Female Character Conflicts In The Handmaid's Tale

Female characters conflicts Characters in system of Gilead all have their own masks. They are acting roles that they force to act out. What has shown on the surface is not who they are from deep core. Most characters in the Handmaid’s Tale are female. Conflicts in female characters within their identities, their goals, and their attitudes are important parts to think about. Basically, conflicts of female characters are able to divide into three parts: goal conflicts, attitude conflicts and group conflicts. The basis of these struggles is their own conflicts between their behaviors or attitudes and their identities. Serena Joy as Commander’s wife is the highest social prestige character among all female characters. She pursues …show more content…
Hence, her life is traditional and monotonously because what she doing all day is “sewing or knitting scarves for the Angels who hardly have a need for such scarves”(13) at home. It’s obvious that she knows well that sewing and knitting she does all day are meaningless and boring. It infers from “the large diamonds on the right finger was finely kept” (14) on her head. This is a sign that she is trying her best to satisfy her emptiness. “Finely kept diamond” implies further that she pursues valuable material to manifest her status and fulfill her vanity. On the other hand, “her pacing back and forth, a heavy step and then a light one” (9) in the sitting room exactly refers her struggles between her real and ideal life. “Heavy” and “light” are antonyms that reflect the opposite sides of her ideal and real life. “Back” and “Forth” implies the struggles that she is