''It Beats the Shakers, or, A New Tune'' (1905) is a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

anti-Shaker Anti-Shakerism refers to negative attitudes concerning the Shakers. At their peak in popularity in the first half of the 19th century in the United States, the Shakers had approximately 4,000 to 6,000 members. , the Shakers currently have at least ...

satire by British novelist Anna D. Evans, based around a fictional community of

Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

. In ''It Beats the Shakers'', the birth of daughters is shown as bringing little joy; in response,

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

powers are shown as only allowing men to be born on Earth. Once this all-male generation hits biological maturity, the same supernatural powers bring the men women from

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

to act as handmaids, wives and companions. The men abuse their wives through neglect,

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

and exploitation. They are forced to do

domestic labor A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

, unpaid work in family businesses, and take the full financial burden for household care. In disgust, the women return to Venus with their daughters and leave the Earth a solely male planet. The novel then concluded apocalyptically with the

Day of Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

and the establishment of a

New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the c ...

on Earth which is inclusive of women.Albinski, Nan Bowman
"Utopia Reconsidered: Women Novelists and Nineteenth-Century Utopian Visions"
Signs, vol. 13, no. 4, 1988, pp. 830–834. JSTOR.

Analysis

''It Beats the Shakers'' criticizes the Shaker belief in

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...

and

separate spheres Terms such as separate spheres and domestic–public dichotomy refer to a social phenomenon within modern societies that feature, to some degree, an empirical separation between a domestic or private sphere and a public or social sphere. This o ...

for women, arguing that only through a radical change will men no longer treat their wives as their chattel. According to Nan Albinski, Evans' view is that while separate spheres may offer "a healthy alternative for women", "it is too limited to be fully effective. If adopted less than universally, men outside the communities will continue to preach self-sacrifice and subordination to the women around them". If adopted universally, it would bring about the end of humanity.

Influences

Many contemporaries of Evans (such as Eva Wilder Brodhead in ''Diana's Livery'', 1861) wrote critical novels on the nascent

, focusing on the role of women in the movement, although Evans goes further than them in her criticism of the movement. Evans claims she was unaware of her contemporaries' interest in the movement.

References

1905 British novels Feminist novels {{1900s-novel-stub