Women in the Handmaid's Tale: Objectification and Value in Reproductive Qualities.
Women in the Handmaid's Tale: Objectification and Value in Reproductive Qualities Sarah Bell Eng. 110.6 (19) J. Stothers Feb. 26/2004 Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale is a work of speculative fiction. The Republic of Gilead is a dystopic society, especially for the women. Women in the novel are stripped of their freedom, while men are entitled to a portion of their freedom. This novel is one that illustrates inequality towards women. A focus for the Republic of Gilead is to increase the declining birth rate. Within the phallocentric society of the Republic of Gilead, re-population results in women being objectified and valued for their reproductive qualities. The division of women in the Republic of Gilead is based on their reproductive qualities and status. Anatomy is destiny in the society of the Republic of Gilead. Wives are classified as elite and are typically infertile. These infertile women usually have gardens to compensate for their lack of child bearing qualities: "many of the wives have such gardens, it's something for them to order and maintain and care for" (p. 14). Infertile women that possess leadership qualities typically are Aunts. Aunts are in charge of schooling handmaids and enforcing female obedience to the regime. Other infertile women lacking leadership qualities are Marthas. The Marthas exist as servants, who cook and clean
How effective is the opening chapter of The Handmaids Tale?
How effective is the opening chapter of The Handmaids Tale? Introduction. This book is a depiction of an anti-utopian future society, along with others like '1984' and 'Brave New World'. It combines a futuristic reality, feminism and politics to create a very detailed novel considering many different aspects of 'Gilead'. 'Offred' is the complex lead character who draws us into the seemingly perfect but corrupt world of Gilead. Her pain is experienced by the readers who long to remember exactly what she has forgotten, and what she wants to find out. The experiences she goes through are strange, sometimes outright bizarre, and her world comes crashing down on us. 'The Handmaids Tale' is very thought-provoking, the future of women and indeed the world lies in the actions of today's society, and Atwood uses her perceptions of the present world to support the background of her novel. Altogether 'The Handmaids Tale offers what all novels should: love, loss, action, comedy (ironic, but appropriate) vision, and plot. It plays with all emotions. Time In The handmaids tale (THT) the use of time is a key feature. Frequently throughout the book we experience time changes, from the present oppressive situation, and to the past of the handmaids, a happier time. In the gymnasium, time is used in reference. The narrator refers to a time gone, where the gymnasium was used for things
Early in the novel Atwood presents us with the division between ladies and women
"Margaret Atwood's late 20th century perspective on her female characters invites us to see them as victims of a male dominated society" Is this how you respond to Atwood's presentation of her female characters? Early in the novel Atwood presents us with the division between ladies and women. The example given is Grace compared to the governor's wife and the ladies who frequently visit her. It seems that grace wishes that she was a lady when she comments "I have no gloves" this shows that Grace is conscious of her appearance even if she is in prison. Grace cannot sit on the governor's wife's settee without thinking of the ladies that have sat there before her who have bums "like wobbly soft boiled eggs". These ladies are compared to jellyfish that grace has seen in her childhood, Grace shows admiration for these ladies ass he says "they were bell shaped and ruffled" Atwood also makes the point through grace that ladies of this time were restricted. This is achieved by the mentioning of wire crinolines that were "Like birdcages" the ladies were not allowed to touch or brush up against other men's legs. Grace is now talking about legs in sexual way (also another sign of the times) "the governor's wife never says legs" this comment shows that showing or talking legs is a taboo subject. Grace goes on to comment that the people of lower classes, she uses the news paper as an
Comment on the portrayal of the Aunts in 'The Handmaid's Tale', their role in Gilead and the attitude of the narrator towards them.
Comment on the portrayal of the Aunts in 'The Handmaid's Tale', their role in Gilead and the attitude of the narrator towards them. In the hierarchical society of Gilead, each woman is given an arbitrary classification, to which she has been brainwashed to obey. The Aunts are the indoctrinators of the system, who perhaps play one of the most crucial roles in the novel, training and brainwashing the Handmaids to fulfil their duties. The Aunts train from the 'Red Centre'. The majority of Atwood's books are based around feminism and or religion. Here she uses the memorable characters of the Aunts, in particular Aunt Lydia, to successfully combine the two, and therefore produce a potential near future. The Aunts themselves are of an older generation, who perhaps felt that the introduction of the new regime would bring back a more traditional, and therefore 'safer' way of life, perhaps increasing their determination to enforce the new system. Many females often comment (usually in an off hand manner) on how the downfall of society has been caused by male rule and dominance; leading to the phrase, "If only women ruled the world!" The Handmaid's Tale takes this saying into account, and we see that in such a situation, even human nature fails to differ between males and females, thus leading to the same basic problems often bred within a society-greed, jealousy, power, unequal
In what ways is misogynism portrayed in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
In what ways is misogynism portrayed in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" In "The Handmaid's Tale" written by Margaret Atwood, Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian and theocratic state that has replaced the United States of America. Dangerously low reproduction rates mean Handmaids are assigned to bear children for elite couples that have trouble conceiving. Offred's name says that she, like all Handmaids, is considered state property. Handmaids' names simply reflect which Commander owns them. "Of Fred," This is very misogynistic as it shows that a handmaid, has lost her identity and her name and therefore every time the women hear their 'handmaid' names, they are reminded that they are no more than property. Having made it illegal for women to hold jobs, Gilead creates a system of titles. Whereas men are defined by their military rank, women are defined solely by their gender roles as Wives, Handmaids, or Marthas. Stripping them of permanent individual names strips them of their individuality, or tries to. Gilead maintains its control over women's bodies by maintaining control over names. As Gilead was formed in response to the crisis caused by dramatically decreased birth-rates, the state's entire structure, with its religious trappings and rigid political hierarchy, is built around a single goal: control of reproduction. "No woman
How Effectively Does Atwood Present Offred's Struggle to Establish/Maintain Control Over Her Own Life/Identity
How Effectively Does Atwood Present Offred's Struggle to Establish/Maintain Control Over Her Own Life/Identity The Handmaids Tale is a woman's autobiographical narrative that challenges the absolute authority of Gilead, highlighting the significance of story telling as an act of resistance against oppression, thereby making a particular kind of individual political statement. Such as when Offred steals the butter from the dinner table to use as hand and face cream. " There's a pat of butter on the side of the plate. I tear off a corner of the paper napkin, wrap the butter in it, take it to the cupboard and slip it into the toe of my right shoe, from the extra pair, as I have done before. I crumple up the rest of the napkin: no one, surely, will bother to smooth it out, to check if any is missing. I will use the butter later tonight. It would not do, this evening, to smell of butter." Offred's freedom, however, is circumscribed and she cannot tell her story within Gileadean context. She can only tell it once she has escaped. We learn at the end, in the Historical notes, that what we have read is a transcript of a jumble of cassette recordings that have been found on an archaeological site. What we have is a later reconstruction of Offred's reconstruction told after her escape, and by the time of out reading, Offred herself has disappeared. Yet story telling is the only
The Handmaid's Tale - The narrator says of her tale, 'I'm sorry it's like fragments, like a body caught in crossfire and pulled apart by force'. How appropriate a description of the structure of the novel do you consider this?
AS English Literature Assignment 2. The Handmaid's Tale The narrator says of her tale, 'I'm sorry it's like fragments, like a body caught in crossfire and pulled apart by force'. How appropriate a description of the structure of the novel do you consider this? Offred narrates her story in a rather disjointed, fragmented style. Some parts of it are flashbacks of her life before the rise of Gilead. Some parts are vignettes from her training as a Handmaid at the Red Centre, in which she and her friend Moira are subjected to the cruelty of the Aunts. Other descriptions are described as present tense. Offred appears in many ways as a sympathetic narrator, an every woman, who, in the pre-Gilead world of the contemporary United States, was an ordinary, sensual woman, with a college degree, a husband, a daughter and a job in a library. She lost all those blessings as a result of the coup, and is now in a terrible, terrifying bind, a Handmaid in a powerful and repressive dystopia. As she narrates about her life, in Gilead and the time before, she presents herself appealingly. She shows resistance to the current regime. She wishes to establish in Gilead two feelings rigorously suppressed: she wishes to talk and she hungers to 'commit the act of touch' (2:14). Her frequent juxtaposing of her past and preset creates a powerful sense of, not only loss, but also a feeling of
The Gothic Elements in the HandMaid's Tale.
The Gothic Elements in the HandMaid's Tale Margaret Atwood's epic novel The Handmaid's Tale is on all counts a great read and a classic feministic work. But, by examining it more closely it is evident that the novel has deeper roots and shows characteristics of the gothic novel. Throughout this piece, I shall reveal and discuss the gothic elements in The Handmaid's Tale such as the relevance of the castle, women in distress, the mysterious inscription and others, by comparing it to two other gothic novels; Romance of the Forest and Dracula. In most gothic novels the heroine is threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male; Adeline's life is menaced by the Marquis de Montalt (Romance of the Forest) and both Lucy and Mina's lives are menaced by Count Dracula. The Handmaid's Tale is a bit different in that the main idea is women of the society being threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male dominated system. In their new society, the women rank importance with their fertility. If a woman is not fertile she is made to be a 'Martha' - a cook or a servant. If she is fertile - she becomes a handmaid - and she is sent from house to house to fornicate with the usually impotent Commanders. She has two years at each house, and if she does not bare any children she is sent to the 'colonies' with the 'Unwomen'. Those who do bare children are highly praised and greatly
Themes and issues which take place in The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood There are many themes and issues which take place in The Handmaid's Tale. All of these themes address the way in which society may be in the future. The meaning of dystopia is an un-perfect world. This plays a centre theme within The Handmaid's Tale. Within the first chapters of the novel, Margaret Atwood illustrates a very strong sense of a negative society in which the handmaids are living in. For example; in the opening chapter the place which they are standing in is almost described as a prison or an asylum because the windows are not made of glass, the pictures on the walls have no glass and the net within the basketball hoop has been taken out. This gives the reader an initially instinct that their society is very hostile and intense. Also the women who are called the aunts are described to patrol the corridors with 'electric cattle prods'. This tells us immediately that they handmaids are treated as animals and have a very un-human living. Religion also plays a strong part in The Handmaid's Tale. This is made apparent to the reader when a very rare dialogue appears with two girls about God. 'Praise be, Praise be'. This is repeated very often throughout the conversation. This can tell us that there are very strong views on religion and all the girls must obide by them. This can suggest to us that the society is very
What impressions have you formed of the narrator? How has Atwood created these impressions? Give detailed evidence for your answer - 'The Handmaid's Tale'
What impressions have you formed of the narrator? How has Atwood created these impressions? Give detailed evidence for your answer The narrator of 'The Handmaid's Tale' is a woman who calls herself Offred. This is not her real name, but a name that she has been given by the particular husband and wife she is staying with. This makes the narrator seem mysterious, and Atwood creates this impression by not telling us the narrator's real name. From the very start of the novel, Offred has given me the impression that she is quite well educated by the way she speaks and expresses things 'like the place in a face where the eye has been taken out'. This type of simile, which she uses also, gives us the impression that she isn't very happy about her surroundings because she is using violent expressions and associating things, which are supposed to be quite pleasant to things that sound very disturbing and of a violent nature. 'Clouds like headless sheep', normally clouds are associated with bright fluffy marshmallows and pleasant things like that, but the narrator sees the clouds in the sky as disturbing images. All of the way through the book she uses simile's like this to compare normal looking objects or people. 'The smile of blood' is the phrase she uses in chapter six, when she is describing the men, which are hanging on the Wall. The phrase 'The smile of blood' is referring to