Investigate the theme of power, as presented in The Handmaid’s Tale.

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Investigate the theme of power, as presented in The Handmaid’s Tale.

Power.  What do we think of when we talk about power?  Perhaps we think of the power of a country armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction.  Perhaps we think of a millionaire, able to buy his way through anything thanks to the power of money.  We may even think that we have some form of power ourselves, such as the power of having lent someone money or of having done someone a favour.

Nevertheless, while we can easily think of examples of powerful people, we may have great difficulty thinking of a case where someone has absolutely no power.  Could it be, however, that Offred is one of these isolated cases?

To understand Offred thoughts properly, it is first necessary to understand the situation she is in.  As a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, her sole function is to bear her Commander children.  She is regarded by the state as a thing, not a person – hence her name Of-Fred (Fred is the name of her Commander).  The Commander and his Wife are both superior to Offred in Gilead’s hierarchy.  Below her come all the other members of society.

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Of course, this does not automatically mean that she has power over all the lower classes.  They are responsible to the Commander and his Wife only.  Offred herself, of course, is responsible to the Commander, although the Wife also has the power to get rid of her:

“If I’m caught it’s up to Serena’s tender mercies I’ll be delivered. […]  I could become an Unwoman.  But to refuse to see him could be worse.  There’s no doubt about who holds the real power.”

This passage, of course, refers to Offred breaking the rules, so in that ...

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