Feminine Power In Gilead

nation, Gilead, that has completely obliterated feminist progress. In Gilead, women have no decision-making power; they are merely objects. Even though the disparity between the sexes was not so wide in Atwood’s time, Gilead is still representative of a possible future for society. Atwood uses the motifs of color and nomenclature found in the fictitious nation of Gilead to make a connection to society, and prove that society forces both women and men to have feminine and masculine power respectively

“better never means better for everyone [...] it always means worse, for some” (Atwood, 244). This accurately describes the nature of patriarchal societies, such as the society that is described by Margaret Atwood in The Handmaid’s Tale. The Republic of Gilead is a patriarchal society that has religious, and patriarchal values that benefit the men in the society, at the expenses of the women of the society. Atwood also develops the oppressive nature of the society through the use of her stylistic choices

color to a greater extent, to connect and insinuate rather than simply describe, thus using color to her advantage. Clothing is really the most significant use of color in the novel. Within the post-modern, highly structured and totalitarian regime of Gilead, men are divided into soldierly ranks with uniforms, while the women are instead grouped by their social status. Each of these separate social castes identify with a color. The wives of the Commanders don opulent blue dresses - the Marthas, or servants

establishment of the Republic of Gilead, which projects strict christian polices, addresses the restriction of freedoms from women. This restriction can be shown through the recurring presence of the color red, which constructs an association between femininity and violence. The color red signifies pain, violence and fear. Yet, the undeniable expression of red in“The Handmaid’s Tale,” highlights the inferior circumstances of the women suffering in this male-dominated Gilead society. In comparison, Octavia

Tale describes a Christian society in the Republic of Gilead whereby the lives of women are controlled and governed by men. In this society, power is concentrated in the hands of certain religious extremist men and thus, leading to the restriction of women freedom. Offred, a leading character in the novel, describes the lifestyle of people living in the Republic of Gilead. Additionally, she portrays the political situation in the Republic of Gilead prior to the installation of the new Christian government

totalitarianism. Taking place in a new and improved America the government of Gilead strips less fortunate women of their freedom, to be subjected to make babies for the rich. With the use of literary devices such as symbolism, repetition and character development. Atwood is able to address important social challenges our society is facing today like feminism religious influence and forming your own identity. The Republic of Gilead, although a prediction of the future resorts to old traditional measures

One of the most important themes in this novel is power. The society of Gilead restructures the meaning of words to establish power. Gilead’s new vocabulary reinforces a totalitarian regime by using language to regulate the words and ideas that people can express, similar to linguistic determinism. In Eleanor Rosch’s (1974) article of Linguistic relativity, she identified both a strong and weak version of the linguistic relativity hypotheses, a degree in which language is presumed to influence our

aspects of power, including personal, authoritative and feminine power. The attainment of an individual’s personal power can have consequent impacts on other individuals. Dominant individuals in society can express authoritative power over those with less by stripping them of their identities in order to empower themselves. Fertility and the ability to procreate equip women with feminine power; however it is this power which dehumanises them. An individual’s attainment of personal power can have consequential

totalitarian regime operating in Gilead was instigated and is controlled by men, the male protagonists in the novel are seen as caring and sympathetic. Although one or two women have become quite close through their ordeal, despite the fact they’ve had no other choice (“We’re used to each other”); the mass majority of women get on uneasily, due to the rituals and social hierarchies that have been prearranged by male rulers. (“The Econowives do not like us”) Status in Gilead is predetermined by

Wicked Women In the dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale penned by Margaret Atwood, Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian state that has replaced the United States of America. The goal of Gilead is to return to traditional values, meaning women as chattel property, censorship, bans on science and technology etc. Due to low reproduction rates, Handmaids are responsible for bearing children for elite households with wives that are unable to have children. Ceremonies are held