The dystopian novel, The handmaid’s tale, written by Margaret Atwood in 1985, is based after the government calls off the constitutional and begin to build a ‘christian society’ that replaces the US, now called Gilead. The handmaid’s tale explores many different themes, one of which is surrounding the contrast of gender roles and why they are represented this way.
Women and men have completely different titles they are chosen to have based on certain characteristics and backgrounds. Gilead bases their views on Christianity and strictly enforces them if people don’t obey they get extreme punishments. Women like the main character, Offred, become handmaid’s, which are ‘fruitful’ or fertile women, created because of extreme pollution causing …show more content…
He begins sneaking her into his office, then one night he takes her to a place called Jezabels. Jezabels is a brothel. Rebellious women are brought here in substitution to being sent from the colonies, where they would clean up hazardous waste, basically a death sentence. The commander dresses Offered up with revealing clothes and makeup. Here we see a separation of power. The commander commits crimes by giving her these things and taking her out, while Offred remains powerless. At Jezabels the author uses animal imagery to compare the women to animals. Offred compares the women at Jezabels to a ‘flotilla of swans’. By comparing the two, is to demean women. In Gilead, women have been treated as just that, animals.
A tremendous part of The handmaid's tale feeds into the objectification of women. They have to be obedient, heterosexual, and modest. Looking at the book through a bigger lens, we see many ideas that are somewhat moderate in today's society. In both places, women are expected to be submissive to their partners, expected to reproduce at some point, and downright up just lesser to men. This whole novel is opposing to the idea of diversity which society is able to thrive
Women and men have completely different titles they are chosen to have based on certain characteristics and backgrounds. Gilead bases their views on Christianity and strictly enforces them if people don’t obey they get extreme punishments. Women like the main character, Offred, become handmaid’s, which are ‘fruitful’ or fertile women, created because of extreme pollution causing …show more content…
He begins sneaking her into his office, then one night he takes her to a place called Jezabels. Jezabels is a brothel. Rebellious women are brought here in substitution to being sent from the colonies, where they would clean up hazardous waste, basically a death sentence. The commander dresses Offered up with revealing clothes and makeup. Here we see a separation of power. The commander commits crimes by giving her these things and taking her out, while Offred remains powerless. At Jezabels the author uses animal imagery to compare the women to animals. Offred compares the women at Jezabels to a ‘flotilla of swans’. By comparing the two, is to demean women. In Gilead, women have been treated as just that, animals.
A tremendous part of The handmaid's tale feeds into the objectification of women. They have to be obedient, heterosexual, and modest. Looking at the book through a bigger lens, we see many ideas that are somewhat moderate in today's society. In both places, women are expected to be submissive to their partners, expected to reproduce at some point, and downright up just lesser to men. This whole novel is opposing to the idea of diversity which society is able to thrive