Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Don’t let the bastards grind you down”(Atwood 223). The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, is a dystopian literature novel that is viewed as a cautionary tale which forewarned the oppression of women in a society known as The Republic of Gilead. The story unfolds through the narration of the protagonist, Offred, who is a Handmaid in this totalitarian society. Her character is dehumanized by others in this society while also being taught that a fertile woman’s sole purpose is to bare children for powerful, but sterile couples. In reading The Handmaid’s Tale anyone can note that this novel showcases a cautionary tale of the oppression of women. But if it were to be read by someone who was raised with different
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More so if said woman were to bare a child with another man afterwards. “This is your second, isn’t it? Third, ma’am, I said” (Atwood 14). In this scene where Offred is meeting the Commander’s wife, she is asked how many times has she been to a commander’s house. Offred responded with three, which means she has had three attempts at getting pregnant. Mexican women are supposed to remain faithful to their husbands. If a mexican man were to read the passage from this quote, he would greatly disagree. No mexican man wants any woman in their family to passed around for the sake of low birth rates. Their is an obvious difference in wanting to do something, and being forced to do something. Surrogates become surrogates to give another person something very special that they can’t achieve on their own. Being forced to bare children defeats their purpose because of the process women as handmaids would have to endure. “Aunt Elizabeth, holding the baby, looks up at us and smiles. We smile too, we are one smile, tears run down our cheeks, we are so happy.(...)Our happiness is part memory. What I remember is Luke, with me in the hospital, standing beside my head, holding my hand, in the green gown and …show more content…
Oh, he said, oh Jesus, breath coming out in wonder”(Atwood 146-147). To begin with, handmaids aren’t even appreciated by the wives for who they are bearing a child for. Instead, handmaids are looked down upon by them out of jealousy for being able to do what they can’t. And to throw salt on the wound, the process of getting pregnant is nowhere near the same as it would be for a surrogate. The Handmaid’s literally get raped by their commanders while their society sees it as socially acceptable because it’s a process that’s helping the human race. But to make matters worse, the surrogate as a handmaid won’t even be able to have a child of her own. But to make matters worse, the surrogate as a handmaid won’t even be able to have a child of her own. She would be robbed from ever being a mother again in her life just like Offred was. This conflicts with the main reason many women become surrogates. Women become surrogates because they know how amazing it feels to be a mother, and to take away that right would be something surrogates would indeed disagree on. The people who contact surrogates, as well as the surrogates themselves, realize the accomplishment of the
More so if said woman were to bare a child with another man afterwards. “This is your second, isn’t it? Third, ma’am, I said” (Atwood 14). In this scene where Offred is meeting the Commander’s wife, she is asked how many times has she been to a commander’s house. Offred responded with three, which means she has had three attempts at getting pregnant. Mexican women are supposed to remain faithful to their husbands. If a mexican man were to read the passage from this quote, he would greatly disagree. No mexican man wants any woman in their family to passed around for the sake of low birth rates. Their is an obvious difference in wanting to do something, and being forced to do something. Surrogates become surrogates to give another person something very special that they can’t achieve on their own. Being forced to bare children defeats their purpose because of the process women as handmaids would have to endure. “Aunt Elizabeth, holding the baby, looks up at us and smiles. We smile too, we are one smile, tears run down our cheeks, we are so happy.(...)Our happiness is part memory. What I remember is Luke, with me in the hospital, standing beside my head, holding my hand, in the green gown and …show more content…
Oh, he said, oh Jesus, breath coming out in wonder”(Atwood 146-147). To begin with, handmaids aren’t even appreciated by the wives for who they are bearing a child for. Instead, handmaids are looked down upon by them out of jealousy for being able to do what they can’t. And to throw salt on the wound, the process of getting pregnant is nowhere near the same as it would be for a surrogate. The Handmaid’s literally get raped by their commanders while their society sees it as socially acceptable because it’s a process that’s helping the human race. But to make matters worse, the surrogate as a handmaid won’t even be able to have a child of her own. But to make matters worse, the surrogate as a handmaid won’t even be able to have a child of her own. She would be robbed from ever being a mother again in her life just like Offred was. This conflicts with the main reason many women become surrogates. Women become surrogates because they know how amazing it feels to be a mother, and to take away that right would be something surrogates would indeed disagree on. The people who contact surrogates, as well as the surrogates themselves, realize the accomplishment of the