Regardless of all of Gilead’s pro-women oratory, such repression creates a society in which women are treated as subhuman. Throughout the novel there have been many references to women being compared to animals
“Like chicken’s strung up by the necks in a meat shop”
This quote is from chapter forty-three in which Offred witnesses some women being hung for crimes against Gilead.
Women are treated as nothing more than a set of ovaries and a womb. In one of the novels key scenes, Offred lies in the bath and reflects that, before Gilead, she considered her body as
“An instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will”
Now she is merely a mound of flesh surrounding a womb that must be filled in order to make her useful. Gilead seeks to deprive women of their individuality in order to make them compliant carriers of the next generation.
The Jezebel’s sequence offers alternate views regarding the role of women. For instance the frequency of women being raped and pornography in the pre-Gilead era justified to the founders, their establishment of Gilead. Both the Commanders and the Aunts claim women are protected from these obscenities now. Indeed, the official penalty for rape is dreadful, in one scene; the Handmaid’s tear apart a supposed rapist. However whilst Gilead claims to repress sexual violence, it in actual fact allows it, as can be seen in the Jezebel’s section. Jezebel’s is a club that provides Commanders with a prostitution service. The club demonstrates the hypocrisy of powerful men who rant about sexual morality and then spend their evenings with prostitutes.
Women who do not wish to become Handmaid’s or work at the colonies assign their fates to the club ‘Jezebel’s’ and become prostitutes. One significant moment in the novel is when Offred spots Moira. Throughout the novel in Offred’s mind, Moira symbolizes female resistance to Gilead. Also she is the only character in the novel that challenges authority openly by attempting two escape attempts, one of which is successful, from the Red Centre. However during her encounter with Moira, Offred learns that both the spirit of her mother and Moira, who have both represented disobedience and resistance have been broken. At Jezebel’s Moira say’s she has accepted her fate, and seems weak and trapped. This is the point in the novel when Offred finally, truly realises the power of Gilead and its ability to crush even the strongest spirit. This is the only part of the Jezebel’s sequence in which Ofrreds hope diminishes, but instantly her resolve is strengthened when she hears of The Underground Femaleroad. This gives her hope because she realises that she is not alone in her resistance against Gilead and that escape from this oppressive society is possible.
However the women in Jezebel’s are in some way’s treated much worse than the Handmaid’s. They are like the whores of the society who serve no real purpose. But as Moira quotes
“The food’s not bad and there’s drink and drugs, if you want it, and we only work at nights”
These are some of the advantages of working in Jezebel’s, that you are entitled to commodities such as alcohol, cigarettes and face cream, which are all banned by Gilead. To some women these mere objects are worth becoming prostitutes, who are nothing but mere flesh to the Commanders.
In the Jezebel’s section Offred visits the Commander on numerous occasions. The Commander explains some of the reasoning employed by the founders of Gilead, which shows them to be as selfish as the Commander. As the Commander explains
“The main problem was with the men. There was nothing for them anymore. Men were turning off on sex, even. They were turning off on marriage.”
This is the closest thing any character offers for the justification of Gilead. He suggests that feminism and the sexual revolution left men with no purpose in life. With them no longer possessing the role of women protector’s, and with women behaving as equals to men, men became swept in a sea of confusion. But by making themselves soldiers and caretakers of society, men have had meaning restored to their lives. This sounds like a most noble deed, were it not for the fact that in order for men to have meaning to their lives, women have lost all degree of freedom.
In this section of the novel Offred is in her most prominent state of security and confidence in the novel. For instance she establishes a relationship with Ofglen, and realises that there is a resistance against Gilead. She also establishes a relationship between Serena Joy (Wife of the Commander). Serena Joy suggests that maybe her husband is sterile
“ Maybe he can’t”
This establishes unity between the two women, against the Commander and the men of Gilead. Offred seems to be growing in confidence in the beginning section of Jezebel’s. When she is given a match from Rita (Commander’s Martha) she ponders what to do with it
“I could burn the house down”
This show’s she has become more confident, is mulling over her choices and that she has gained a certain degree of power. Further evidence of this can be seen when she is with the Commander
“They could make money, I say, a little nastily”
Here Offred is almost talking to the Commander as an equal, his equal. As this section goes along her character seems to get more and more confident.
Both Offred and the Commander discuss the marriage process in Gilead. The Commander makes several credible points of the old society. Society should not force women to spend their entire paycheck on day care, mothering should be valued, fathers should not be allowed to run away and abandon their children and lastly that society should not allow domestic abuse. The Commander seems genuine in his beliefs and this puts him in a good light in this section of Jezebel’s.
Offred is treated many times throughout the novel as nothing more than an inanimate object. In chapter 37 of the Jezebel’s sequence the Commander is showing off Offred to his fellow officers
“He is showing me off, to them, they review my breasts, my legs, as if there’s no reason why they shouldn’t”
This extract shows how the men of this society view women. They believe them to be nothing more than flesh. They believe women are there for their own personal satisfaction.
The Commander is portrayed as being an exceptionally powerful figure directly after the above quote
“But also he is showing off to me. He is demonstrating, to me, his mastery of the world”
This part of the Jezebel’s sequence shows how much power the Commander really has. He is breaking the rules in front of many Commanders. It is at this point, in which the Commander show’s what he has become, corrupted by his own power. The Commander is also shown to be ruthless by the way he treats Offred.
At the end of the Jezebel’s section the Commander is waiting for Offred in a room in Jezebel’s.
“And the Commander, for a change is waiting”
Here Offred is shown to once again hold some power, this time over the Commander. Merely by the fact he is waiting for Offred. In this part of Jezebel’s the Commander is portrayed as being pathetic as can be seen from the following extract
“He’s down to the shirt; then, under it, sadly, a little belly. Wisps of hair.”
This shows that the Commander is nothing more than an ordinary man underneath his clothing. Also that the real power is with his clothing society has given him and not due to him having any real power.
In conclusion to this essay it is clear that the Jezebel’s sequence is very important in the development of the novel. Without it we would never have come to realise the hypocrisy of the powerful men in Gilead. Also it is in this section in which we come to realise the true conditions the women of Gilead face. Subsequently a lot is revealed about the creation of Gilead and about the Commander himself, and what role he played in the establishment of Gilead. Lastly this is the section in which Offred finally see’s Moira again and learns of what has happened to her and to her mother.
