Herland: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 70 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
5,931 different words. On average 52 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 2,968 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
women, country, mothers, girls, children. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 18.66 words ending in 'ly' and 11.35 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 4.0% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 4.8% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 30% of sentences: we, i, they, but, it.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| we | 274 |
| i | 239 |
| they | 184 |
| but | 159 |
| it | 141 |
| the | 129 |
| and | 109 |
| there | 78 |
| he | 77 |
| you | 74 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.73 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
130 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 2.44 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 57: “There is no such cloth made by any of these local tribes,” I announced, examining those rags with great care. “Somewhere up yonder they spin and weave and …
Ch 1, para 65: The motorboat we were going to leave at anchor in that wide shallow lake. It had a special covering of fitted armor, thin but strong, shut up like …
Ch 1, para 79: “You’re right, Terry. Once the story gets out, the river will crawl with expeditions and the airships rise like a swarm of mosquitoes.” I laughed as I thought …
Ch 1, para 87: “Oh, the men take them away as soon as they are five or six, you see.”
Ch 1, para 95: “You’re dead wrong,” Jeff told him. “It will be like a nunnery under an abbess--a peaceful, harmonious sisterhood.”
Ch 1, para 113: It was not hard to find the river, just poking along that side till we came to it, and it was navigable as far as the lake.
Gilman uses similes sparingly but effectively, comparing the men's helplessness to children and Herland's social perfection to a well-oiled machine. Metaphors of imprisonment and awakening dominate, with the fortress as constraint and education as liberation.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 7, Ch 11
Instantly each of us was seized by five women, each holding arm or leg or head; we were lifted like children, straddling helpless children, and borne onward, wriggling indeed, but most ineffectually. (Ch 2, para 104)
They have taken away all our possessions, all our clothes--every stitch. We have been stripped and washed and put to bed like so many yearling babies--by these highly civilized women. (Ch 3, para 20)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 66%, touch 20%, sound 10%, taste 4%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 351 |
| touch | 108 |
| sound | 51 |
| taste | 23 |
| smell | 2 |
Sight dominates throughout, with detailed observation of Herland's landscape, buildings, and people. Touch appears in courtship and capture scenes. Sound is minimal; smell and taste are nearly absent, reflecting the narrator's focus on rational observation over sensory immersion.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 4, Ch 7, Ch 8
I was lying in a perfect bed: long, broad, smooth; firmly soft and level; with the finest linen, some warm light quilt of blanket, and a counterpane that was a joy to the eye. (Ch 3, para 5)
Through her sympathetic intelligence I became more and more comprehending of the spirit of the people of Herland, more and more appreciative of its marvelous inner growth as well as outer perfection (Ch 8, para 55)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
85 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.59 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three structure the narrative: three men, three young women, three couples. Repetition of 'two thousand years' anchors Herland's history. Patterns of question and answer drive chapters 5 and 6, with the women's logical interrogation recurring.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 11
their lines of interrogation would gradually surround us and drive us in till we found ourselves up against some admissions we did not want to make (Ch 5, para 16)
They knew just what to ask, and just what use to make of it; they had mechanical appliances for disseminating information almost equal to ours at home (Ch 6, para 33)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: art, thou.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| art | 7 |
| thou | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Gilman shows rather than tells through dialogue and scene. The men's assumptions about women are revealed through their failed courtship attempts and shock at Herland's competence, not through Van's commentary. Terry's violence in chapter 11 shows his true beliefs without explanation.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 8, Ch 11
Terry put in practice his pet conviction that a woman loves to be mastered, and by sheer brute force, in all the pride and passion of his intense masculinity, he tried to master this woman. (Ch 11, para 93)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action rather than preceding it. Chapters 1 and 2 move quickly through discovery and capture. Chapter 7's tour of Herland mixes observation with the men's reactions. Summaries in chapters 5 and 9 pause action to explain history and culture.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 7, Ch 9
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 5.12 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 69 |
| seemed | 59 |
| knew | 40 |
| saw | 33 |
| felt | 26 |
| heard | 20 |
| noticed | 9 |
| watched | 8 |
| realized | 7 |
| wondered | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from adventure and humour in chapters 1 to 4 to philosophical inquiry in chapters 5 to 7, then to romantic tension in chapters 8 to 10, and finally to moral gravity in chapters 11 to 12. The narrator's voice grows more reflective and less ironic as he learns.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5, Ch 8, Ch 11
Come on!” cried Terry, pushing forward. “Oh, come on! Here goes for Herland! (Ch 1, para 145)
Through her sympathetic intelligence I became more and more comprehending of the spirit of the people of Herland, more and more appreciative of its marvelous inner growth as well as outer perfection (Ch 8, para 55)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from the men's misplaced confidence and the gap between their expectations and reality. Terry's bravado contrasts with his repeated failures. The women's calm logic dismantles the men's arguments. Gentle irony pervades Van's narration of his own blindness.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 8
Girls!” whispered Jeff, under his breath, as if they might fly if he spoke aloud. (Ch 2, para 22)
About seven or eight million,” said Jeff, as mischievous as ever. (Ch 5, para 118)
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