Offred frequently recalls the “time before” when it “wasn’t safe to go jogging at night, answer the door even to a policeman or leave doors and windows unlocked”, which readers of this era can relate to, yet the absurdity of the regime is incomprehensible. The ‘Aunts’ frequently reiterate that Gilead creates ‘Freedom from’ the societal ills that took place in the time before that Offred talks about, rather than ‘Freedom to’, in order to control the handmaids. This technique of rhetoric speech and constant statements is used specifically through the Aunts as they are ideally known as maternal and caring adult figures in girls’ lives, ironically however, they are the opposite in this novel. This is evident when she writes;
“All Flesh is weak.”
“Men are sex machines.”
“Think of yourself as seeds”
This direct, assertive speech and use of short sentences collectively serve as a form of indoctrination – fooling many of the handmaids into believing that what they are doing is valued and the lifestyle is justifiably necessary. This is important for the Government, as if the handmaids respect what they are doing, and believe themselves to be of in a “position of honour”; they are less likely to rebel.
From the very onset of the novel, the theme of control is made apparent. The handmaids sleep in “…army cots that had been set up in rows, with spaces between so we could not talk”. The description creates imagery of a regimented, military style existence. Gilead upholds thought control by disallowing communication. Predictably, people rebel against this as human life would not exist in the absence of contact. Other than the lip reading, whispers and meetings in the toilets at the Red Centre, other moments of rebellion include when Offred talks to the Marthas and tells of how she “used to despise such talk. Now I long for it. At least it was talk. An exchange, of sorts.” The regime seeks to completely render them of all human rights by creating prescribed greetings, “Blessed be the fruit” and even prescribe farewells, “Under His Eye”. These established religious terms draw on Christianity as a way of using religion and faith to maintain control. This factor of the novel presents a literary parallel to the Newspeak engineered in ‘1984’ to also remove even the possibility of rebellious thoughts. These words that may provoke such thoughts have been eliminated through Newspeak dictation, whereas speaking is virtually forbidden in Gilead. This has been arranged by the regime to result in a loss of contact, bonds and friendships as with the lack of security provided by these, members of society are left isolated and therefore less likely to rebel. The use of capital letters is intended for two effects; it firstly portrays the importance of the Government, but also the implied constant presence of being watched and followed. However, we can see that this does not always prove effective when Ofglen breaks these rules;
“It’s a beautiful May day,” Ofglen says. I feel rather than see her head turn towards me, waiting for a reply.”
The idea of pairing up the handmaids in order for them to observe each other’s behaviour backfires on the state as, although it does restrict and delay most conversation, it also undeniably instigates rebellion. Nevertheless, Offred is still being psychologically controlled, as unlike people who are completely rebelling, she doesn’t turn her head to engage in or pursue the conversation by creating eye contact. The regime forbids all forms of reading and use mass propaganda and censorship, i.e. the limited and unreliable information they receive about the war, controlling any opportunity for thoughts concerning events outside Gilead. This is reinforced by their obliteration of the handmaids’ past by re-presenting, ignoring or destroying details.
A significant example of the state’s desire to control every aspect of life is the head dress that the handmaids have to wear. ‘…the white wings that frame my face” are similar to that of a nun’s religious habit, which outlines the irony, as the handmaids are committing adultery among other sins, but also exposes the hypocrisy of the Government. They also serve a double purpose;
“to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen.”
By preventing men from looking at them and restricting their vision, desire is averted and the potentiality of rebellious acts of romance or lust is less likely. The handmaids are also dressed in cloaks of red, like “A Sister, dipped in blood”. This imagery connotes the contrast between religion vs. sin, their purpose of fertility and the danger of death if they fail to conceive and ultimately life vs. death. Different colours and variations of clothes are used to construct a Marxist style society into a strict hierarchy, classifying women according to their functions and status – Aunts, Wives, Handmaids, Marthas, Econowives – all roles with the intention of supporting a patriarchal state. Although men are also classified, they are rewarded for compliance and can become higher in the system, unlike women. The system is contrived to outline not only Atwood’s feminist values, but also her concern for basic human rights. The regime maintains control of all citizens, both men and women, by stripping them of their individuality, yet making them identifiable as groups, leaving them vulnerable and less likely to rebel.
The misconception that men are superior to women is a key factor of Gilead’s ideology and aspects of the Bible, partially taken out of context, altered or changed completely, are used as a means of validating their practices. For example, the use of the extract from Genesis is the basis for the idea of handmaids.
“And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her;
and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have
children by her.”
Similarly to Puritanism, the leaders of Gilead take this literally; physically relaying the event, as seen in the description Offred gives of her monthly Ceremony;
“…Serena Joy is arranged, outspread. Her legs apart, I lie between them, my head on her
stomach, her pubic bone under the base of my skull, her thighs on either side of me.”
Offred’s crudely describes the intercourse as the Commander “fucking” the “lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because this is not what he is doing” showing that control evidently overrules rebellion in this novel as, though all participants involved despise what they are doing, they still do it.
Throughout the novel, Atwood uses a very limited amount of dialogue to serve the purpose of portraying its absence, and even when used, conversation is minimal and dull. “Prayvaganzas” and “Salvagings” are terms created specifically to define and somehow excuse the sadistic rituals the Gileadean state operates and are constructed by Atwood to sound ludicrous in order to undermine the Government. The violence that the state induces are evident throughout, first seen in the brutal beatings of women caught resisting control in the Red Centre and are all made public for the same reason the Wall and the colonies are – to instil fear in people. These punishments are intended to remove people who are openly rebelling to the regime but by publicising these acts of ritualised mass executions, they act as deterrents to other rebels forcing them to conform as they see, first hand, the result of resistance. Weapons are openly displayed and are mentioned frequently, showing how often Offred sees them or thinks about them – the Government’s intended effect.
“Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth patrolled; they had electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts… Guns were for the guards…”
These weapons and the idea of the handmaids being “enclosed now by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire” does not however stop the handmaids from rebelling form within this very institution as Offred describes how they “learned to whisper almost without sound…learned to lip-read”.
In place of speech, it is the thoughts, opinions and memories of Offred that Atwood uses to captivate the reader. Coral Ann Howells compares this to Bodily Harm, as ‘another eye-witness account by another ignorant, peripherally involved woman’ but although some of this is true, all the information we receive is from Offred, so she cannot be deemed ‘ignorant’. She is arguably a passively rebellious character but, as thoughts and reading are forbidden, her resistance is just as significant to her freedom as other characters. Offred has her only real source of freedom by re-entering and reminiscing on her past, which takes place in her room. Her memories and breaks in thought are marked by the episodic style of writing and Atwood uses a disjointed structure of the chapters (the chapter of ‘Night’ is predominant throughout) and leaps from one incident to the next, to show how Offred shifts from past to present. The use of first person narrative, lack of punctuation and Offred’s distinctive narrative style allows the reader to connect with Offred on a personal level so that the reader empathises with the effect of control on her thus encouraging her to rebel. Surprisingly, the tone is melancholic rather than nostalgic when thinking about her past, which Atwood has chosen to communicate to the reader the turmoil and emotional pain her memories of a blissful past create. It is easier for her to repress most memories about her mother, Luke and her daughter but there are many moments when she reminisces about all three major characters in her previous life. Although she preserves her memories and mocks Gilead, these thoughts are cut short which plays out the theme of and battle between control and rebellion in her mind. Although these acts are not as heroic as Moira’s escape and refusal to conform, it is just as vital to her survival and sanity.
Though control is executed powerfully and in a magnitude of ways, resistance takes place on many levels in Gilead, from the lesbian separatist, Moira, and stereotypical female victim Janine, who later becomes Ofwarren, to, ironically, the Commander. Although he is presented as having a hand in establishing Gilead and being part of the social elite who benefit, he seems to break more of its rules than most characters. For example, he has numerous secret meetings with Offred in which he allows her to read, use hand cream, play Scrabble and even go to an underground nightclub called Jezebels, in which sex takes place for reasons other than procreation. Atwood uses his character to attack the pretence in politics and corruption that is kept hidden. While the Mayday underground group is the most actively effective form of resistance, there are subtler ways in which characters rebel privately. Early on in the novel, Offred deliberately wiggles her hips for the Angels to see and describes it like “thumbing your nose from behind a fence or teasing a dog with a bone held out of reach”, she steals a daffodil which she hides under her mattress and keeps butter to keep as hand cream. Though they may be overlooked when in Moira’s escape is being compared, they are just as significant as the intentions of Gilead is to completely eliminate independence by reversing all forms of sexual, vain and immoral behaviour. If found out, they are potentially just as dangerous.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ proves that no matter how regimented or thought out rules to control are in any society, there will always be some, if not many, forms of resistance against it.
