The Role Of Women In The Handmaid's Tale

In “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Margaret Atwood exaggerates the situations that people are facing in present time. In this novel, Margaret created a world named Gilead that seems to have rules and regulations for everybody; but in reality, they are not applied equally. Narrator of this story is a handmaid. Her name is Offred. She shares her experience, that she was brought into a house as a handmaid by the commander to give birth to his child. This novel explores many themes, and one of them is that the world is ruled by people with money and power.

By utilizing first person perspective readers are able to gain a complete understanding on the life of a handmaid while allowing readers to feel countless emotions like sympathy purely for the main protagonist Offred and her peers. In addition, the incorporation of flashbacks as well presenting the story in chronological order allows to create ambiguity, as it makes readers not completely conscious as to why particular characters are classified more than others. Also Atwood creates ambiguity in her novel by fast forwarding into the future and permitting reads to use their own inventiveness to construe the ending of Offred’s story. By making these two elements work together, Atwood efficiently communicates the theme of feminism being overruled in a patriarchal society by merely positioning readers into the mind of a handmaid and persistently utilizing flashbacks to allow readers to comprehend the life and freedom women had before a patriarchal society destroyed all women

Margaret Atwood's novel the Handmaid's Tale takes place in a future dystopian society where women are once more seen as objects possessed by men. All women within the Republic of Gilead, including the main character Offred, either go through intense training to become a quiet, loyal handmaid, or they are sent out to the colonies, which is almost certain death. The intense training leaves many women on edge or feeling empty and Offred is no exception. Throughout the book, it can be seen that Offred uses multiple psychological methods to cope with her situation in society, including creating fictitious scenarios and people, creating small pastimes to help distract herself, receding into memories to distract herself and many more.

Although handmaids were an integral part of society, their role was not looked as desirable by any means. Other women did not want to be in a handmaids position. Offred struggles with integrating and accepting the new laws and customs because she craves normality and power. Offred shares an unusual relationship with her commander. In most homes, the commander and handmaid have little to no interaction, except for their monthly attempt to conceive; Offred’s commander invites her to his chamber nightly, gifts her lotions and magazines, and makes her feel like her old self. She tells herself that she has power over the commander in these visits but she is being bought, and every item has a price, so she sets hers high: normality. As Offred becomes more accustomed to these visits, she craves more “power.” As Offred becomes more accustomed to these visits, she thinks about how she would like to steal something from her commanders chamber; when confronted by off maybe a pen but when asked to steal something of value, of information, she justifies her desire to steal and says its "....a small defiance of rule....like the candy I hoarded, as a

We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it.” In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, Atwood’s character Offred, a handmaid, guides the reader through her life in the Republic of Gilead. Through a strategically-placed sequence of events, accompanied by references to animals and inanimate objects to describe human beings, Atwood sculpts the underlying theme of the fatal potential of passivity to result in the stripping of humanity. First and foremost, Atwood incorporates a series of flashbacks of a pre-Gilead era in order

In the novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Margaret Atwood tells of hardships endured by Offred, a young woman, whose only task in life is to bear children. In this dystopian world, the government has fallen, the world is plagued in toxins, and the population has substantially dropped due to infertility and the unhealthy environment, individuals are grouped into classes based on their bodies and its functions, completely disregarding education or personality. The novel is told through Offred’s point of view, a handmaid, who is pretty much given to commanders to have children. Ultimately, stripping individuals of their identity lead to rebellious actions as shown through those of the men in Gilead. In the novel the men are seen as if the new society

The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a dystopia, Gilead, where women are reduced to nothing more than Handmaids (surrogates), Marthas (maids), and Wives (housewives). Within their new social caste, the women are only allowed to do the single task assigned to them. Women with jobs, an education, and choices are a thing of the past. The laws in this society are designed to protect women yet in order to do so they are stripped of their rights. In this passage, the narrator, Offred, reminisce the days when she was more than a walking uterus. Her sense of self-worth in the Gilead is dissolving as she compares her current worth to what she had before. This passage makes her question whether the Gilead’s laws, though misguided as they may be, are truly in her best interest or their own. She is trying to see how putting women on a pedestal results with their

The way you relate Freidan’s work, “The Problem with No Name” to the novel is very interesting. From our previous class discussion, we learned that “The Problem with No Name” is about the similar problems of stay-at-home housewives. The lives of these women were only confined to their houses. They have no other career outside home, which caused them to feel unhappy. Women in The Handmaid’s Tale are placed into different categories, which include Wives, Econowives, Marthas, Handmaids, and Unwomen. These women previously have freedom, but was easily taken away from them by the new regime. Now, they are also confined in restricted roles based on their specific categories. As what you have said, Offred’s job as a handmaid would not give her any

governed by men. The novel is based on a futuristic time period where women are restricted

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.

Prior to the making of this podcast, the group members discussed their views on the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by internationally recognized Feminist and literary laureate Margaret Atwood. In doing so, they realized that there were staunch differences regarding their interpretations of Feminist ideology. Such inconsistencies prompted them to hear different female perspectives about the question “What is feminism?”, especially in comparison to their strictly male perspectives. In order to remove any perceived bias towards or against the Feminist doctrine, the group asked a multitude of women to analyse variance in their perceptions of feminism. In doing so, the group members sought information on such

The Handmaid’s Tale is a highly acclaimed dystopian novel that is based on the premise of a world in which a totalitarian theocracy has replaced the United States of America, turning it into the Republic of Gilead. In this tyrannical new society, the population is rapidly decreasing due to the toxic environment, and consequentially, the ability to produce viable babies has become a coveted ability. Women that are able to bear children are indoctrinated into becoming Handmaids, and are assigned to the households of elite couples that have trouble conceiving. Written by the illustrious Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale follows the narrative of Offred, a Handmaid selected to serve the Commander and his wife, Serena Joy. Throughout the

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.

Offred, asserted the role of a heroine, through the power of language and self contemplation. Although, in the dystopian regime that she lived in had virtually cut off all free-will for women; Offred, eventually learned that there was an underground effort to restore the lives of women in her society. This was a novel about the shape and struggle for progress, which is always a constant crucible, and always will be, no matter what the circumstances are. Offred, begun to form new power relations with figures of the authority. Her relationships slowly gained a influence over a few men in her society; in consideration, this was an effort of progress, and a heroic effort; even though, there was very little personal control in her own life. (Weiss, 2009. P.121). The main power relationships were between the Commanders, over the Handmaids; men over women, as well as power structures that were installed between all the women in the state of Gilead; due to their class statuses, this effectively constructed a multilayered, bureaucratic, theocracy that entrapped the citizens that lived inside of it. The women in the society were meant to hate each other, in order to be more effective, as well eliminate social movements; there was no sense of individuality that was inscribed in between the women, they were homogenous and treated as if they were a commodity:

As well as being suppressed, the women in The Handmaid’s Tale struggle to grasp their identities. Forced to dress the same, talk the same, and act the same, Offred has trouble remembering who she was before the revolution. She is surrounded by people making sure she doesn’t step out of line. Offred is tasked with walking town to run errands but “[she isn’t] allowed to go there except in twos. Supposedly for [her] protection, but the truth