Feminist And Government Control Issues In The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood’s Novel The Handmaid’s Tale thoroughly depicts feminist and government control issues. Atwood’s intent is to warn society about the dangers surrounding such issues in order to prevent a world like Gilead. Gilead is an anti-feminist society in which women have been oppressed for the sole reason of reproduction necessities and for the infertile women, they also have been deprived from any vocal expression or any textual knowledge in order to maintain power within the males and the regime; women are deprived from many other basic freedoms. The women who are not able to conceive a child are forced to chose a caste either Wives, Marthas, and or Aunts which serve as servants or Aunts who condition handmaids to believe conceiving is

These women that are able to be impregnated have been reconditioned to believe is their only duty is to reproduce as many children as possible in order to continue the population of their society; these women are called Handmaids. Women have been oppressed by this society and handmaids are forced to have sex with their Commanders, the highest male status, in order to conceive a child. The government of Gilead utilizes fear and punishment for any woman or man who violates the laws, for example, the Handmaids have two years to conceive a child, if not then they are sent to the Colonies which is perceived as a corrupt and horrendous society. All Women of Gilead are deprived from society and forced to have roles that will further benefit males. Furthermore, Oppression and Anti-Feminist issues are present in this novel and implemented in the daily lives of these Handmaids and women in order to reveal the oppression towards women in today’s society. The Handmaid's Tale thoroughly delineates women's oppression in society to further boost male statues and reveal regime's oppression towards

The Narrator comments, “She doesn't make speeches anymore. She has become speechless. She stays in her home, but it doesn't seem to agree with her. How furious she must be now that she has been taken at her word” (Atwood 46). Ofglen realizes the power of the new regime as she acknowledges how even the most prestige women in Gilead have been denied a voice, moreover, realizing that even Serena Joy has not yet accommodated to Gilead. Many of the females in the novel have felt as men, through such power, have challenged the right of speech, as Hogsette states, “As Atwood's epilogue suggests, the political voice of women that breaks from its earlier silenced state can be appropriated by men, thus threatening women again with silence” (Hogsette). For the purpose of preventing a world like the colonies which is perceived as uninhabitable and toxic world that is extremely dangerous and corrupt, the government of Gilead denies women such a voice. Ofglen claims, “The other Colonies are worse, though, the toxic dumps and the radiation spills. They figure you’ve got three years maximum, at those, before your nose falls off and your skin pulls away like rubber gloves. They don’t bother to feed you much, or give you protective clothing or