“The Handmaid’s Tale” Tutorial

1. “The Handmaid’s Tale” Tutorial Aidan O’Dowd

2. “Many texts seek to explore the truth” • Discuss some of the themes discussed by Atwood in “The Handmaid’s Tale” which have relevance in today’s society

3. Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” is an example of a text which seeks to explore the truth. In said novel, Atwood attempts to explore the truth of society as a whole, commenting on themes such as gender roles, class divides, power and religion that are relevant in contemporary society as well as the dystopian future of the Republic of Gilead. • Atwood effectively explores these truths through the setting of dystopia, as it highlights the problems of today’s society by showing them as the fundamentals of this society. • Gilead is a largely corrupt and patriarchal society, and exists to serve to the reader as a warning, showing the absolute potential harm society could cause to itself. This is made clear through both the description of Gilead, but also through the description of the events leading up to society’s downfall.

4. Gender Roles • The extreme nature of the sexism in the novel helps the reader understand the truth of negative gender roles perpetuated in society. • This is evident from the roles placed on women, specifically the Handmaids. Handmaids are fertile women who exist solely to be used by men for reproduction in order to stabilise the population. • Offred describes explains her purpose by saying “We are two-legged wombs, that's all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices.” There is an active effort to dehumanise these women by the commanders, as rather than respecting both the Handmaid’s as people and their essential service to the greater good, they are shunned and instead treated as tools. • This effort to dehumanise the Handmaids is also made apparent through the descriptions of their restrictive attire – “The skirt is ankle-length, full, gathered to a flat yoke that extends over the breasts, the sleeves are full. The white wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen.” The idea of the Handmaids as property is also clear from their names, as in order to further strip away their identity each Handmaid is formally named depending on their assigned Commander, as Offred literally means “Of-Fred”, as in The Commander Fredrick. • The resentment shown towards the Handmaids is very hypocritical in nature. As fertile women, Handmaids are forced by the government to commit adulterous acts in order to save society, although this largely conflicts Biblical teachings which are the fundamentals of Gilead. It is for this reason they are shunned, however should they be infertile, (unless they hold some degree of power like Serena Joy), they are also vindicated as they are outcasted towards the colonies, where they are certain to die through poor living conditions. These woman are branded as “Unwoman” – implying that if the woman cant act as maids like the Marthas or act as mothers like the Handmaids, then their existence has little point in Gilead – highlighting the danger of negative stereotypes prevalent in even todays society.

5. This dynamic seeks to benefit the men in society, as while women are always portrayed in the novel as servants of some sort, men almost exclusively are in positions of power – appearing as either soldiers(guardians, angels) or highly respected positions (doctors, commanders). • The commander’s status embodies the patriarchal nature of society, especially when contrasted with Offred’s lack of power. We learn from the historical notes that “such a highly placed individual had probably been a participant in the first of the top-secrete Sons of Jacob Think Tanks, at which the philosophy and social structure of Gilead were hammered out.” This is evidence which shows that society was crafted by men with men specifically in mind, which is why the commander, in a novel heavily populated with female characters, is one of the only characters with any real influence. • There is a clear double-standard when it comes to the treatment of men and women in Gilead. Unwomen and Handmaids are treated with contempt by society due to their respective infertility and adultery – yet the Commander is guilty of both and is one of the most respected members of society. • The Commanders clearly orchestrated the Handmaid system in order to force fertile women to have sex with them, yet characters like the Marthas show much more disgust towards the Handmaids – “It’s the red dress she disapproves of, what it stands for. She thinks it may be catching, like a disease or any form of bad luck”. • It is also plainly obvious that the Commander himself is sterile, as noted by the doctor and Serena Joy, as Offred is the third Handmaid to use her name, however rather than address the issue the characters purposefully avoid it and instead blame it on the Handmaids.

6. How would you compare the ways which “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Jane Eyre” explore the “truth” of gender roles.

7. Hypocrisy of Religion\Abuse of Power • Another truth Atwood attempts to explore is how religion can be used for the as a means to gain power. This is evident in the theocracy of Gilead, where the Commanders have used The Bible to influence their people and justify the horrific acts of the regime. • The most obvious example of this is in the naming of “Gilead” – a direct reference to an area prophesised by the Bible to have supernatural healing properties and fruitful lands. “The Republic of Gilead” therefore implies a Utopia, which is the intent of the Commanders, however the reality is very much the opposite. In reality Gilead is highly toxic and irradiated, and is largely barren of both people and nature – “We continue on among the large empty-looking houses, the weedless lawns.” • In one way, this shows the hypocrisy of religion as the government are willing to openly lie and ignore reality by pretending that this ravaged America is some sort of holy land from the bible, but it also shows the true nature of the religious in charge. Perhaps they do see these dire conditions as a good thing – this is their promised land – as it gives them a greater opportunity to engineer society as they see fit, which is to use religion as a tool to control their people. The Commander explains that “You cant make an omelette without breaking eggs” and that “We thought we could do better.” • Antithesis is used frequently throughout the novel, another example being the naming of the “Aunts”. The Aunts work to re-educate women to the new society of Gilead, and are essential to lowering the value that the women place on themselves to how a Handmaid should see herself. “Aunt” is therefore an effective name, as subliminally creates a paternal relationship with the Handmaids and the Aunts, which therefore makes their cruel actions more tolerable and understandable in the mind of the Handmaid – which makes their indoctrination much more effective. This can be seen throughout the novel, as on multiple occasions when Offred is in a difficult situation she thinks back to Aunt Lydia’s teachings, showing the comfort she finds in the cruel slogans.

8. This is also explored in relation to Serena Joy, a televangelist who advocated for many of the elements found in Gilead, mainly the enforcement of gender roles. While on the surface this seems bizarre, as she actually campaigned against her own rights, her motivations actually give us a better understanding of the truth behind the usage of religion in Gilead. • Offred tells us that “Her speeches were about the sanctity of the home, about how women should stay home. Serena Joy didn’t do this herself he made speeches instead.” • Serena Joy is a hypocrite by nature, and made her living through religion. She uses religion as a tool to gain more power for herself, and manipulate believers of the faith. Gilead is evidence of this, as although women as a whole become weaker under the regime Serena Joy has a relatively easy life and has become the most influential women in society that we know of.

9. Discuss how you would plan an essay asks you to comment on texts which explore the truth.