What Analysis of the Female Role Does Atwood Offer in "The Handmaid's Tale?"

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The Handmaid's Tale is set in the early twentieth century in the futuristic Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States of America. The Republic has been founded by a Christian response to declining birthrates. The government rules using biblical teachings that have been distorted to justify the inhumane practices. In Gilead, women are categorized by their age, marital status and fertility. Men are categorised by their age. Women all have separate roles in society, and although these roles are different, they all share the same theme: Every woman is confined to the home and has a domestic duty. Marthas are cooks and housekeepers, and handmaids have one duty, which is to reproduce, growing and giving birth to babies to the childless wives of the higher class. The Aunts train and brainwash the handmaids to fulfill their duties. Atwood uses the Aunts to show that in Gilead women are not just oppressed by men, but also by women. Older single women, gay men, and barren handmaids are sent to the colonies to clean up after war and toxic spills, and will probably die due to exposure to radiation. This is because they have no reproductive powers and so are seen as useless in the Republic. People's use and status is totally dependant on their ability to reproduce.

Women's roles are visually defined in the clothes that they wear. Every woman must dress in the appropriate attire in accordance with her role. The Marthas wear green dresses, the Wives blue dresses and the handmaids wear red. The handmaids' red, nun-like uniform symbolizes their imprisonment in that role.

`Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines us.'

The red colour of the handmaids' dresses symbolizes fertility, which ...

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...vel Margaret Atwood gives a bleak message about women. At the same time that she condemns Offred, Serena Joy, the Aunts and even Moira for their complacency, she suggests that even if the women gathered strength and stopped complying, they would be likely to fail to make a difference. This is because no matter what a woman does, she can never change her biology, which is the thing that puts her in this position. No matter what opinions women have,

even if they are brave enough to also express them, they will never be able to change the fact that they are the ones with the womb and ovaries; they are the only ones who can bear children.

Bibliography

Letts Explore Literature guide - The Handmaid's Tale : Sandra Langdon

www.google.com : November 2003

www.novelguide.com : November 2003

www.sparknotes.com : October 2003

www.bookwolf.com : October 2003

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