The Handmaid's Tale Essay

Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, speculates the reconstructed Republic of Gilead as it changes from a commonplace, modern society into a closed, dystopic society in which “misogynistic laws and tendencies are responsible for reducing women to the level of objects” (Chadha 33). The handmaids abide by these strict laws and serve their commander, or risk being severely beaten or tortured on parts of their bodies that are not essential to procreation as their female oppressor Aunt Lydia reminds them “for our purposes your feet and your hands are not essential” (91). Offred, the protagonist, details the evolution of society through her memories of the past and the world around her, proving herself an anomaly to the traditional handmaid by exploring her ability to “act as a subversive agent against the oppressive reality created by the Republic of Gilead” (Hogsette 100). Through Offred’s experiences, The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a rife dystopia as Offred challenges the

In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale she explores the concept of a not-so-distant future where toxic chemicals and abuses to the body have left many men and women alike sterile. The main character, Offred, gives the reader a first person account about her submissive life as a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. A republic that was formed after a coup against the U.S. government. She and her fellow handmaids are fertile women that the commanders of Gilead ‘enslave’ to ensure their power and to repopulate their ‘society’. While the laws that govern the people of Gilead seem outlandish and oppressive, they are merely

Margret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in the closely monitored, male dominant area of Gilead where women are deprived of their sexual and human rights, forbidding them to live independently. For many years prior to Gilead’s existence, women were seen as inferior to men and neglected of basic human rights such as voting, career opportunities, and equal salaries. The Republic of Gilead was later introduced following the transition of the United States’ government into a totalitarian leadership style, giving the government complete and all power amongst society. Very similar to the second wave of feminism, where women fought for reproductive rights, women are doing so in this near future setting of Gilead. In the novel, a future is revealed in which female fertility has completely dwindled. Thus, women who are still fertile are labeled “Handmaid’s” and are sent to different upper class commanders for reproduction. With this being said, the fact that only certain women are capable of reproduction forces completion amongst the sex due to the high sexual standards society expects the female gender to meet. The novel follows a Handmaid by the name of Offred, and her fight with sexual repression and exploitation of women within the corrupt Republic of Gilead’s. Atwood takes an alternative method of portraying feminism throughout this novel by writing a stark contrast of feminism, portraying the women within The

“Better never means better for everyone, he says. It always means worse, for some” (Atwood 211). Almost all attempts at a utopia eventually evolve into a dystopia because of the class that ends up being oppressed. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, this is exactly the case, and the oppressed caste is the handmaids. The United States has been transformed into The Republic of Gilead. This change was stimulated by the increase in rape and violence against women, as well as the dropping fertility rates. The story begins with a handmaid named Offred. She has been assigned the job of a handmaid because she is one of the few women who are still fertile. Offred works in the house of the Commander and every month, when she is most fertile, she, the Commander, and his wife take part in the ceremony. If the ceremony is not successful, meaning Offred is not pregnant, within two years she will be transferred to another household. Besides her role in the ceremony, Offred goes on walks with her assigned partner, Ofglen, every day to stay in shape, and get the groceries. Later in the novel the Commander takes Offred to Jezebels, a place for men to find prostitutes and conduct trade with other countries. Serena Joy, the commander’s wife, also encourages Offred to be intimate with Nick, who is a Guardian in the Commander’s household. These two indiscretions make it very dangerous for Offred, and she is sent away with Mayday. This group aims towards protecting women against the

In the novel firing the female workers becomes a must and by doing this the government dehumanizes the women in the Republic of Gilead it is inhumane and misogynistic. This contributes to the destruction of society because, women are a part of society so using radical tactics to make womens role in society insignificant. Although, this isn’t where the sexism ends. Moreover, the women in this novel only exist in relation to men. Everything a woman does is for a man, if a woman is taking care of a Handmaid they are only doing it to take care of her

Women’s Bodies as Political Instruments: Women Used and Abused for the sake of Bearing Children Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, is a set based in Gilead, where religious conservatives have taken over. Their belief is that birthrates in Gilead are declining due to the women and their infertility. In Gilead, “There is no such thing as a sterile man anymore, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren, that’s the law” (Atwood 61).

In Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaids Tale’, we hear a transcribed account of one womans posting ‘Offred’ in the Republic of Gilead. A society based around Biblical philosophies as a way to validate inhumane state practises. In a society of declining birth rates, fertile women are chosen to become Handmaids, walking incubators, whose role in life is to reproduce for barren wives of commanders. Older women, gay men, and barren Handmaids are sent to the colonies to clean toxic waste.

In the fictional Gilead, the government expects women to remain the faceless, uneducated, and law-abiding property of a vaguely defined and incredibly powerful government, forcing some women to be Handmaids to fulfil the child-bearing function of society. Although Offred prefers the “freedom of” speech, marriage, dress, and movement given to her in America over the “freedom from” rape, pornography, and extinction that Gilead supposedly provides her, she fails to advocate on behalf of her own beliefs.

After analyzing The Handmaids Tale, which was inspired by a trip to Afghanistan in the 1970s, there is no doubt that religious extremism and sexual oppression had a significant role in the destruction of many lives. Offred, the narrator and the main character, was in denial throughout the novel about her past life where she had freedom. In the religiously strict society known as Gilead, is where Offred meets other women in the same spot as her which helps her stay focused on staying alive. Although some women fell under the influence of an extremist society, most women believed not having to be under control was a better lifestyle.

In her renowned, dystopian feminist novel The Handmaid’s Tale, author Margaret Atwood illustrates a world where women are worthless as if they are pieces of thrash, infertility prominently exists, and The Republic of Gilead (where a group of Christians rule the state). In chapter 46, Offred waits for a van to take her to which is deemed to be a secret brothel, and Nick tells her that they are getting her out of Gilead. This scene explains how men manipulate women’s thoughts into thinking that they would be set free and would be given the same rights as men; however, the reverse would occur.

Predictably, the main proponents of this authoritarian government were those who benefited the most from its ruthless subjugation of women. Namely, men acquired a far greater status in society, as the Republic of Gilead was built on a caste system that placed them at the top of the hierarchy. The regime viewed women as the lesser sex, believing them to be more prone to weakness of character and sin—an outlook only reinforced by their warped interpretation of certain biblical teachings. Still, the government claimed its restrictive policies were implemented not out of any particular bias towards women, but in an attempt to protect them from the cruelties of the world: “I remember the rules, rules that were never spelled out but that every woman knew: Don’t open your door to a stranger, even if he says he is the

With all the disgust for this government, one must admit their exceptional understanding of the basic human psychology. Another thing is that as the main idea of Gilead is childbirth, and, in spite of this, women are treated only as pieces of meat with wombs and ovaries. This is kind of weird, accounting on the fact that the main idea of this world cannot possibly survive without healthy women. In a way, Gilead is a “culture of women”, simply not the most pleasant one.

These rights that women fought for were eventually given to them. But in Gilead, all these rights were stripped away. Women were not allowed to hold any power and were under control of men. They were also not allowed to anything unless told to, they had no choice in what clothes they wore, but they also were not allowed to have an education. Gilead had some aspects of feminism but to an extreme. Women wanted to be safe, be able to walk around at night without fearing the possibility of getting raped, and also be less sexually exploited. In The Handmaid’s Tale, there is scene where Offred’s mother is campaigning for women to be able to walk safely at night called “Take back the night”, (put book quote her) showing women’s goal in the book to make society a safer place for women and how Gilead applied this campaign to their government. What the women were fighting for was all granted under Gilead with the ban on pornography and how women are no longer harassed by being kept indoors and making it illegal to have sex with anyone other than your assigned partner. But the downside to all of this is that women are sexually exploited as breeding machines and the “free” women exploit their bodies in nightclubs for elite men and

Women have been domesticated by men since the beginning of time. This role was given to women changing substantially as the years have gone by. It is still true that today there is a battle for equality of the sexes, and this novel by Margaret Atwood displays the harsh reality we continue to face in this male dominant society. Interestingly enough, this was written and published in the 80s and is still relevant today. Some believe that it is perfectly fine to not have equality amongst all let alone equality for women. Atwood’s use of men gives them power over women but they are not to blame for this mistreatment of the opposite sex. The Handmaid’s Tale gives a clear picture of what could happen to our society if women are continued to be seen as voiceless sex objects. It only takes one person to realize that what is occurring is wrong and it takes men and women both to stop the nonsense. Men in the story like The Commander and Nick realize the wrongness, giving the women some hope. The concern for Offred the Commander displays proves not all men are evil or to blame in Gilead.

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel about a the drastically new world, where women have no right to own property, to work, to love, to read and write. They can not run in the mornings, go out for picnics and parties, they are forbidden to marry for the second time. There is only one function left for them. Offred (the narrator) is a Handmaid. Once a day she can go shopping, but to talk or remember anything is not allowed. Once a month she meets up with his master - The Commander - and prays that their intercourse may bring a healthy child, as in the new world of victorious Christian fundamentalism, Handmaid is only the reproduction object. Generally, this literature masterpiece is a Margaret Atwood’s warning about the future that, may come even tomorrow.