Women have been oppressed from their emotional and sexual freedom since the beginnings of time. Margaret Atwood was able to write a novel where she is showing to her audience the oppressive and rigid hierarchy of Gilead which is full of Orthodox traditions, making it a symbolism from the reality where we have been living forever. In Gilead there’s only one power, the power of repression and women have no hope that there is an opponent power that can save them from misery. Even though nowadays women have the right to vote, work, and even been independent enough to make their own decisions, still there is a remarkable difference between both sexes. Atwood highlighted freedom as a foreign subject for women in Gilead, through the novel it’s shown
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Women in Gilead have been forbidden from the world giving them a loss of humanity and also a loss from their own choices. At the beginning of the book we can see how things are in Gilead, Offred is a victim of the brutal and inhuman rules from this society. “…kneeling, near the chair with the footstool where Serena Joy will shortly enthrone herself…she’ll put a hand on my shoulder, to steady herself, as if I’m a piece of furniture. She’s done it before.”(Pag.9), this passage makes reference to a domestic hierarchy which objectifies women as things rather than people. Serena Joy is considered an oppressor in this novel because even though she is a woman she had any humanity in her actions towards the other women in the household. Serena was part of the anti-feminist movement, making an allusion that woman can also oppressed and exploit another woman just to fulfill their desires. “Perfume is a luxury, she must have some private source. I breathe it in, thinking I should appreciate it.” (Page 80). The perfume is a symbolism for freedom and power that Serena Joy was able to enjoy even though she was a woman like the handmaids and marthas. What makes them different is that they were not “born” to have power and luxurious
Women in Gilead have been forbidden from the world giving them a loss of humanity and also a loss from their own choices. At the beginning of the book we can see how things are in Gilead, Offred is a victim of the brutal and inhuman rules from this society. “…kneeling, near the chair with the footstool where Serena Joy will shortly enthrone herself…she’ll put a hand on my shoulder, to steady herself, as if I’m a piece of furniture. She’s done it before.”(Pag.9), this passage makes reference to a domestic hierarchy which objectifies women as things rather than people. Serena Joy is considered an oppressor in this novel because even though she is a woman she had any humanity in her actions towards the other women in the household. Serena was part of the anti-feminist movement, making an allusion that woman can also oppressed and exploit another woman just to fulfill their desires. “Perfume is a luxury, she must have some private source. I breathe it in, thinking I should appreciate it.” (Page 80). The perfume is a symbolism for freedom and power that Serena Joy was able to enjoy even though she was a woman like the handmaids and marthas. What makes them different is that they were not “born” to have power and luxurious