetrated by Vera’s discovery of a hole at the North Pole in her

escape northward. Another world inside the earth is a common occurrence in 19

th

century

fiction (The Coming Race as above), and is useful in immediately adopting the concept of

alienness, otherness and exclusion. These are principles within which Mizoran society

excels. The Mizorans have built an happy, peaceful 3000 year old society which is

exclusively female, blonde, athletic, artistic and scientific. Mizora is a utopia which

exemplifies and accentuates the essentialist paradigm – women have discovered their true

worth, inherent potential and embodied these qualities in a society which feminists can

identify with. The achievements of the women in Mizora are contrasted via the vehicle of

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

Vera Zarovitch with the political, cultural and economic problems of the world of

humanity and the role of women in this society.

After recovering from her ordeals in crossing the polar barrier, Zarovitch is entranced and

puzzled by the world she has entered. She is perplexed by the absence of men, who

should be here in “lordly possession” (Lane 1881:21), and the lack of a formal

hierarchical ruling structure, crowned by a royal family who direct the political and social

dynamic of this world. The Mizorans are amused at her lack of understanding. Alluding

to the need for such a hierarchy, the preceptress of Mizora (named so by Zarovitch,

although there is no formal hierarchy in Mizora, this is simply one of her “guides”) asks

Zarovitch if the minds of such individuals are all important to the nations where she

comes from. Zarovitch’s negative reply prompts the preceptress to declare that such

useless minds should be treated like garden weeds, whilst the bright ambitious children of

the poor should have their mental advancement encouraged (ibid 61). This is clearly an

appeal to education for the masses and a disenfranchisement of class structure. It is an

demand for liberal education for all, not just those who can afford it. The fact that Mizora

is a female world where such education is valued further highlights the political apathy

toward the education of women in Zarovich’s (and therefore Lane’s) world. Indeed the

epilogue to her novel contains a rallying cry calling for progress via female education :

“the future of the world, if it be grand and noble, will be the result of UNIVERSAL

EDUCATION, FREE AS THE GOD-GIVEN WATER WE DRINK” (ibid 147 – capitals

in original)

The deficiency of males in Mizoran society is eventually explained by Zarovitch’s guide.

Vera is constantly perplexed by the total lack of men. To her earthly sensibilities, Mizora

would be a paradise for men, and of course in her society men are the movers and shakers

of the world, they are a necessity of government law and protection in addition to their

purely biological role, so where are they? The Mizorans reveal their ancient history to

very close to that of Zarovitch’s world, with wars, social and domestic conflicts and

domination. How was this overcome, and what happened to their male counterparts? The

preceptress explains the hopeless condition of women under such a regime hinting at a

paramilitary action by describing how the “wrongs and sufferings of the helpless and

oppressed goaded them to action for their relief…. stinted toil rose up against opulent

oppression”.(ibid 87, 95). Men were removed from public posts and a decree issued that

for a century they were barred from public office. Enigmatically, by the time that period

was complete, men had disappeared, suggesting that they lived only for the rough and

tumble of political machination, domination and class struggle. (ibid 101) Without a class

to dominate, selection pressure based on survival of the fittest was negated and they died,

withering on the vine of Darwinian principles. In Lane’s parallel, she does not suggest

that women take retribution, rather, the situation is comparative, a call to women and

oppressed classes to rise against their oppressors, not in order to dominate them, but to

achieve equality and recognition, an ideology embodied in the feminist movement. If this

happened, then perhaps male dominance and oppression would, like Mizoran men,

disappear in an enlightened world where each sex values the attributes and contributions

of the other.

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

The fact that Mizoran males became extinct leads naturally onto the question: how do the

Mizorans procreate? What is the role or even desirability of children? This question

reveals the scope of the scientific, secular and sociological culture the women have

developed. Their science has enabled them to achieve parthenogenesis, the development

of embryo’s to full term without the intervention or need of semen. This is the chief

reason why Mizora is populated by women, such a process cannot produce a male, only a

female. In showing Zarovitch the “germ of life”, the preceptress stresses the importance

of women, not only in the biological sense, but in the spiritual sense too, concentrating

upon the privileges, responsibilities and ecstasies of motherhood. Mizora is a world

where children are valued and their nurturing is all important. To emphasize this,

Zarovitch is taken to a beautiful island with a single dwelling. It is the only prison in

Mizora and it is empty – it’s last incumbent was banished there for physically punishing a

child. It is explained that childhood is the “only period of life that is capable of knowing

perfect happiness, and to destroy such happiness is akin to losing the very flavour of

existence” (ibid 118). Not for Mizorans is the education or inculcation of children to

political or domineering ends. They are not trained to take over the mantle of their

forefathers as are the upper classes of Zarovitch’s world, rather they are taught alternate

values which perpetuate the status quo of this enlightened utopia.

The pursuit of wealth and political power, religious ideals, social distinctions of race and

class and the applications of science and technology are all vividly portrayed by Lane.

The highest aspirations of Mizoran women is to become teachers, analyzing, adding to

and projecting the value of knowledge and education as the means of self and social

improvement .Every state in Mizora has a college, and expenses are paid for by the state.

There is no exclusion, everyone is encouraged to use their abilities to further the interests

of their society in a system that has overtones of Plato’s Republic. This system is not used

in a competitive way – education leading to social divisions and ladder climbing. The

epithets used of Mizoran women are “she is a fine scholar, artist, musician or mechanic.

She excels in gardening or domestic work, or She is a fine chemist”, but never does

Zarovitch encounter that leveler from her own world – “She is rich” (ibid 24) The

absence of wealth, class structure and political dominance are shown here in a fine

contrast to the rat-race of mankind. In Mizora, such things are beneath contempt as

nothing more than personal ambition leading to a lack of responsibility towards society.

This attitude is exemplified in a passage wherein Zarovich is insulted at the appearance

of the cook in a soire she is attending. She is gently chided by her hosts to accept the

cook for her abilities as a brilliant chemist who specializes in food production. There are

no domestic classes, each individual chooses her employment based upon their abilities

and talents, not their personal or social circumstances. The disintegration of class

structure in Mizoran society is possible due to the social education received by all

Mizorans from birth. Lane draws a fine point here – the American constitution guarantees

freedom and equality for all – but in reality it is freedom and equality for those of wealth,

class and distinction. Anyone not of this caste is condemned to a life of service and

drudgery, despite their talents, potential or education and are despised and denied their

rights.

Feminism has often been defined within SF as a “soft science” contrast to the “hard”

science epitomized by men (Roberts 1993:5). Feminist science in such cases are more

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

sociologically or psychologically based, yet this does not necessarily hold true in Lane’s

creation. The sciences in the hands of Mizorans have reached their full potential, not as

despoilers of the environment, or become an ideology of progress for progress’ sake, but

have evolved as useful contributors to the relaxed atmosphere and daily lives of the

Mizorans. The Mizorans have non polluting transportation such as aircraft, trains and

ships, but nowhere in the novel is there specific reference as to how these were acquired

by the application of their science; it is asserted that the education in such fields led

naturally to the production of such vehicles. Lane here provides a shaky contrast with the

industries which were burning a pathway across America, leaving a trail of annihilation

and environmental devastation in their wake, yet provides no convincing arguments as to

how such progress could be achieved without such rapacious means. More convincingly,

Lane turns her attention to domestic labours and highlights the use of labour saving

machinery which frees all inhabitants to attend to their education and social

responsibilities (Lane 1881:45) Food production is by synthesis from natural elements,

almost a transmutation into edibles by chemical means. The scientific production and

preparation of food is held to be responsible for the elimination of diseases in Mizora,

and longevity is achieved by the elimination of “deleterious matter” in foods. The

Mizorans are constantly refining their processes in this regard, and are experimenting

with wholly artificial foodstuffs which are cheap and plentiful (ibid 46-47). Lane hereby

provides a contrast with the usual daily fare of most Americans (or anyone else for that

matter) The application of science and forethought is enough to feed all of Mizora – why

cannot the same disciplines feed Earth’s starving populations?

The message in Mizora went largely unheeded beyond the world of literature. Lane is

obviously aware of the social stagnation of her time and makes specific reference within

the text to this indolence. Zarovitch eventually returns to her world full of hope and

passion, a determination to change society. To accomplish this she enlists the help of

Wauna, a Mizoran with a similar evangelistic outlook, but both are worn down by

political indifference, apathy and resistance. Wauna dies, and with her dies the hope of

the oppressed. Heartbroken, Zarovitch moves in self imposed exile to America, hoping

that the political climate will be more favourable to her ideals.

Mizora is certainly a land of dazzling contrast to the world of Zarovitch and by inference,

Lane’s. Like most utopias, it highlights the political tensions of the times and provides an

alternate model which, while not being realizable, educates and informs, presenting the

“what if” scenario of SF in a way that illustrates the consequences of action or apathy.

Lane contrasts Mizora with her own society and draws these lessons from it, lamenting

through her protagonist “though we cannot hope to attain their perfection, many, many

evils could be obliterated were we to follow their laws” (ibid 147)

As a feminist statement, Mizora is outstanding. The novel is a powerful expression of the

essentialist paradigm, displaying the essence, motivations, emotional depths and spiritual

pinnacles of the dreams, ambitions and aspirations of Lane’s generation, gratifying the

ideal of feminist essentialism and becoming an inspiration to feminists and feminist

authors since. Mizora contains a timely warning to the feminist opponents of the period,

an admonition explicit in its subtitle A Prophecy; women desire and deserve the full

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

political and social rights enjoyed by men. If they are disappointed in these endeavours,

what awaits?

Conclusion

In Metamorphoses of Science Fiction, Darko Suvin states “Strictly speaking, utopia is not

a genre in its own right, but rather the socio-political sub-genre of science fiction”

(Suvin1979:61) The political motivations behind feminist utopias found a creative outlet

in the literature of fantastic fiction. These early works have evolved into the modern

essentialist paradigm of SF feminism typified by authors such as Joanna Russ, Marge

Piercy, Vonda McIntyre, Susy McKee Charnas, Margaret Atwood and Doris Lessing to

name a few (Barr 1981). These writers, recognizing the new freedoms of women in

society, freedoms fought for and obtained by the heroines of the abolitionist and feminist

movements of the 19

th

century have now brought about a new shift in the paradigm.

Separatism is no longer an issue, but harmony and integration with male society whilst

maintaining the feminine role is the new essentialist state. Such motifs are echoed by

Sarah Lefanu: “there is something dangerous about seeing masculinity and femininity in

such essentialist terms, with talk of absolute values – for we exist in relation to, and not

separate from, that which is different from us” (Lefanu 1988:123). The wheel has come

full circle, but in its turning a new agenda has been wrought.

Utopias are the products of their times, and such literature unfortunately comes to be

regarded as quaint shadows of their former selves with the passage of time. What seemed

attractive and revolutionary to some in the 19

th

century may seem far from it a century or

so later. Utopias are a wonderful format for examining the traditions, customs and ethics

of the time, but they age quickly and pass into intellectual history. Utopias are the starting

points for social arguments rather than definitive plans. Indeed, considering the literary

backlash and political machinations aimed against the feminist movement and associated

literature, we should be aware that any utopia that appears utopian to its author and

ideological kin, looks absolutely dystopian to their opponents. The early feminist utopias,

reacting to the oppression of male dominance, encapsulate a history of feminine

essentialism, which, whilst attractive to its proponents, did not correspond to the

dominant paradigms of society or indeed, the real needs and desires of the feminist

movements which spawned them. They remain a dream, but one with durable substance

against which feminist gains can be compared.

Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

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Martin Griffiths University of Glamorgan

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