Modern Women In The Handmaid's Tale

Throughout history, women have always been inferior to men. From being owned by their husbands, not being able to vote, or even have a job. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred is owned by the Commander and is blatantly used to produce his children. This production of children involves the subjugation of women; “All the women in Gilead are made to play subsidiary parts, the wives of Commanders included, as well as the elderly infertile women, the Aunts, who save their skins by collaborating and who train the Handmaids in self-suppression” (Staels 455). Their past lives are irrelevant, and their past freedoms are nothing but a distant memory. Offred as a Handmaid has to think of herself as “an object with a procreative function that should save the world from the threat of sterility” (Staels 457). Offred often reflects on her past, remembering the little things, like smoking cigarettes, going shopping, and …show more content…
The government makes place the Handmaids between two difficult choices that modern women cannot picture having to choose. Both of the choices do not seem ideal to modern women in today’s society. However, there are arranged marriages in other parts of the world that are used for the sake of childbirth; they put the prestigious people together to get married, and have the lesser people marry each other. Though in the United States, people marry for the sake of love, and despite having multiple marriages, they are considered legal. In Gilead, one can only marry one time. Offred’s marriage to Luke is her first, but it is his second, therefore, is not a legal marriage. If it would have been both of their first marriages, they would still be together. Offred knows nothing of where he is, or their daughter. What drives and turns a knife in Offred’s heart is Serena Joy has information on her daughter. Offred clings to the hope they are all okay and