Looking Backward Bellamy: Novel Analysis

In 1888, Edward Bellamy published a novel called Looking Backward. This novel was about a 19th century man who accidentally traveled to the future where a utopian society had been created in which all social, economic, and political issues have been resolved. Bellamy uses his main characters to juxtapose the 19th century society to that of the created utopian society in his book. Through this, he identifies the problems he sees in his society and provides solutions to them. At one point in the novel, Bellamy writes about the problems women faced and how in his utopia, all women are happy and completely satisfied with their place in society. If we critique Bellamy’s Looking Backward using the perspective of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a feminist …show more content…
Through the character doctor Leete, Bellamy points out the numerous problems he sees in his own time period. The main problems he points out about women are that women cannot have professional careers, women are greatly dependent upon men, and that women are stuck doing housework and other menial tasks all day. Bellamy identifies that women are not allowed to pursue professional careers, stating the problem to be that “there was no career for women except in an unnatural rivalry with men (Bellamy 86).” While the fact there were no career for women in the professional world was a problem, it is not due to a “rivalry” between women and men being “unnatural”. Unlike men, women are not allowed to hold professional jobs, and few even dream of it, accustomed to the societal norms. Gilman would agree that a main problem is women not being able to work. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the main character points out her sister-in-law “is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession (Gilman 7),” exemplifying the idea women had no hope for better jobs. Bellamy comes from a time in which professional women are rare and unheard of, and his analysis of the problem of women’s career portrays this. In this case, Bellamy incorrectly assessed the problem 19th century women faced, understand women need employment but not fully understanding that women and men could and should be equals in the professional world. Another problem highlighted is that women depend on men to make the money. Doctor Leete states at one point that “The root of her disability, as you say, was her personal dependence upon man (Bellamy 88),” referring to 19th century women as “her”. Women depended on men for their livelihood, and through this the men are able to control the women’s lives. In Gilman’s short story, the main character depends