Summary
Sultana and Sister Sara arrive at Sister Sara’s house, which is framed by a beautiful garden. Sultana is in awe at how much nicer Sister Sara’s house is than the ones that Sultana is familiar with from her own hometown. She is impressed by how neat and well decorated the house is. Sultana and Sister Sara sit down in the garden and Sister Sara brings out a piece of embroidery that she begins to work on.
Sister Sara asks Sultana if she knows how to do needlework, to which Sultana responds that she does, since she has nothing else to do in the zenana. Sister Sara laughs, exclaiming that they would never let the men in the zenanas do needlework, since they don’t have enough patience. Sultana is impressed by the number of embroidered cloths that Sister Sara has produced and cannot understand how Sister Sara manages to do all of her office work—the work that is typically done by men‚along with her embroidery.
Sister Sara explains that she can complete all of her office work in only two hours, even though it usually takes men seven hours to do the same amount of work because they waste time smoking and talking. Sultana and Sister Sara continue to talk; Sultana learns that there is no disease in Ladyland, no one gets bitten by mosquitos, and that no one dies in youth, except when there is a rare accident.
Sister Sara invites Sultana to come to her kitchen, which is located in a vegetable garden that Sultana describes as being adorned with plants that are like “ornaments.” The kitchen is clean and bright, and Sister Sara explains that they don’t need to use coal or fire because they cook with solar heat. When Sultana asks how they learned how to harness the sun’s energy, Sister Sara begins to tell her the history of Ladyland.
Sister Sara explains that the present Queen of Ladyland, who inherited the throne when she was thirteen years old, loved science and ruled that all women in her country should receive an education. This decree led to the establishment of government-funded girls’ schools, which in turn triggered the decline of underage marriage and the end of purdah. Universities were established and at one of them, a balloon was invented that could draw water out from the atmosphere. This process stopped rain and storms in the area, which is why Ladyland has no mud and experiences perpetual sunshine. The other university, in response, invented a machine that could collect the sun’s heat and redistribute it as energy.
When the men learned of the women’s scientific achievements, they grew jealous and began to build up their military power. When Sultana asks how the women managed to overcome the men and trap them, Sister Sara explains that the women were able to win by way of their “brains,” not through violence. She states that women’s brains are quicker than men’s brains before telling the story of the war that followed the invention of the two machines. When the Queen’s country refused to take in refugees from another country, the King of this other country declared war upon the Queen’s land. Almost all of the men from the Queen’s country were killed; the women had to come up with an alternate plan to continue the battle.
The women, who were unable to match the men’s military strength, decided to use their brainpower in the war. The leader of one of the universities—the “Lady Principal”—comes up with a plan: to win the war, the women will march out to the battlefield and direct the collected sun heat towards the enemy. Before she agrees to execute the plan, she demands that all the men be taken into zenanas. When the Queen requests that the men go into the zenanas, they agree, as they know that they must agree for the country to win the war. The Lady Principal and the women follow through with their plan and are able to win the war against the other country.
Analysis
The story continues to explore a reversal of gender stereotypes, with Sister Sara contrasting Sultana’s judgments by explaining the lack of patriarchal influence in the society of Ladyland. Sister Sara challenges all of Sultana’s presumptions about gender hierarchies. When Sultana is surprised that Sister Sara can accomplish both her “office” duties—work that would typically be done by men—and her embroidery, Sister Sara laughs and dismisses the notion that men do their work efficiently, instead explaining how much time they waste. Sister Sara is able to accomplish both “men’s” work, like the clerical tasks, alongside her “women’s” work, the embroidery, thus breaking down the notion that there needs to be a separation of duties or that women would be unable to manage a society where they had more responsibilities outside of strictly allotted “women’s” work.
“Sultana’s Dream” is often classified as a science-fiction story for its incorporation of technology that, at the time of its writing, would have been unheard of. The technological advancements that make “Sultana’s Dream” a work of science fiction are instrumental for the setting of Ladyland, which, through the power of technology, becomes an idealized haven. There is no disease in Ladyland; there are no man-male coal and dust fumes, since the women have discovered how to properly harness solar heat and convert it into energy.
By associating Ladyland with innovation and technological advancement, the story frames Ladyland as the land of the future. In Ladyland, where traditional routines like purdah and spaces such as zenana are reversed, society is able to improve and progress at a rate that it previously had been unable to while men were in power. After Sister Sara tells Sultana of Ladyland’s origin, the question that the story is asking becomes clear: what could society be if women had access to education?
The story of how Ladyland came to be is fundamental, as it sets up a clear relationship between women’s access to education and the establishment of Ladyland, a space for female empowerment and freedom. Without the education that the Queen makes accessible for the inhabitants of Ladyland, none of the discoveries that aided the women in the war against the other country and eventually led to their autonomous rule would have been made. The story proposes that it is not only education that is necessary for women, but state-sponsored or instituted education that is accessible.
Within "Sultana’s Dream," it is important to note that gender differences remain in place, but that the narrative is focused on establishing how women were able to overcome their supposed “inferiorities” in comparison with men. While Sister Sara agrees that men are stronger than women, the women who found Ladyland surpass this supposed inferiority by utilizing their brains rather than their physical strength. Using their cunning, the women are able to lure the men into the zenanas and win the war without them, thus freeing themselves of male presence as well as winning the war without using violence.
