In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred’s account and detailed descriptions of a mélange of settings within the Commander’s house and the different events that occur there highlight her struggle between succumbing to Gilead’s forceful system and upholding her identity. Throughout her recollection, Offred uses symbolism and yonic imagery throughout the Commander’s abode to highlight the subtle, yet oppressive standards— an addition to the harsh rules and brutal punishments already publicly displayed in Gileadean society. Furthermore, she utilizes rhetorical devices, such as diction and sexual imagery, to identify her relationship between her own power and Serena Joy’s. Offred first refers to Serena Joy’s garden as “the domain of the Commander’s Wife,” …show more content…
The descriptions within Offred’s room often parallel with herself and her beliefs. Of the various settings in the Commander’s house, Offred first introduces her room by naming various furniture in the room with simple nouns: “a chair, a table, a lamp” (7). Her emphasis on a singular noun reflects on her role in the Commander’s household; she is a Handmaid, a role that is looked down upon and viewed equal to a “container” (96). To further implement an repressive environment, her room is surrounded with archetypal feminine imagery such as “a print of flower, blue irises, [and] watercolor” (7). These “allowed” “flowers” use yonic imagery to suggest the “traditional values” and roles a Handmaid should believe and take on (7). Furthermore, these flowers constantly surround Offred as they encourage fertility since a crucial part of the Handmaid’s role is to conceive a healthy infant. Offred’s room also acts as a battlefield for her internal thoughts as she balances her own past mirrored within the room with her current suffocating surroundings. Offred’s possession of her room or the lack of often fluctuates, mirroring her oscillating power in Gilead. For example, near the beginning of the novel, Offred acknowledges her bedroom as “the room— not my room,” but later transitions to calling it “my room,” a space …show more content…
The bathroom originally acts as a place for Offred to cleanse herself physically and mentally, but gradually reveals how Gilead has gradually integrated itself into her values. Offred considers the bath to be a “luxury” as she “feel[s]” herself “again, with [her] hands” (62). This description, along with calling the bathwater “soft as hands,” implies sexual imagery through self pleasure. Prurient behavior is highly frowned upon and by suggesting these self imposed actions, Offred is deliberately violating the standards of Handmaids in society. However, Offred’s self indulgence stops shortly as her “nakedness” becomes “strange to [her]” (63). She recalls placing her body “on display” in the past and now views her past self as “shameful, immodest” (63). This acknowledgment clearly shows the presence of Gilead’s ideals within her. Furthermore, the bathroom encourages infiltration of Gilead through decorating the wall in “small blue flowers, forget-me-nots,” “blue bath mat, [and] a blue fake-fur cover on the toilet seat” (62). There is a deliberate choice to surround the Offred’s bathroom in blue, the signature color of Serena Joy, so that Offred constantly feels as if she is being watched. This also mirrors the function of the “Eyes” who act as spies and implement fear throughout Gileadean society. This
Atwood is often thought of as a feminist writer, but through this novel her writing is not completely feminist nor patriarchal, but something in the middle. Atwood is also someone who described herself as a “strict agnostic” in an interview with Bill Moyer. In this future society Offred introduces the fact that people in Gilead are divided into separate groups, which have different jobs in society, Offred’s being a Housemaid. A housemaid is a concubine that is assigned to live with a Commander of the Faith and his Wife.
The women are divided into functions and are identified by the colour of their dress. In chapter 5, Offred is walking down the streets of Gilead, reminiscing about the days she used to walk down the street wearing what she wanted to wear before she got taken away, and also thought about simple things such as how she was able to freely walk to the laundromat to wash her own clothes with her own soap. She informs the reader of her analysis of the different types of women in the Republic of Gilead: “There are other women with baskets, some in red, some in the dull green of the Martha's, some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimp, that mark the women of the poorer men. Econowives, they're called. These women are not divided into functions. They have to do everything; if they can.” (Atwood, 5.5) The Handmaid’s— the bearer of children— wear red, the Martha’s, who are the housekeepers wear green, and the wives wear blue. Econ Wives are the only women who aren’t defined by the colour of their dress because they must do every function. Atwood is showing that the individuality and identities of these women have been completely taken away and are labelled by the clothing they are forced to
This is a post united states world and some people, in the story, have seen the changes of from United States of America to Gilead. In their dystopian world, the handmaids wear “Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us”(Atwood 8). This is an example of the Ordinary World, female servants are used for reproducing because if the decline birth rate due to sexual diseases. During the call to adventure, the reader can consider Offred going to the call of adventure before Gilead, as well as, after Gilead. Both of them relating to the mistreatment against women. Her friend Moira, before Gilead, showed her a world in which women were fighting for their rights in the 1970’s during the women's liberation movement. Her and Moira went to a rally where “(she) threw the magazine into the flames. It riffled open in the wind of its burning; big flakes of paper came loose, sailed into the air, still on fire, parts of women’s bodies, turning to black ash, in the air, before my eyes”. (Atwood 39). Offred was gaining some of her memory back, pre- gilead days, she knew her mother and Moira were apart of the feminist movement. In addition to the rise of the government, her and Luke needed to leave because she feared the safety of her daughter and her husband. In matter of fact, Offred was a bit precautious of entering a new world because she was scared of
... pre-Gilead, and is miserable within the society; this unhappiness is due to the fact that she is oppressed, does not have freedom, and cannot feel real love. The phrase wrapping is also symbolic, since it affiliates with the idea of a wrapped present; describing her organ like a red wrapped present establishes how Offred’s only goal is to become pregnant, avoid miscarriage, and carry on her job as a Handmaid. Plus, describing her body part within wrapping connotes the nastiness of men; Offred and other women believe men only desire sexual satisfaction. With hierarchical figures in Gilead forcing Handmaids to wear concealing red dresses, this expresses how these women are isolated by higher class citizens who reinforce that a Handmaid’s job is only to procreate, and exaggerate the importance of pleasure-less reproduction.
The colour of the flowers is also of vital importance. When Offred first enters the house of the Commander and his wife, she notices “… a fanlight of coloured glass: flowers, red and blue.” In the Republic of Gilead, Handmaids wear red and Wives wear blue; these colours are intended to reflect the owner’s “personality” – the wanton Handmaids in fiery red and the demure Wives in serene, virginal blue. The “blue irises” on the wall of Offred’s room are symbolic of this fact that she ...
Red is worn only by the handmaids; the color red indicates sexuality, fertility and childbirth, accordingly outlining their function as a sexual object; their sole purpose being to bear children for their Commanders. One of the most reoccurring symbols throughout the novel, red is interrelated with all things female (the Handmaids.) Inversely, red is furthermore a symbol of death, violence and blood, which Offred portrays as a color which “defines us.” The reoccurring appearance of the color red creates a thought-provoking parallel between femininity and power, as it signifies the religious “sinfulness” of promiscuous sex between the handmaid’s and their “married” commander.
Offred is a handmaid, in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood, who no longer desired to rebel against the government of Gilead after they separated her from her family. When Offred was taken away from her family the Government of Gilead placed her in an institution known as the Red Center where they trained her along with other women unwillingly to be handmaids. The handmaid’s task was to repopulate the society because of the dramatic decrease in population form lack of childbirth. Handmaids are women who are put into the homes of the commanders who were unable to have kids with their own wives. The Handmaids had very little freedom and were not allowed to do simple tasks by themselves or without supervision like taking baths or going to the store. There was an uprising against the government of Gilead and many people who lived in this society including some handmaids looked for a way to escape to get their freedom back which was taken away from them and to reunited with their families which they lost contact with. Offred was one of the handmaids who was against the government of Gilead before she was put in the Red Center, but she joined the uprising after she became a
Offred is one of the Handmaid’s in the Republic of Gilead. This used to be known as the United States of America but now it is Gilead, a theocratic state. Because of an issue that occurred, women lost all of their money and rights. Handmaid’s were then assigned to higher class couples that were unable to have children, that was the new job for the Handmaid’s. Offred was assigned to the Commander and Serena Joy, his wife. Offred was once married to a man named Luke and they had a baby girl together. When this issue started occurring and Offred lost her rights, her, Luke and their daughter tried to escape to Canada but were caught. Offred has not seen Luke or her daughter since that incident. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the most unorthodox characters are Offred, Serena Joy, and The Commander.
In The Handmaid 's Tale by Margaret Atwood, readers are introduced to Offred, who is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. As this novel is
Margaret Atwood uses the culture of how handmaids dress to psychologically change how Offred sees and thinks about the world and others. On the way home from shopping with her partner Ofglen, Offred sees a group of tourists who are dressed how women used to dress before the war. Offred and Oglen stop and watch the tourists; "We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed" (28), Offred then remembers that she too used to dress like that. Offred's reaction shows that being a handmaid and having to dress so modestly can alter how you think about yourself and
Offred, among other women depicted in this novel, tries to overcome this dominion. In her own way, she attempts to do this by ensuring the Commander’s expectations of her behavior which could result in her freedom. Thus, there is a present power struggle between the Commander and Offred throughout The Handmaid’s
Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, the author Margaret Atwood gives the reader an understanding of what life would be like in a theocratic society that controls women’s lives. The narrator, Offred, gives the reader her perspective on the many injustices she faces as a handmaid. Offred is a woman who lived before this society was established and when she undergoes the transition to her new status she has a hard time coping with the new laws she must follow. There are many laws in this government that degrade women and give men the authority to own their household. All women are placed in each household for a reason and if they do not follow their duties they are sent away or killed.
Offred’s journey is a prime example of the appalling effects of idly standing by and allowing herself to become a part of the Gilead’s corrupt system. This woman is a Handmaid which was recently placed within a new
Offred is one of the main characters in The Handmaid's Tale. She was the faithful wife of Luke, mother of an eleven month old child and a working woman, before she entered the Republic of Gilead. She was given the name "Offred", when she entered Gilead. This was to make it known that she was a handmaid. Offred becomes psychologically programmed in Gilead as a handmaid, and the mistress of the commander who is in power of all things. She was used for her ovaries to reproduce a child, because they are living in an age where birth rates are declining. Offred was ordered by Serena Joy, the handmaid's barren wife who develops some jealousy and envy towards her to become the lover of Nick. Nick is the family chauffeur, and Offred becomes deeply in love with him. At the end of all the confusion, mixed emotions, jealousy, envy and chaos towards her, she escapes the Republic of Gilead. Offred is given treatment and advantages by the commander that none of the there handmaids are given. During the times the commander and Offred were seeing each other secretly, he began to develop some feelings for her that he tried to hide. Somewhere along the times when Offred and the commander began having secret meetings with each other, Offred too began to develop some feelings for the commander. Offred is also a special handmaid, because she has actually experienced love, the satisfaction of having a child years before. She knows what it is to feel loved, to be in love and to have someone love you. That is all when she has knowledge, a job, a family and money of her own. That is when her life was complete. Because all of that has been taken away from...
As The Handmaid’s Tale is considered an allegory of the social injustice women face against traditional expectations of their role in society, the symbolism of the Handmaids and other women as a whole for repressed feminine liberty and sexuality allows Atwood to connect her work to the theme between gender and expectations in her society. As Handmaids in the Republic of Gilead, females are stripped of their previous identity and are defined as a tool of reproduction for the men who is assigned them. At its core, these females are forced against their will to be mere tools, experiencing unwanted sex at least once a month, which Gilead names “The Ceremony”, hiding its true nature as a form of rape. Offred