In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the author depicts a theocratic society that is all too terrifyingly familiar in present day. Atwood offers a sense of hope in Offred’s story simply because she is able to share her story in a time where women are silenced. On the other hand, there is a sense of complacency and passivity within many members of the society that make it seem as if there is no hope. Despite the general passivity in the society, Offred shows that her narrative resistance of language usage and storytelling is especially powerful in overcoming the control of the totalitarian regime.
When introduced to Offred’s situation, the audience witnesses the oppression women endure in the theocratic Gilead. Women are reduced to the fertility of their wombs while their minds are deemed unimportant. As concluded from the novel’s epigraph, the …show more content…
They are given the role of indoctrinating the Handmaids with the values and beliefs of the founders of Gilead. When Offred is first stationed at her Commander’s house, she remembers Aunt Lydia telling them to “try to think of [her situation] from their point of view” (14). Aunt Lydia “nervously pleads” the Handmaids with hands “wrung together” to feel pity for the very people that are oppressing them. The Aunts are so devout in their beliefs that they try to convince the Handmaids that it is necessary for them to feel sorry for their oppressors and take the blame for everything that goes wrong. This is shown once again when Aunt Helena encourages the other Handmaids to taunt and shame Janine because she was gang-raped and had an abortion. The Handmaids relentlessly chant “her fault, her fault, her fault” when asked, “Whose fault was it?” (72). Through indoctrination, the Handmaids become involved with the same subjugation that is placed on them by people of higher
When introduced to Offred’s situation, the audience witnesses the oppression women endure in the theocratic Gilead. Women are reduced to the fertility of their wombs while their minds are deemed unimportant. As concluded from the novel’s epigraph, the …show more content…
They are given the role of indoctrinating the Handmaids with the values and beliefs of the founders of Gilead. When Offred is first stationed at her Commander’s house, she remembers Aunt Lydia telling them to “try to think of [her situation] from their point of view” (14). Aunt Lydia “nervously pleads” the Handmaids with hands “wrung together” to feel pity for the very people that are oppressing them. The Aunts are so devout in their beliefs that they try to convince the Handmaids that it is necessary for them to feel sorry for their oppressors and take the blame for everything that goes wrong. This is shown once again when Aunt Helena encourages the other Handmaids to taunt and shame Janine because she was gang-raped and had an abortion. The Handmaids relentlessly chant “her fault, her fault, her fault” when asked, “Whose fault was it?” (72). Through indoctrination, the Handmaids become involved with the same subjugation that is placed on them by people of higher