Women In The Handmaid's Tale

According to Collins English Dictionary, an identity crisis is “a state in which a person experiences uncertainty about who they really are and their proper role in life” (Definition of 'identity crisis'). Loss of or confusion about personal identity can come as the result of any number of factors, but it generally is not forced upon a person. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the dystopian society established onto America aims to do just that. Women are stripped of basic human rights and must conform to a lifestyle that makes each one of them exactly like the next with menial and sometimes repulsive tasks. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, the rules that the Republic of Gilead has in place are used to show how a forceful loss of personal identity creates …show more content…
Ofglen is a prime example of this, because “The women referred to as ‘Ofglen’ in this story is just one of a succession: the narrator knew an Ofglen before her, and at the end of the novel another Ofglen shows up in her place,” (Telgen 121). The most prominent woman who is named Ofglen in the novel is learned to be part of the Mayday resistance and is replaced after she kills the man said to be a rapist during the Salvaging out of mercy. Ironically, as soon as Offred learns about a part of the rebel Ofglen’s personal identity, she is replaced and neither Offred nor the reader can associate any personality with the name. Handmaids can be replaced for special situations like this, but in most cases, a Handmaid is replaced when she has a child or is deemed unable to have a child with her Commander. The time frame for each Handmaid to be at a specific household is always uncertain, but it can be assumed that the majority of Handmaids go through multiple changes of households, and therefore changes of names and identities as well. Names hold no personality, and a specific Handmaid cannot be known by a single name, stripping them of something significant that they can identify with. The changing names and association with the Commanders effectively leaves Handmaids with very little personality to be identified …show more content…
Social classes are very obvious, as women’s gowns’ colors and patterns show what their jobs are. Offred notes the different classes as she goes on her daily walk, “There are other women with baskets, some in red, some in the dull green of the Marthas, some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimpy, that mark the women of the poorer men. Econowives,” (Atwood 24). Anyone who sees a woman knows exactly what her place in society is because of these distinctions between classes. Because they all dress the same way, it is most likely very difficult for someone to identify who a woman is, especially if she is a Handmaid. Handmaids also have to wear “wings” that hide their faces. Since they often do not turn to face anyone, a person who sees a Handmaid will only see a Handmaid—their identities are hidden, quite literally. Women, especially Handmaids, and then only seen as their job, which is to be a vessel for carrying a Commander’s child. Since they have nothing to do with raising the child, Handmaids are basically objects used to hold the children, and they do not have any humanity to those around them. The creation of Handmaids takes objectification of women to the extreme, as they truly have no humanity to anyone and are only tools of the male Commanders. The concealing and identical outfits is just another way to take humanity and individuality away from the