Gilead : The Power Of Women In The Handmaid

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.

In Gilead the social relationship that once existed between men and women is a thing of the past. In the former society women had value and felt good about themselves and how they looked. However, in the new society the men have stripped the women of their freedom and equality and lowered them to varying degrees of status. The young healthy women are labeled handmaids and are "issued" (24) by the government to various high-ranking officials in order to offer them the opportunity to create offspring. Getting pregnant is their only hope of survival. Females who are not of childbearing age are called Marthas because their purpose is to work and serve the men. A third category of women is labeled Unwomen because of their worthlessness in this male dominated society. All three categories are divided into colonies to prevent their rebelling against the system. Also, within each colony communication is limited and higher education is denied. In order to enforce this kind of oppressive social structure, the government uses various forms of intimidation.

In The Handmaid’s Tale, the Gilead regime oppresses women in many different ways; they take complete control over their bodies, they

In the republic of Gilead, there are many rules and restrictions within all levels of the community, wives, econowives, common men and handmaid’s included, which limit the goings-on of the people. These rules were all created by the men in charge, going by the name of ‘The sons of Jacob’ and are forcefully implemented by the angels, the male soldiers and ‘protectors’. The roles of those in charge all belong to a

In the Republic of Gilead, children are seen as lawful possessions of wealthy, powerful couples like the Commander and his wife. As such, women called ‘handmaids’ have been reduced to two basic functions, breeding and buying groceries. Moreover, since women are prohibited to vote, write or read, the grocery store labels all of the products

this is Atwood showing the power of the aunts at their most dangerous as they can control a group of people at blow of a whistle and therefore have total power over the handmaids and if they wanted to they may be able to turn on the male oppressors.

Gileadean laws were only intact because of the Aunts’ enforcement. “But whose fault was it? Aunt Helena says, holding up one plump finger. Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison” (Atwood 72). The Aunts try to make the Handmaids believe that any mistake or tragedy that occur to them is their own fault. It is them who “provoke” the situation. There is to be no blame on men. Men are never at fault. This is yet another way men try to be in control. They try to control what women think. They make them suffer. The Aunts force the Handmaids to watch films where women are being beaten, cut, or killed. “Consider the alternatives, said Aunt Lydia. You see what things used to be like? That was what they thought of women, then. Her voice trembled with indignation” (Atwood 118). The Aunts try to scare the Handmaids into believing that because there are no rules to set women straight and no barriers with men, women are treated like gum under a shoe. Again this is just a demonstration of how heinous men set the Aunts to brainwash the Handmaids into believing whatever they wanted them to

Fear is power. Fear is ever-present in Gilead; it is implemented through violence and force. It is through fear that the regime controls the Gileadian society. There is no way Offred, or the other Handmaids can avoid it. What used to be Harvard University, a

The Handmaids Tale is a poetic tale of a woman's survival as a Handmaid in the male dominated Republic of Gilead. Offred portrayed the struggle living as a Handmaid, essentially becoming a walking womb and a slave to mankind. Women throughout Gilead are oppressed because they are seen as "potentially threatening and subversive and therefore require strict control" (Callaway 48). The fear of women rebelling and taking control of society is stopped through acts such as the caste system, the ceremony and the creation of the Handmaids. The Republic of Gilead is surrounded with people being oppressed. In order for the Republic to continue running the way it is, a sense of control needs to be felt by the government. Without control Gilead will

The future lays in past decisions, such as the decision to end segregation, the decision to organize population growth, or the decision to separate blood family. These choices have come from past generations’ failure and future generations’ desires. The Republic of Gilead in Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale must focus on the reproduction of offspring and nothing else. Men and women do not “make love” anymore. They only have sex for reproduction purposes. Every loved one is taken away from them—husbands, children, parents, etc. One right that can never be taken away from them is their opinions. Offred rebels against her government with the use of thought and alliance. She believes she will one day see her husband and daughter again, and while Offred dreams of her family, Aunt Lydia dreams of a world where everyone in the Republic of Gilead “will live in harmony together,” and once rebellion by the suppressed women is stopped and population levels are

of the veil is to conceal and hide women as well as to prevent women

Atwood's focus on sexism shows readers the importance of feminism and equality. For example, on page 72, the author writes, "This week Janine doesn't wait for us to jeer at her. It was my fault, she says. It was my fault. I led them on. I deserved the pain." This quote shows that the women are being conditioned into blaming themselves if something such as sexual assault were to happen to them. It's important because readers should recognize the unjust way of thinking and oppose sexism such as this. Continually, in the novel it says, "Women can't hold property anymore, she said. It's the new law" (178). In the story, when society abruptly changed, women had their rights taken away as displayed in the quote. This illustrates how sexist the society is in the novel and how Atwood believes life would turn out if people were to disregard equality. Finally, the job and treatment of the handmaids throughout the story is very unjust. The handmaids are used for couples who can't have children on their own and must follow strict rules and complete their job or else they face severe consequences. This conveys, yet again, the inhumane way a lot of the women are treated and the wrongs of sexism. Ultimately, this theme of sexism

The laws of Gilead dehumanizes women and takes away their rights as citizens to society. Gilead wasn’t always like that until the revolution overcame the town and took away women's rights. “In Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, women are totally under the control of male members of the patriarchal society; she describes a patriarchal society and reflects the political ideology in America of that time.” Women are downgraded without any authority and control by men. “Women are like birds that are kept in cages to stop them from flying. And the authorities make women believe that this society is very secure for them and they are protected in this way of living. They also make women believe that the new way is a better freedom and God will save them if they follow.” They are taking the laws made by Gilead and comparing

In the Republic of Gilead, Wives are simply wives, they are there for their husbands, whether it means being loyal to them, taking care of their children, and being their cohort. But, when they can’t carry their husband’s descendants, they are assigned a Handmaid, one of the few fertile women able to bear children in the poisonous environment full of toxic waste. This is what happens to the Wives in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Indubitably, some devoted Wives, like Serena Joy, have a tough time adapting to their new lives in Gilead so they decide to put all their anger towards the people around them.

Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood utilizes various elements of fiction to develop and question the concept of power and control in the patriarchal society of Gilead. Offred, the main Handmaid, is the instrument of which Atwood delivers her message about corruption and power. Offred’s vague diction, unreliable characterization, and erratic tone illustrate the distress of this transitional society (Abcarian 1403-1404). In the beginning of Chapter 23, the role of memory in the novel expands, and the readers test the narrator’s creditability. Offred concludes that all of her memories are “reconstructions”, and that she will continue this practice even if she escapes Gilead. She continues to relate fluid memories to forgiveness and forgiveness to an unnaturally complacent and obedient population (Atwood 134-135). Identifying a powerful relationship between memories, forgiveness, and power, Offred suggests that the main source of Gilead’s totalitarian power is the regime’s ability to manipulate its citizens’ will to forgive past transgressions.