Marriage In The Handmaid's Tale

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.

From the outset of 'The Handmaids Tale' the reader is placed in an unknown world, where the rights and freedom of women have been taken away. We follow the narrative journey of a handmaid, named Offred.

The Handmaid’s Tale is a story told in the voice of Offred, who is the character of the “handmaid”, which is described best by women who are being forced and used for reproduction because they can make babies. In the Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood uses symbolism, which is the use of symbols to represent ideas, to show the reader the handmaid’s role in society of Gilead. The handmaids were women who had broken the law of Gilead, and forced into having sex and reproducing for the higher class. They had no rights and were watched constantly so this created a very nervous atmosphere. This horrible way of living is most likely why Offred never fully made the reader aware of the horrible life she was forced to live because

This enables women not to become rebellious of the system, as you can only become rebellious with the power of language. The handmaids in Gilead are also deprived of their identity, as they are the possessions of the commanders, and so are named after they commanders e.g. “Offred” and “Offglen”. However, the jezebel sequence approaches the roles of women in a different manner.

Women in the past were perceived as insignificant because of the society’s inability to embrace and acknowledge women as of equal importance as men and of those who are wealthy. In Margret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, the character by the name of Offred, is a handmaid and tells her perspective of the dystopian life in the community of Gilead. The women of 1985 serve the males and the rich if they are not a wealthy maiden themselves. However, regardless of class, women are always discerned as of lesser significance than men. This is manifested through Offred’s observation that although the women who are a Commander’s wife are entitled of higher authority than the handmaids, they are still seen as insignificant. In order to give them

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood describes the story of Offred, a Handmaid, that is a woman ascribed a breeding function by society, and who is placed with a husband and wife higher up the social ladder who need a child. Through Offred's eyes we explore the rigidity of the theocracy in which she lives, the contradictions in the society they have created, and her attempts to find solace through otherwise trivial things. The heroine is never identified except as Offred, the property of her current Commander, she was a modern woman: college-educated, a wife and a mother when she lost all that due to the change in her society. The novel can be viewed from one perspective as being a feminist depiction of the suppression of a woman, from another

First, it is symbolized by the handmaids' patronymic names. Their names are formed with the possessive preposition, 'of,' and the first name of the 'Commander' for whom they are to bear children (for instance: 'Of-Fred'). The handmaids are moved to a new posting after three attempts to bear child for the 'Commander' and his wife; at each new location, they drop their former name and adopt their new Commander's name. Thus, while the narrator's name is currently Offred, she may later become Ofglen, Ofwaren, or some other such patronym. Like their names, the handmaids have no personal identity and they lack stability; like their names, they are interchangeable and replaceable with each other (LeBihan 102).

In the first example of how a handmaid’s identity is erased is how by removing the handmaid’s name, their personal value as a person is reduced from people into objects. This is demonstrated when Offred says that her “... name isn’t Offred, she has another name, which nobody uses now because it is forbidden” (Atwood 84). The handmaids were stripped of one of the most important parts of their identities: their names. The connotation of the word forbidden, evoke a serious tone that causes the readers to see how much the society wants to do to strip these women of their own individuality. The handmaids are given new names based upon their commanders name: in Offred 's case she is “Of-Fred”. They have no identity without their commander.

Offred, within the novel, is seen as being in one of the lowest classes within the hierarchy of women only putting her above the women who are sent to the colonies. Unlike the handmaids, the Martha, who are helping ladies to the Wives, talk about Offred like she is not in their present but viewed her as “a household chore,one among many”(Atwood 48). Although the Martha are women too, they have more control than Offred. By viewing Offred as a household chore conveys that Offred is an inconvenience but still a necessary part of Gilead. Speaking about Offred like this emphasizes that she is below them in the status of society and they are not seen as equals. In addition, Offred, being a handmaid, wasn’t allow to talk to the Wives in a direct manner (Atwood 14-15). By Offred not being allowed to talk to the Wives illustrates that the Wives authority over the handmaids. Furthermore, the handmaid’s are viewed as less and “[reduced]... to the slavery status of being mere ‘breeders’” (Malak). By conveying the handmaids are slaves shows are they force without consent to have sex with men and that the handmaid focus is to breed, unlike the Martha, aunts, and Wives. Moreover, the class system within the female hierarchy of Gilead is utilized as a political tool thus adding to the assumption

In her book, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Margaret Atwood describes a dystopian society in which all of the progress in the feminist movement that was made during the twentieth century is reversed and the nation is reverted back to its traditional patriarchal ways. The story is told from the point of view of Offred, a woman who was separated from her husband and child and forced into the life of a handmaid. In this book, Atwood explores the oppression of women through her use of literary tools such as figurative language, symbols, and literary allusions.

The Handmaid’s Tale is about Offered as she shares her thoughts and experiences in a journal-like form and provides some advice. Offred is a lower class female who has been taken from her husband and daughter at 5 years old to be a handmaid for the red commander at the red center. The point of this center is to reproduce with the Commander

Throughout the novel, Offred demonstrates unorthodox behavior through her actions and her thoughts. One action that proves she is an unconventional character is when she meets the Commander in his office. Handmaids and Commanders are supposed to have strictly a business relationship. When Offred breaks that code of conduct, her life is left hanging in the balance. Not only did Offred commit this offense once, but multiple times: “The second evening began in the same way as the first. I went to the door, which was closed, knocked on it, was told to come in” (Atwood 155). Once Offred enters the room, the commander and she play games and start to get to know each other. Offred also has many unorthodox thoughts. During Offred’s walks accompanied by Ofglen, they exchange some information about the Underground Femaleroad: “’ It’s a beautiful May Day, ‘ Ofglen says. I feel rather than see her head turn towards me, waiting for a reply” (Atwood 43). Offred replies and she explains that as she sees Ofglen leave, Offred feels as though she is looking in a mirror. Offred and Ofglen are the same person. Offred shares many of her unorthodox activities with the

“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood is a story set in an alternate future in which birth rates have plummeted immensely. In the Republic of Gilead, they seem to have found a solution for this decline in birth rates: handmaids. Handmaids are women who are fertile. They go to houses of wealthy and powerful couples who cannot bear children and have sexual intercourse with the male of the house (also known as the Commander). The problem with this solution is that it is forcing women, such as our narrator Offred, to have sex. When Offred and the Commander have sex, it is during a ritual called the Ceremony. Other than the Ceremony, sex is forbidden. Although, there are still some situations in which it occurs. For instance, at Jezebels, a

Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred recalls her past life before and during the creation of the Republic of

Even though it means never going through that pregnancy phase of her life because her partner is sparse. Even though it means Offred might get killed if the Government found out about all the illegal acts she was perpetuating to insure her husband’s lineage and Offred’s downfall. And even though it means not getting all the attention she might want from her husband since he needs to juggle between two women in one household, nevertheless, she will always be by his side. “Till death do [them] part. It’s final”