'Discuss Atwood's presentation of Gilead in the first seventy-six pages of the novel'.

Joanna Lowe Page Mrs Hillyard

English Literature

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

‘Discuss Atwood’s presentation of Gilead in the first seventy-six pages of the novel’

The anti-utopian novel, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ tells the futuristic story of Offred, a Handmaid of the oppressive Gileadean regime, a society governed by an elite and characterised by distorted language that refers to Biblical writings. The novel is set around the near-future repressive society of Gilead at war, blocking any form of external influence and using propaganda to further its ideas as a society, ruling by force and restricting individual freedom. The Gileadean regime regards the Church to be of the highest authority, Puritanism being the religious influence. Repressed within this patriarchal society, Offred’s only duty as a Handmaid is to reproduce for the Republic of Gilead.

The dystopian Republic of Gilead is introduced methodically in the opening chapters of the book. Offred provides the reader with small insights to Gilead’s establishment and teachings, through the techniques of flashbacks and references to daily life under the regime. The reader’s initial impressions of the society, within which Offred is living, are intentionally built up progressively as Atwood provides limited material about Gilead. Atwood deliberately allows the Gileadean regime to be introduced slowly but effectively, provoking the reader to grasp for any information about the society by which Offred is held captive. It is through flashbacks and daily rituals within the Commander’s household that the reader learns not only of how Gilead came about but about its violent ethos, limitations and authority.

From what Atwood has indicated, the establishment of Gilead was a gradual one, its approach insidious. The founding of the new republic was slow to begin with, influencing only those who chose to watch the programmes it aired featuring the spiritual leadership of Serena Joy and fellow preachers. As the social morality of the time reached a climax of corruption, more and more people turned to the traditional values for guidance, those particularly held by the Church. The Republic of Gilead firmly established itself as a religious dictatorship, overthrowing the government of the United States of America and segregating the population into a social hierarchy in accordance to gender and duty.

The Republic of Gilead itself has several main aims influencing its ruling ethos, such as knowledge and power for the few, a violent morality towards those opposing Gilead, an increased birth rate and a fundamentalist approach to life under the regime. These aims are based mainly upon the teachings of the Church, as throughout history, the Church has possessed great power and knowledge, religious leaders being the only people with the ability to read or write Latin, and later English. Similarly, Puritanism regards sexual activity only necessary for creating offspring and so limits it to a process to be performed between Handmaids and Commanders, in order to increase the previously declining birth rate in a controlled manner. It has a violent, disciplinary policy towards anyone that dares to oppose the regime. This society living in fear is displayed in Offred’s behaviour after making eye contact with Nick, as she questions his incentive and ponders that he may be an Eye testing her reaction, which leads her to worry that she may be reported and sent to the Colonies. The fact that that simple act of making eye contact with a man causes concern to Offred displays to the reader that within Gilead you never know what people’s intentions are. The return to basic lifestyles is conveyed through the dress, food, religious influence and routine of daily life.

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Although Gilead as a society is only introduced to the reader in chapter four, it is a regime that is manifest in its routine and law. Before the reader is told of the oppressive administration under which Offred is living, it is apparent that there is some sort of governing force, which enforces rules upon its people, acting as a dictatorship. Throughout the novel, there is a huge focus on what Offred as Handmaid is doing in the present tense. However, although this is the dominant narrative style, there are passages in the form of flashbacks and memories that have been dragged up, which help the reader establish some sense as to how the Gileadean regime came about. These flashbacks act as an essential component in not only structuring the novel and providing some form of background for the reader, but that it provides a greater insight into Offred as a character. Not only does the reader know of what she is like living oppressed as a Handmaid, but as readers, we also learn of what she was like in pre-Gileadean times, helping to conjure a better image of Offred as a person, even though the reader never learns her real name.

At the beginning of the novel, there are three epigraphs that provide useful information for the reader in terms of the subject of the novel. The first quotation, the story of Rachel from the Bible, is about the use of a surrogate mother by Rachel in order to have children, an idea on which this novel is based. The quotation provides an indication towards the Biblical prevalence over sexuality adopted by Gilead and also suggests that women are nothing but domestic commodities, their single purpose being to breed. The second quotation is taken from Jonathon Swift’s, A Modest Proposal and is in the form of an appeal where the treatment of women and children as cattle is recommended. By using this quotation, Atwood implies that not only it will relate to the subject of her novel, but indicates her satiric and ironic intentions for the novel. The third and final quotation is that of a Sufi proverb, which states that “In the desert there is no sign that says, Thou shalt not eat stones.” At face value, confusion is provoked, however, it can be interpreted to suggest that human instinct for survival can be trusted and that one must do whatever it takes to survive.

The language used within Gilead, although limited, is of particular interest due to it being of a patriarchal nature and also because of the many Biblical references within it. The entitlement of ‘Gilead’ to the fundamentalist regime is in reference to the Biblical ideal land, providing insight to the founder’s ideology about Gilead, the name itself provoking the conception of a combative state, governed by religious and patriarchal morals. Within Gilead, the Handmaids are denied their identity, as their own names are erased and replaced with the name of whom they are assigned to. The names of the Handmaids themselves are patronymic, derived from the names of their Commanders, for example, Offred’s Commander’s forename was Fred, and so she became ‘of Fred’.

The language used within the social hierarchy to label a particular section is communicative of a specific group’s function and status. The name ‘Commander’ reveals not only the rank but also the high regard that these individuals demand, indicating that they possibly had something to do with the founding of Gilead and its authority. The sentinels and protectors of Gilead as a state, the ‘Eyes’, ‘Guardians’ and ‘Angels’, although initially misleading, their names communicate their purpose. The ‘Eyes’, who are the secret police within the regime, can be recognised as spies, the ‘Guardians’ are the members of the police force and can be understood as the protectors of Gilead and the ‘Angels’ are the soldiers of the Gileadean army, who are saving Gilead from defeat. Similarly, the ‘Marthas’ are female servants within a Commander’s household, acting as cooks or housekeepers, their names based on a Biblical reference to the story of Martha and Mary, where Martha did all the housework during Jesus’ visit. Additionally, the people known as Econowives, who are the wives of the ‘common men’, are those who are separate from and below the Gileadean reproductive administration. However, although the majority of names are telling of purpose, there are names that the reader has to guess at the meaning, for example, ‘Unbabies’.

What is most noticeable about Gilead as an authority, is that all of its principles are based around the Bible and its teachings, presenting itself to be a futuristic society deeply rooted in the past, looking to the Bible for inspiration. Its main principles are based upon the societal conditions experienced centuries before, inducing social, historical and cultural adjustments to produce the Republic of Gilead.

The Bible influences all aspects of Gileadean life, such as the language, discipline and morality. The majority of the Gileadean language is tampered with to include some sort of Biblical reference. Examples of this include the names of the cars within Gilead, such as ‘Whirlwind’ and ‘Behemoth’ and the names of shops, such as ‘All Flesh’, which indicates the Biblical quotation “For all flesh is grass” and ‘Milk and Honey’, where in the Bible, Canaan is described as the “Land flowing with milk and honey”. Similarly, at the ‘Rachel and Leah Centre’, where the Handmaids are prepared for their life as a reproductive servant, the name of the centre is reminiscent of the Biblical stories of Rachel and Leah who used surrogate mothers in order to rear children. It is at this centre that the Aunts are introduced, who are older women acting as collaborators in the name of patriarchy, taking upon the task of training Handmaids.

Acting as propagandists, all of the Aunts’ teachings are based on the Bible and the Aunts particularly preach about the degradation of women in the time before Gilead had been set up. Continuously throughout the novel, the voice of one particular Aunt, Aunt Lydia is in Offred’s head, preaching of how women are living an improved lifestyle in Gilead, where they are free from degradation and exploitation. The Aunts use quotations from the Bible as reinforcers of their brainwashing. The most notable example is of when Aunt Lydia is talking to the Handmaids about how men of lower status in the Gileadean society will be tempted by the presence of a Handmaid due to sexual activity being solely permitted for procreation between Handmaids and Commanders. She says, “Of course some of them will try…All flesh is weak”, seemingly quoting the second statement from the Bible, however, Offred mentally corrects her statement to be “All flesh is grass”. Since reading is forbidden under the Gileadean rule, she cannot verify if what she is being told is true, and so the basis of the Aunt’s brainwashing from the Bible may have been tampered with. Offred recognises that the objective behind this is a matter of control, as knowledge is power and people in ignorance are unlikely to revolt.

Within Gilead, clothing defines a person’s function, so costume plays a major part in the Gileadean society acting to distinguish one social group from another. Every socially divided rank has a uniform of a particular colour, a colour that is wholly associated with that particular group. The Handmaids are red, the Wives are dressed in light blue, the Commanders dress in black, the Marthas in dark green, the Aunts are dressed khaki and the Eyes, Guardians and Angels dress in pale green. The fact that the Handmaids are dressed in the colour red comes with many connotations, such as prostitution and blood. Throughout the early chapters of the book, Atwood associates Handmaids with tulips, stating them both to be “red and empty.”

The main influence upon Gilead is Christianity, specifically Puritanism, as we are told of Gilead’s authority being imposed upon groups of rebellious Baptists, the most passive denomination of Christianity and as a regime, it is seemingly antagonistic towards anyone that isn’t a White Puritan. Gilead is anti-feminist, racist, anti-homosexual and anti-abortionist. This is apparent due to the way in which women are regarded lesser beings than men, and it seems that if it were possible to eliminate women from Gilead, the republic would have done so. Instead, women have been reduced to doing the one thing for which Gilead can find no substitute - producing children. An interesting point is implied but left unspoken by Atwood that no matter how much their activities are confined, a society cannot function without women, as they exclusively possess the means to propagate a society. Gilead can be identified as racist by two main examples, firstly, the escaping Jews being dumped into the ocean and secondly, the resettlement from Gilead of the “Children of Ham”, a Biblical reference to Black people. Gilead opposes homosexuality, as sexual activity is recognised only to be necessary for breeding and the reader is told of the hangings of men on The Wall for “gender treachery.” Similarly, men who were abortionists in the time before Gilead’s establishment have been hanged on The Wall, despite the fact that abortion was legal at the time of their profession.

Personally, and I believe for many others, that the Gileadean regime would be an unbearable one to be living under not only due it’s oppressive attitude and limitations on individual freedom, but its outlook towards women, seeing them only necessary for breeding purposes. To progress from a society where freedom is a right, to a reign of a restrictive religious dictatorship would prove to be too much for many to contemplate. However, I can appreciate Atwood’s criticisms of modern society reaching its extreme, to the point where a backlash would occur and a return to traditional values would be expected. In this case, the extreme end product of such a backlash was the succession of the society of Gilead, a warning from Atwood of the polar opposite of the lives of freedom and independence that we lead today.

In conclusion, I believe that Atwood’s presentation of such a violently existent society is effective in its ability to provoke thought from the readers of the novel. The display of such an extreme regime in the novel, in comparison to those of which we live under today, arouses necessary consideration from the reader about the world we are living in. The presentation of Gilead itself within the first seventy-six pages of the novel, with its religious absolutist morality, violent approach towards rebels and absurdly oppressive limitations on people’s lives in terms of independence, dress and food, is a warning from Atwood about the way in the world is pushing the boundaries of morality.