Sultana's Dream Essay Questions

What are some of the "progressive" concepts or ideals that can be found in Ladyland? How do they contrast with Sultana's real life in patriarchal Calcutta?

One of Ladyland's most "progressive" features is its incorporation of technology into society and daily life. The women, after receiving an education—something that would be otherwise inaccessible to them under patriarchal rule, where they would instead be relegated to zenanas and forced to practice purdah—are able to transform society in a variety of ways using the technological knowledge that they develop. For example, in Ladyland, there are no deaths due to vehicular or public transportation accidents. Instead of driving cars, the women harness solar energy in order to fuel flying cars, which Sister Sara uses to transport Sultana around Ladyland. The flying cars eliminate the need for dangerous roads and create a safe mode of transportation. Sultana is highly impressed with the flying cars, since at her home in Calcutta, cars pollute the streets and create dirt, noise, and dangerous chaos. The Queen's progressive stance towards education facilitates the development of technological advancements like flying cars, which in turn make Ladyland a safer, more peaceful country compared to Calcutta (where men are still integrated into society and limit women's access to education).

How does Sister Sara use metaphors as a rhetorical strategy to illustrate the dangers that men pose to society and the inequalities between men and women?

When describing Ladyland's formation to Sultana, Sister Sara uses multiple metaphors to justify why men should be kept separate from women. She compares men to lunatics in an asylum in order to illustrate the irrational, unpredictable risk that men pose to society. Like "lunatics," men cannot be trusted to control their behavior—a comparison that Sister Sara makes in order to show Sultana how logical it is to imprison the men, since even Sultana herself is terrified of taking a walk when men are present. Another metaphor that Sister Sara uses is that of the lion's strength. Even though the lion is stronger than the man, she explains to Sultana, man does not let the lion dominate him. Likewise, despite the fact that men may be physically stronger than women (as Sister Sara states), women should not let men dominate them, and therefore it is acceptable for women to imprison the men in mardanas in order to free themselves of male oppression and the risk that men pose to society. Through metaphors, Sister Sara is able to help Sultana understand the various ways in which gender inequalities have oppressed women in the past and how the women in Ladyland have upended these expectations in order to create a feminist utopia.

"Sultana's Dream" is often described as depicting a "feminist utopia." How does the story explore the idea of a "feminist utopia" in Ladyland? Is there any part of it that contradicts this idea?

In many ways, Ladyland can be defined as a feminist utopia. It is a country ruled by women where women's agency, rights, and progress are prioritized. Women experience no physical threats from men and are able to access education, which then allows them to further their intellectual projects. This unprecedented access to education is what allows the women to transform Ladyland into a futuristic "utopia": a seemingly perfect society where crime, violence, and disease have been eliminated by technological advancements like flying cars, solar power, and weather-controlling balloons. However, despite Ladyland's progressive nature, its attitude towards sex and women's sexual liberations remains staunchly in favor of purity. Where contemporary and third-wave feminism often emphasize the importance of women's bodily autonomy, allowing women to make their own choices in regards to sexual habits and preferences, in "Sultana's Dream," the women in Ladyland still prioritize a culture that focuses on abstinence and purity.