Handmaid's Tale Feminist Analysis

Fertile women are the key for a thriving country. In the book, Handmaid’s Tale there is a country named Gilead that was born after the destruction of the United States. Within the Gilead, there is a strong totalitarian government where the people do not have the freedom to think their own thoughts. Gilead is a biblical term for “hill of testimony”. Religion plays a big part on how Gilead controls their government. The women of Gilead no longer have control over themselves, as the government dictates their thoughts, beliefs, and actions, despite the fact that the government claims to do it for their benefit.
The government emotionally controls women by putting them against each other. The Aunts are used by the government to teach Handmaids,
Only valuing fertility, young women capable of having children, are sent to the Red Centre are they are placed to be Handmaids. Even though the government claim that Handmaids are the key to thriving nation, they are placed in pitiful positions. The elite group of women Wives and Daughters, as well as Marthas and Econowives, look down upon these group of women. No matter how high a woman's social class could be, women from Gilead are still inferior to men. In fact, every woman in Gilead are socially viewed the same despite the fact that they are placed in different social ranks. Social ranks were only established to trick women into believing that they are different from each other. The government successfully enforce this principle, as they gain control over the women’s bodies. As a result, women are negatively confined from their own independence. Within the historical note, Gilead ceases to exist. It is shown that history is repeating itself, as a Gilead researcher makes indecent jokes about women. Offred’s unknown future illustrates the precautions made in a totalitarian society where everyone is on edge from a possible