Power In The Handmaid's Tale

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The Handmaid’s Tale: The Abuse of Power Influenced by Religion Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale offers insights into the realities of the depiction of power and its impact on society in a chilling dystopian world where all societal structures have deteriorated. The narrator of the novel, Offred, is first introduced during the first of many flashbacks. Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, who throughout the novel navigates a life through the strict inhuman schedule that should ultimately result in a healthy pregnancy to increase the nation's birth rate. Flashbacks reveal her past affair with Luke; her former husband, attempts to flee with their daughter, and indoctrination at the Red Center. As Offred becomes entangled in secret …show more content…

Through symbolic narrative elements, Margaret Atwood vividly portrays the profound impact of religion on the Gilead government, its drastic effects on women's rights, as reflected in the personal journey of the narrator Offred, and offers disturbing insights into real-life themes of gender oppression still present today, like in The Handmaid's Tale. In Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale, religious imagery is deeply symbolic; this reflects both the authority of the Gilead government and its manipulation of individuals, particularly women, within society. Crucifixes, religious ceremonies, and references to the Bible are utilized to reinforce the government’s control over its citizens. Crucifixes serve as potent symbols of the religious foundation upon which Gilead's society is …show more content…

The dystopian society of Gilead employs these executions to instill fear and compliance, particularly among women like Offred, who face harsh punishments. Offred’s narrative exposes the oppressive atmosphere created by these executions, emphasizing the regime’s power to control and punish individuals. As Offred reflects, “We are containers, it is only the insides of our bodies that are important. The outside can take any form. Mine has taken this one” (Atwood). This quote underscores the dehumanization of women in Gilead, reduced to mere vessels for reproduction and subject to the regime’s control. Additionally, religion is manipulated to justify violence against women in the name of moral purity. Judith Newton highlights this manipulation in her essay, stating that Gilead’s version of Christianity perverts the teachings of compassion and forgiveness found in the Bible, using religion to subjugate women and strip away their freedoms (Newton). This religious hypocrisy serves as a chilling irony, revealing the dystopian society’s true motivations behind the public

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