Struggle for Gender Equality in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale
Explore the ways Atwood presents the struggle for gender equality in the novel
Written by Margaret Atwood The Handmaids Tale explores the reversal of women’s rights in a society called Gilead. It is founded on what is to be considered a return to traditional values, gender roles and the suppression of women by men, and the Bible is used as the guiding principle. Women are not only tripped from their right to vote, they are also denied the right to read and write, according to the new laws of Gilead. The Handmaids Tale portrays the struggle faced by women living under this strict regime, and how these women have lost their individuality due to the roles forced upon them by society.
Atwood uses structure to portray the inequality faced by women. Throughout the novel, the main character Offred has continuous flashbacks of the time before Gilead. She reminisces ‘I used to think of my body as an instrument, or pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will’, before, her body was an instrument, she was able to do what she wanted and was able to fulfill her desires. However, now herself no longer matters, and her body is only important because of its ‘central object’, her womb which can bear child. The Handmaids have been brainwashed to see themselves as a piece of flesh surrounding their wombs which must be filled in order to make them any use to anyone. Atwood uses these flashbacks to help the reader create an image of the time ‘before’ compared to now, and visualize the complete contrast from when women once had a role in society to now, where women aren’t even seen as human but merely carriers for the next generation.
Furthermore, the Handmaids primary purpose is to carry the children of their Commander, this requires her to have ritualized sexual intercourse with her Commander once a month when she is fertile in hopes of bringing him a child. The experience itself is quote traumatic for the Handmaids as Offred narrates,
Written by Margaret Atwood The Handmaids Tale explores the reversal of women’s rights in a society called Gilead. It is founded on what is to be considered a return to traditional values, gender roles and the suppression of women by men, and the Bible is used as the guiding principle. Women are not only tripped from their right to vote, they are also denied the right to read and write, according to the new laws of Gilead. The Handmaids Tale portrays the struggle faced by women living under this strict regime, and how these women have lost their individuality due to the roles forced upon them by society.
Atwood uses structure to portray the inequality faced by women. Throughout the novel, the main character Offred has continuous flashbacks of the time before Gilead. She reminisces ‘I used to think of my body as an instrument, or pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will’, before, her body was an instrument, she was able to do what she wanted and was able to fulfill her desires. However, now herself no longer matters, and her body is only important because of its ‘central object’, her womb which can bear child. The Handmaids have been brainwashed to see themselves as a piece of flesh surrounding their wombs which must be filled in order to make them any use to anyone. Atwood uses these flashbacks to help the reader create an image of the time ‘before’ compared to now, and visualize the complete contrast from when women once had a role in society to now, where women aren’t even seen as human but merely carriers for the next generation.
Furthermore, the Handmaids primary purpose is to carry the children of their Commander, this requires her to have ritualized sexual intercourse with her Commander once a month when she is fertile in hopes of bringing him a child. The experience itself is quote traumatic for the Handmaids as Offred narrates,