Moving the Mountain

Moving the Mountain is a utopian novel that presents Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s vision of a radically reformed American society based on social cooperation, gender equality, and rational organization. The story follows John Robertson, a young man who awakens after a thirty-year sleep to discover that the United States has been transformed. Crime, poverty, pollution, and social inequality have largely been eliminated through intelligent planning and collective responsibility.

John is guided through this new world by his sister Nellie, who explains the changes in education, labor, family life, and government. Women participate fully in public life, domestic labor is professionalized and shared, and children are raised with an emphasis on health, education, and social responsibility. Individual ambition is redirected toward the common good rather than personal profit.

Unlike traditional utopian fiction filled with dramatic conflict, the novel unfolds through dialogue and explanation, emphasizing ideas rather than plot. Gilman uses the story as a platform to critique early 20th-century capitalism, rigid gender roles, and inefficient social systems.

Moving the Mountain reflects Gilman’s belief that social progress is achievable through reason, cooperation, and conscious reform, offering an optimistic blueprint for a better future.