In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the Commanders run a society lacking authentic emotions and relationships. They use threats of removal to the colonies and death to fulfill their desire for order. A Handmaid’s only purpose in life is to produce offspring for their Commander, and they have no connections or feelings for each other. Offred says that Handmaids like her are for “breeding purposes” and are merely “two-legged wombs…sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices” for their Commander’s child (Atwood 136). After a birth, the baby is immediately taken to the Wife, leaving their Handmaid in concealed despair and loneliness. After giving birth, women experience hormone changes that can lead to many emotions, such as sadness. The Handmaids must endure these feelings quietly because they have no acceptable outlet, and they are made to feel that their
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This restriction of emotional reactions leads the Handmaids to react submissively by returning to their purpose of reproduction without complaint. Without any emotional outbursts among the citizens, stability is maintained in Gilead, as emotions are a catalyst for revolution. The government of Gilead manipulates the emotions of their republic to retain the loyalty of the citizens and their contentment with the ways of their society. After the Salvaging ceremony, Aunt Lydia gathers the Handmaids and presents them with a man accused of a rape that resulted in the death of an unborn baby. As they hear of the crime, Offred states that “A sigh [went] up from [them]” and that “there [was] a bloodlust; [she wanted] to tear, gouge, [and] rend” at the man (Atwood 279). No matter how much they dislike and distrust the government, the Handmaids are sent into a blind rage by this announcement. With the stress that they endure while trying to have a baby, they can not stand the thought of a man killing an unborn child. The government provides designated outlets for their pent up emotions, such as the man
This restriction of emotional reactions leads the Handmaids to react submissively by returning to their purpose of reproduction without complaint. Without any emotional outbursts among the citizens, stability is maintained in Gilead, as emotions are a catalyst for revolution. The government of Gilead manipulates the emotions of their republic to retain the loyalty of the citizens and their contentment with the ways of their society. After the Salvaging ceremony, Aunt Lydia gathers the Handmaids and presents them with a man accused of a rape that resulted in the death of an unborn baby. As they hear of the crime, Offred states that “A sigh [went] up from [them]” and that “there [was] a bloodlust; [she wanted] to tear, gouge, [and] rend” at the man (Atwood 279). No matter how much they dislike and distrust the government, the Handmaids are sent into a blind rage by this announcement. With the stress that they endure while trying to have a baby, they can not stand the thought of a man killing an unborn child. The government provides designated outlets for their pent up emotions, such as the man