Handmaids Tale Limitations

Within the totalitarian society created in The Handmaid’s Tale, there were many people and regimes that were focused around and reliant on the manipulation of power. The laws that the Republic of Gilead enforced were designated and enacted to control and restrict the rights and freedoms of the residents. The Republic of Gilead applied many rules and limitations within all levels of the community which included handmaids, econowives, wives, marthas, and more. The restrictions created in the society was a symbolization that there was an authoritarian government in place. The rules were created by all of the men in charge and were executed by the angels, soldiers, and protectors. The positions of those in charge belonged to a selected few of the men

The hierarchical aspects of the society were displayed by contrasting the accessibility of resources between the commanders in charge to the handmaids. The limit in the amount of objects that handmaids had in comparison to what commanders had was very distinct. The novel implied that the commander in which Offred belonged to was high up on the Gilead’s ladder, being politically and influentially. Despite word and opinion which was a driving force in forming the Republic of Gilead it was declared banned because of the Gilead’s authoritarian government establishment. Commanders may have had the power to enforce rules but they disregarded them if they did not suit their wishes. The dystopian society was full of people who willingly signed on with its evil. Whether they were the leaders that established the place or people who followed along to watch others suffer everyday. There was no type of free will that existed within the government. The story placed the reader in a dystopian society which focused on the subjugation of women and their