{"product_id":"unveiling-a-parallel-a-romance-utopianism-and-communitarianism","title":"Unveiling a Parallel: A Romance (Utopianism and Communitarianism)","description":"Written in 1893 by two women from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Unveiling a Parallel is a remarkable precursor of twentieth-century feminist utopian novels like Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland and Marge Piercy's Woman on\nthe Edge of Time. Couched as sentimental romance and utopian fantasy, Jones and Merchant's work satirizes nineteenth-century gender roles and discrimination against women, humorously unveiling the absurdities of socially constructed \"femaleness\" and \"maleness.\"\n\nJourneying to Mars, the novel's nameless male narrator discovers a society where women enjoy equality with men. He meets Elodia, a community leader, who drinks excessively, has lovers, and uses drugs. Her behavior confounds his expectations about women's supposedly pious and pure \"natures\" and reveals that equality, if rooted in a patriarchal culture, is not necessarily a utopian virtue. In contrast, a more perfect state of development has been reached in a second country on Mars, where the narrator learns how unselfishness, nurture, and mutual support can offer viable alternatives to passive, chaste femininity or to greedy, lustful masculinity.\n\nBy imagining a better world in women's terms and in women's language, Jones and Merchant still speak with vital insight to both women and men today.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0815602596\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.0815602596.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Jones, Alice Ilgenfritz|Merchant, Ella\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact  including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43336762032189,"sku":"BVV.0815602596.G","price":16.33,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0589\/4225\/9261\/files\/0815602596-0.jpg?v=1783805517","url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/unveiling-a-parallel-a-romance-utopianism-and-communitarianism","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}