Ev: İşleri ve Etkileri

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Zeynep Elife Sunar (Translator)

Feminist araştırmalar bir yandan kadınların ev idaresindeki payına yönelik çalışmaları sürdürürken diğer yandan kadın kültürünü merkezi, güçlü ve inşa edici vesikalar olarak ortaya koymaktadır. Felsefesini, kadınların sosyal statüsünün ekonomik temeli üzerine inşa eden Gilman da bu meseleye; toplumsal ilerlemenin, ev dışında tamamen erkekler tarafından sağlandığına yönelik eleştirisiyle müdahil oluyor. Kadının ev yaşamından özgürleşmesi yalnızca bir eşitlik mücadelesi değil aynı zamanda evin savurganlığı ve verimsizliği nedeniyle bir tür zihniyet meselesi olarak gündeme getirilmelidir. Kadının evdeki yeri, bu yüzyılda da çok az değişmişken, gündelik yaşamdaki erkek formlarını yeniden tasarlayarak tüm insanlığa uygun hâle getirmeye çalışan Gilman’ın ev teorisi ve meydan okuyuşu şu soruda kendini bulur: “Ev mi dünyamız olsun yoksa dünya mı evimiz?”

Genres: Feminism, Labor, Gender, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1903

About the author

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), also known as Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist during a time when her accomplishments were exceptional for women, and she served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. Her best remembered work today is her semi-autobiographical short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper", which she wrote after a severe bout of post-partum depression.

She was the daughter of Frederic B. Perkins.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like Gilman’s point in this book was to inspire women to apply their strengths and feminine attributes to heal their communities and thereby the world. However, her views and her approach are skewed. The biggest problem is that while she proclaims the strength of the home, she takes it to pieces and tries to debunk most of all that is good about it. It’s like she only wants to use the home only for the purpose of rest and then to go out into the world again. But if there is no one at home to cultivate those feelings that provide rest, then home is not really home. It’s not the same to go to your dorm room to rest as it is to go home for the Thanksgiving weekend to have Mom take care of you and welcome you with open arms. It requires the family bonds, the selfish service by both father and mother; it includes the memories and the established ties that are forged through trial, error, and sanctification. This is what home is.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old SDMB recommendation - got it via ILL from IU Indianapolis.

Written in 1903 - Gilman considers the domestic situation of most women to be the the single worst thing to have happened to human society since Cain & Abel. Women's skills - child care & to a lesser extent, food prep - are not exposed to the same developmental process as other industries, where specialization and competition lead to progress. Therefore the average woman performs them poorly. Women who are not challenged to grow and expand their skills are a drag on society. The stereotype of women changing their mind comes from their daily exposure to multitasking.
And so on and so forth.

Gilman comes off very sanctimonious (in a secular way) and very dismissive of "primitive societies" (i.e. non-European). Her black and white views of society and class made for frustrating reading at times. However, she has some very interesting turns of phrase, and some of what she has predicted has come to pass.

Overall, this book is a fascinating look at women's place in society and some radical approaches towards solving what Gilman considers as problems.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a fascinating read. Gilman lays out some good points, though I don't always agree with her conclusions. This is amazingly forward-thinking for the time it was written.