The Handmaid's Tale 'And The Lady Of Shalott'

The theme of isolation is used throughout English literature to form principal characters and provide insight on fundamental aspects within a story. This particular theme is shown in many works, however, most significantly this theme can be found in Margret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaids Tale, as well as Alfred, Lord Tennyson poem, The Lady of Shalott. Within these two literary works, there are numerous underlying themes. However, the theme of isolation plays a most significant role when it comes to shaping the setting and environment the characters within the novels inhabit.

Margret Atwood's novel, The Handmaids Tale is a story of oppression regarding women in a dystopian future. Subsequently, a reader can hardly get through a page in this book without being confronted by the omnipresent theme of isolation.

The women are not permitted to converse with one another and are under constant surveillance by characters Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth; who are two authority figures within the novel. "We learned to whisper almost without sounds. In the semi-darkness, we could stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren't looking" (Atwood pg. 4). This quote, by primary character Offred, displays the hardships and isolation these women face as they are also not entitled to venture outside the gymnasium apart from for their walks permitted twice a day. The lives these women lead and how they are treated mirrors the lives of captive animals consequently de-humanizing them and highlighting their isolation from the rest of the world. Later on in the novel, readers then learn about the Handmaids in the city of Gilead who lead especially lonely and isolated lives. Their only purpose is to be impregnated and bear the child of the man of a house they are forced to reside in. In Offred's case, she is forced to live in the home of Serena Joy. Upon Offred's arrival, Serena Joy states she is not to speak to her unless specified. From that point