Feminism In The Handmaid's Tale Essay

In today’s news we see many disruptions and inconsistencies in society, and, according to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, humankind might be headed in that direction. The deterioration of society is a concept often explored biologically in novels, but less common, is the effect on everyday social constructs such as the position of women as a item that can be distributed and traded-in for a ‘better’ product. The Handmaid’s Tale elaborates the concept that, as societal discrimination towards women intensifies, gender equality deteriorates and certain aspects of societal freedoms are lost. Offred’s experience with serving Gilead demonstrates a victim’s perspective and shows how the occurring changes develope the Republic.

Paula Hawkins, a well-known British author, once said, “I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.” In Margaret Atwood’s futuristic dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman named Offred feels she is losing control over everything in her life. Offred lives in the Republic of Gilead. A group of fundamentalists create the Republic of Gilead after they murder the President of the United States and members of Congress. The fundamentalists use the power to their advantage and restrict women’s freedom. As a result, each woman is assigned a specific duty to perform in society. Offred’s husband and child are taken away from her and she is now forced to live her life as a Handmaid. Offred’s role in society is to produce a child

THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN ATWOOD’S THE HANDMAID’S TALE AND THEIR WAYS OF RESISTING THE REGIME

According to the dictionary, “feminism” is the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Many stories have been written to denounce the difference between the two sexes. Indeed, one of the main themes of both the The Handmaid’s Tale and The Scarlet Letter is feminism. The Scarlet Letter was a book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 and it tells the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who committed adultery while she was married to a man named Chillingworth. Adultery frowned upon by the Puritans and was harshly punished. On the other hand, The Handmaid’s Tale, the other book is about a dystopian future with the Republic of Gilead. Women are very restricted and have to abide by her Commander with whom she has sex. In both stories, the message of feminism is very important for the reader. Hester is treated as a spectacle who will make her more powerful, while in the Handmaid’s Tale women are seen as objects merely, “baby-making machines.”

Serena Joy is the most powerful female presence in the hierarchy of Gileadean women; she is the central character in the dystopian novel, signifying the foundation for the Gileadean regime. Atwood uses Serena Joy as a symbol for the present dystopian society, justifying why the society of Gilead arose and how its oppression had infiltrated the lives of unsuspecting people.

In Gilead Handmaids are seen as adulterous, harlots and are hated by everyone because of their role, “But the frown isn’t personal: it’s the red dress she disapproves of, and what it stands for.”(pg.19 ) they are especially hated by the wives of commanders.

In The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood constructs a deeply patriarchal society and warns of the dangers of the future if the need for feminism is not presently realised. Most prominently, misogyny in the text can be witnessed in the subhuman treatment of women. Women in Gilead are split into categories based upon their capabilities to serve men (Marthas, Wives, Daughters, Handmaids)

Written in 1985, the dystopian, fictional novel; The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood depicts a totalitarian theocracy society set in the United States of America that covers many facets of being a modern woman in this patriarchal world, that range from domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, to less-involved topics. Though the novel was originally published in the year 1985, its’ explicit scenes draw an eerie image of what the future may look for women following the election of President Donald Trump. Altogether a woman’s socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and educational level affect the probability that she will experience any form of violence throughout her lifetime. One’s socioeconomic status is not always a reliable source to determine

Psychological criticism has roots as far back as the fourth century BC, when Aristotle “commented on the effects of tragedy on an audience, saying hat by evoking pity and fear, tragedy creates a cathartic of those emotions” (Dobie 54). More recently, however, psychological criticism has been shaped and influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud. He developed theories concerning “the workings of the human psyche, its formations, its organization, and its maladies” that, while further refined by other theorists, are still the basis of the modern approach to literary criticism (Dobie 54). Freud’s theory of the tripartite psyche is used to classify and define the conscious and unconscious mind into the id, ego, and superego. When examined using this theory, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian novel about a patriarchal totalitarian government that has replaced the United States of America, is particularly interesting.

Lack of Difference from Women in The Handmaid’s Tale and Women in Modern Day Society

The author gives question and clue for readers by using allegory. When the main character mentions about “Aunts,” and “Angels,” she tells that “No guns though, even they could not trusted with guns.” (4) The word, they, points Aunt in this sentence literally. The aunts are unusual women in the society of this story because they are involved in high-class even if they are the sexually women. When we think about the setting of this story, we can realize the oddity much faster. The setting in the story shows that the women except aunts always lower than men. Moreover they are used as just tools for men. In this point, readers can have curiosity about the situation with why aunts are different with other women and what things make the differences.

I think that some of the women are responsible for their social status and some are victims. Serena Joy, Offred, Moira and ofglen all portray different aspects of the positions mentioned in the text. Of all of them, Serena is the only one I can see that had an active role in the Gilead movement leading up to the coup. It was mentioned that Offred had seen her on TV prior to the coup extolling the virtues of “traditional values” and her position within Gilead leads to speculation that she had at least a peripheral part of the formation and of the establishment of the new order. Her position in the new order, however, is not ideal as she is required to participate in a ceremony where her husband makes love to another woman for the cause.

“There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from,” (Atwood 24). The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, is a novel set in the near future where societal roles have severely changed. The most notable change is that concerning women. Whereas, in the past, women have been gaining rights and earning more “freedom to’s”, the women in the society of The Handmaid’s Tale have “freedom froms”. They have the freedom from being abused and having sexist phrases yelled at them by strangers. While this may seem like a safer society, all of the “safeness” comes at a drastic cost. Atwood depicts a dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale

I am servant, the servant who will escort princess WenLu, the fifteenth daughter of Wei emperor, to her marriage. It will be a long, hard, treacherous journey. Three other servants, the princess and I will set off on horseback across the long, wide, unforgiving desert.

Modern 2017 is highlighted by issues. Sure, we live in the greatest nation in the world, one that provides a limitless multitude of opportunities for anybody who has a dream. However, what many people overlook is the fact that society, as a whole, is more than flawed; looking even beyond the borders of the United States, many nations are a lot less united than titles, mottos, and anthems may suggest. Endless debates about race, religion, and national leadership plague the media and daily lives of those who are involved. Feminism is another one of these issues, one that is upcoming and on the forefront of societal controversy, yet often is left in the vast shadows of other issues. This list includes five texts, texts that prove beneficial in education and the development of knowledge and understanding of the feminist fight. Regardless of a supposed stance, readers should take into consideration the struggles that some of these feminists have endured in order to achieve perhaps the most significant purposes of life: freedom and happiness.