Theme Of Misogyny In The Handmaid's Tale
Introduction
The issue that has been persistent for as long as one can remember is Misogyny in the society. The belief that women are inferior to men has been contaminating the human mind. The issue can be commonly seen in the society in form of domestic abuse, violence, objectification in name of advertisements, and especially in the music industry where the lyrics are filled with hateful messages towards women. Even though the governing laws consider men and women as equal, but the mistreatment of women continues to be the headline of every newspaper.
First Novel - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The novel The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood was first published in 1985. The novel displays a society called Republic of Gilead that …show more content…
Le Guin was originally published in 1969. It is a story of a man named Genly Ai who travels to a different planet named Gethen on a mission. As he gets familiar with the Gethenian system of living, he is shocked by the conventions of the gender neutral planet. He learns that gender stereotypes from Earth are not applicable to Gethen because all citizens are androgynous. On the planet, judgment is made based on the personality and talents of an individual rather than gender. Genly gets confused because he is used to making judgments based on gender, and the planet challenges his notion of this belief and also teaches him an important lesson about equality of the …show more content…
Burden and privilege are shared out pretty equally [in Gethen]; everybody has the same risk to run or choice to make" (93).
Analysis:
Genly Ai considers the social norms for women on Earth such as to have children, take care of family etc., and compares it to the androgynous society of Gethen where misogyny does not exist because its a gender neutral planet. On Gethen, nobody is held back because of their gender, which allows everyone to have the same opportunities. The message of the novel is to strive to be like Gethen because it is unobstructed from the social stereotypes of gender. The comparison between the norms of Earth and Gethen, show the inequality women on Earth are facing.
Quote 2:
Genly Ai thinks "a man wants his virility regarded, a woman wants her femininity appreciated, however indirect and subtle the indications of regard and appreciation. On [planet Gethen] they do not exist. One is respected and judged only as a human being" (95).
The issue that has been persistent for as long as one can remember is Misogyny in the society. The belief that women are inferior to men has been contaminating the human mind. The issue can be commonly seen in the society in form of domestic abuse, violence, objectification in name of advertisements, and especially in the music industry where the lyrics are filled with hateful messages towards women. Even though the governing laws consider men and women as equal, but the mistreatment of women continues to be the headline of every newspaper.
First Novel - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The novel The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood was first published in 1985. The novel displays a society called Republic of Gilead that …show more content…
Le Guin was originally published in 1969. It is a story of a man named Genly Ai who travels to a different planet named Gethen on a mission. As he gets familiar with the Gethenian system of living, he is shocked by the conventions of the gender neutral planet. He learns that gender stereotypes from Earth are not applicable to Gethen because all citizens are androgynous. On the planet, judgment is made based on the personality and talents of an individual rather than gender. Genly gets confused because he is used to making judgments based on gender, and the planet challenges his notion of this belief and also teaches him an important lesson about equality of the …show more content…
Burden and privilege are shared out pretty equally [in Gethen]; everybody has the same risk to run or choice to make" (93).
Analysis:
Genly Ai considers the social norms for women on Earth such as to have children, take care of family etc., and compares it to the androgynous society of Gethen where misogyny does not exist because its a gender neutral planet. On Gethen, nobody is held back because of their gender, which allows everyone to have the same opportunities. The message of the novel is to strive to be like Gethen because it is unobstructed from the social stereotypes of gender. The comparison between the norms of Earth and Gethen, show the inequality women on Earth are facing.
Quote 2:
Genly Ai thinks "a man wants his virility regarded, a woman wants her femininity appreciated, however indirect and subtle the indications of regard and appreciation. On [planet Gethen] they do not exist. One is respected and judged only as a human being" (95).