Gilman’s Herland and Hussein’s Sultana’s Dream
Gilman’s Herland and Hussein’s Sultana’s Dream demonstrate how science can be applied in developing a utopian society where there is no gender discrimination. The two works are feminist science fiction. Written in 1915, Herland describes an isolated society that is entirely composed of women. The women are able to live happily without men. According to the author, the men could be the source of discrimination against women in the society. Thus, having a society without men could provide women an opportunity to live to their maximum potential, free from interference from men. The women use an advanced scientific technology known as parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction, to reproduce. The society maintains an ideal social order, free of conflict, domination, and war. Herland portrays science as an effective solution to the injustices in the society. Similarly, Hussein’s Sultana’s Dream presents a society where women embrace science. The Queen in this society is determined to empower women by educating them. She achieves her objective by establishing two universities meant for the education of women in her kingdom. Many women got an education, and they were instructed not to get married until when they are 21. Through education, the women are truly emancipated as they received education from the two universities created solely for them. One of the universities utilized scientific knowledge to invent a wonderful balloon, to which they attached some pipes. They managed to keep the balloon afloat in the atmosphere above the cloud-land. The balloon enabled the women to draw as much water from the atmosphere as they pleased. The Lady Principal was even able to stop rain and storm courtesy of the scientific invention. Through science, the women in Herland and Sultana’s Dream are able to enjoy freedom in their lands. Thus, both Herland and Sultana’s Dream portray science as an effective vehicle for the emancipation of women in the society.
Gilman’s Herland demonstrates that science is a strong tool that can help women to take charge of the destiny. Through science, women can establish an ideal community where they are able to maintain their individuality while deriving their important ideals through consensus. The women are also able to collectively arrive at decisions regarding procreation of children by referring to eugenics. The women in Herland are determined to avoid negative eugenics by weeding out those considered unattractive or incompetent in their society. Therefore, science is used by the women in Herland to create an ideal sense of community where decisions are arrived at through consensus. Science is also portrayed as an effective tool for the protection of the reproductive rights of women regardless of the opinion of men. The women in Herland are able to accentuate the value of motherhood through the scientific reproductive technology called parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis is a symbol of the independence and capabilities of women that can be achieved through science.
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Hussein’s Sultana’s Dream also praises science for elevating the position of women in the society that was originally characterized by male domination. By studying science, the women in Sultana’s Dream took over. They developed useful inventions that helped to keep the country peaceful while the men scoffed. The author creates an impression that women are smarter than men. For instance, the women in Sultana’s Dream are able to make their country a better place by locking up the men. Thus science is portrayed as a major contributor to the empowerment of women in the society, as it allows them to challenge their stereotypes. In Sultana’s Dream, women are generally superior to men courtesy of scientific studies offered at the two women universities.
Discovery, Travel, and Empire and Euro-American Expansionism
Travel and exploration have historically been key narratives in science fiction and proto-science fictional tales. Colonialism and empire are some of the main themes in proto-science fiction. For instance, exploration and imperialism can never be fully separate in the field of science fiction. The theme of exploration can be seen in Margaret Cavendish’s Description of a New World of 1666 is a seafaring adventure, as well as one of the early examples of proto science fiction. The heroine finds herself on another planet that is populated by alien forms with whom she engages in a scientific couched debate. Cavendish was a staunch royalist. This gives her work some form of imperial bias. For instance, the heroine becomes the Empress of the New World almost immediately upon arrival. Furthermore, the heroine uses her position to lend military support to the British Empire back on Earth. The support helps the British Empire to subjugate the rest of the world. Elements of travel and exploration can also be seen in Daniel Defoe’s The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of 1719. The science fiction is explicitly imperial, fostering the European domination. The Robinsonades set out to fulfill their generic remit on the isolated island. The work is a clear representation of imperialism in science fiction.
The sea stories of Edgar Allan Poe also included some of the most influential Proto science fiction writings that represented a number of colonial tropes, particularly in the treatment of race. The protagonist in Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838), is able to exploit the world within or under the South Pole. Poe’s work serves to further the imperialist and colonialist ideas in science fiction.
Colonialism and imperial adventure are some of the themes in science fiction that have made the British Empire a great empire and sustained America’s might worldwide. During the late 19 th century, science fiction came into visibility first in the countries that were most heavily involved in the imperialist projects such as France and England and then gradually gained a foothold in Germany and the United States. Science fiction may have influenced such countries to move and obtain colonies and gain imperial conquests. Allusions to colonial history and situations were some of the ubiquitous features of science fiction motifs and plots during the time. This indicates that science fiction deals with the questions of exploration, expansion, exploitation and control. Imperial powers seek to maintain national power at the expense of other countries through methods of governance at a distance. It can be deduced that science fiction not only reflects imperial ideology, but it is also a product of it.
Some of the more recent science fiction has played a significant role in fostering Euro-American expansionism. In the science fiction movie Star Trek: The Next Generation shows the crew of the Enterprise singing the rather militant imperial drinking song Heart of Oak . The song serves to emphasize the superiority of Britain as one of the greatest powers on the planet. Star Trek scripted an intergalactic competition between a peace-loving federation and a war mongering empire. The federation represented the United States and its NATO allies with the empire representing the USSR and its Eastern Bloc satellites. The representation of place, space and people, particularly through allegory, serves as a form of propaganda or some form of ideological pedagogy. Star Trek serves to further American imperialism by portraying it as a peace loving power. Additionally, Ronald Moore’s Battlestar Galactica is a science fiction about religion, ethics, and politics of the protagonists who explore uncharted space in the lookout for the ‘Promised Land’. This echoes the colonial voyages of America’s first pilgrim settlers
