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The Theme Of Patriarchal Symbolism In The Handmaid's Tale

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The quote, “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme”, redacted from another quote by Mark Twain (O’Toole), could act as a summary for Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale. In this novel, a dystopian society is implemented through the utilitarian control of a Biblical patriarchy. While certain analyses of this novel comment on the piece’s abstractness and point to the realities as to how this type of society could never exist, every detail in this book was created via something that has already existed or happened as a historical event. Specifically, America’s religious and patriarchal roots have not only deeply influenced our current culture, but also the future culture of the Gilead society. Margaret Atwood employs various symbols throughout her novel to concretely embed the abstract concepts of patriarchal religious oppression in this society through the usage of historical settings in context, specifically through the settings of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University within Cambridge, and Salem, Massachusetts.
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Atwood utilizes the symbols of the church, Harvard University, and the Wall hangings to represent the harsh Puritan influences and gender discriminations that constructed both Gilead but also American culture. Reflecting back on the anti-reality oppositions towards this novel, analyzing the Puritan foundations on which this country was built demonstrate the influences still in American culture today and point towards how they will continue to influence the future. Extrapolating on current events in politics, if the separation of church and government ceases to exist, quite easily could this country revert to a more religious-based state, throwing us into a real-life Handmaid’s tale from our own

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