However, the importance of Offred’s real name in the redevelopment of her sense of self is accurately demonstrated when she tells Nick, “I tell him my real name, and feel that therefore I am known.” Offred’s real name is extremely personal to her, before she felt as if she was simply a Handmaid with no other identity but once she tells Nick her real name she feels as if she is telling him who she really is, apart from the regime.
Atwood also uses the character of Nick as a literary tool to develop Offred’s sense of self, through the development of her sexual identity. Nick becomes a recurring theme, representing masculinity; he is described as having forearms which are, “tanned but with a stipple of dark hairs”, whereas Offred imagines that the Commander has a,”white, tufted raw body”which makes him sound like the absolute opposite of Nick, undesirable and unattractive; and subconsciously Offred rejects him showing that she still has the power to chose who she falls in love with or feels emotion towards.
Offred’s emotions are unique to her and therefore define part of her identity; during the conception ceremony Offred’s narrative includes very little emotion and her tone is detached,” One detaches oneself. One describes”. By referring to ‘one’ in general and not specifically to herself shows how Offred is using denial as a defence mechanism to avoid the shameful truth that she is actually having sex with the Commander; she even says, “what he is fucking is the lower part of my body”.Atwood uses this detached tone to illustrate how Offred has become accustomed to how her body has been violated, but the expletive, “fucking” shows that she does not agree with it and is angry at this violation. She wants the reader to understand that throughout all this, Offred is trying to retain her sense of self and is still ‘herself’ in her mind.
In contrast, Offred’s forbidden sexual relationship with Nick is a loving relationship which creates a parallel with the similar forbidden relationship she had with Luke, before the regime. Offred used to view herself as Luke’s lover, then eventually his wife, these were roles that were important to her and roles that she attributed to her identity, “Can I be blamed for wanting a real body to put my arms around? Without it I too am disembodied.” The rhetorical question shows how confused and alone Offred feels and the word, “disembodied” highlights Offred’s need to feel loved in a physical relationship because she defines herself through her interaction with others, but in the dystopian society in which she lives this social and emotional interaction has been removed.
When Offred finally does sleep with Nick he becomes a substitute for Luke, “I went back to Nick. Time after time on my own, without Serena knowing”. Atwood uses short sentences to give the reader a blunt and concise account of what happened; the fact that Offred slept with Nick is irrelevant in comparison to the implications it has. The small, insignificant rebellions Offred has executed throughout the novel come to a climax at this point in the story, where Offred shows that she is willing to sacrifice her life and social standing in an attempt to express her true self. The phrase, “on my own” draws attention to Offred’s new found confidence and independence and the fact that Serena does not know about it symbolises her freedom from the regime.
Atwood uses personal pronouns, “I tell, therefore, you are”, which enables Offred to personalise the listener/reader whom she is narrating to. Her references to the unidentified, “you” is ironic, because in a way she is talking to herself, about herself. She is becoming introspective and generates a sense of self pity through creating this other person. Atwood is trying to make the reader feel included in the novel; she is also giving Offred a way of coping with her loneliness and isolation.
This notion supports Helene Cixous’ belief that, “By writing her self, woman will return to the body which has been more than confiscated from her.” By telling her story Offred portraits a part of her personality and therefore, a part of her identity in her story, and because she cannot freely express her personality in the society in which she lives, she resorts to living in the memories of her nameless audience.
Offred’s storytelling also supports Mallik’s opinion that Atwood includes, “basic victim positions” in her novel, because she tells her story to her ‘audience’ in order to regain a part of her identity which she realises has been taken away from her; and as the novel progresses she becomes more willing to rebel to reclaim it.
Atwood uses the narrative tone to reflect the emotional state of the narrator. At the beginning of the novel Offred is confused, “like a sleepwalker conceiving disjointed perceptions of its surroundings,” but by the end of the novel, “the narrative voice assumes a fully engaged emotional tone” which reflects Offred’s emotional development, and mirrors how she is no longer a passive entity but an active woman who is willing to fight for what she wants.
Word Count
1,461
Bibliography
Atwood, Margaret. (1986). The Handmaid’s Tale. Vintage Books, UK. (1996).
Orwell, George. (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four. (Modern Classics edition). Penguin Books, UK. (1987).
www.bianys.org/learnet/tutorials/sense-of-self-personal-identity
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/LIFESTYLE01/711200311/1031/lifestyle01
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 24, Page 156.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 24, Page 155.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 5, Page 39.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 5, Page 39.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 4, Page 28. The word, “nondescript” in one way is fitting, because their red dresses make the Handmaids look identical, with no individual features or personalities but it could also been seen as inappropriate, because “nondescript” suggests that the Handmaids lack outstanding features which in a way, they don’t because their red dresses make them stand out, and identify them as Handmaids.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 2, Page 18. Atwood dresses the Handmaids in red because it is bright, highlighting their situation as ‘marked’ women, who are distinguished by their conspicuous attire. In addition, its connotations with blood and death relate to the constant fear that the Handmaid’s live in. Similarly to Julia in 1984 who says, “Everybody always confesses. You can’t help it. They torture you” (Nineteen Eighty Four. Chapter11, page 173); Offred admits, “I’ll say anything they like, I’ll incriminate anyone […] I’ll confess to any crime” (The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 44, page 297). Both Orwell and Atwood portrait dystopian societies where the inhabitants’ fear of death, at the hands of the regime, is greater than their desire to rebel. Both Julia and Offred would like to freely express their personal identities but have developed enough understanding of themselves, to recognise that in reality they are scared and it is this fear that the regimes have created that holds them back.
The fact that the regime instils such fear in Offred, and they even control what she wears, gives the reader a deeper understanding of the extent of the regime’s power. This helps them to empathize with Offred’s struggle to regain her sense of self from this omnipotent government. They can begin to understand that Offred must keep her memories alive, in order to remember her ‘self’; without these memories her identity would surely be consumed by the regime.
Woman and the Other (1949) Simone de Beauvoir
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 14, Page 94.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 14, Page 94.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 41, Page 282.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 4, Page 27.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter16, Page 106
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter16, Page 106
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter16, Page 104
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter18, Page 113.
The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter 41, Page 280.
The Laugh of the Medusa, (1976) Helene Cixous.
Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and the Dystopian Tradition (1987) Mallik. Being a ‘basic victim’ is to, “acknowledge being a victim but refuse to accept the assumption that the role is inevitable”. Like Offred, Winston (in 1984) also takes the ‘basic victim position’ by writing his story as a diary to a nameless reader. He knows that he is under the ever-present eye of ‘Big Brother’ and,”if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death” (Nineteen Eighty-Four. Chapter 1, page 8). Nevertheless, Winston is compelled to write his story and rebel against ‘Newspeak’ by writing, “the interminable restless monologue that had been running inside his head”.
Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and the Dystopian Tradition (1987) Mallik.