Atwood presents the female characters as being both oppressed and dehumanised through how their freedom being stripped from them. An example of this is how they are no longer allowed to smoke cigarettes due to the potential harm it can cause their pregnancy. Woman are protected in Gilead however this also means that they must submit to the state-sanctioned rape by their specific commanders. In chapter five Aunt Lydia states that “There is more than one kind of freedom… Freedom to and freedom from.” The freedom to that she is referring to is the ability to make a decision, an example of this is evident through how Offred is given a chance to escape by the doctor, however she immediately questions herself by thinking “why am I frightened?” This implies that she is so accustomed to being oppressed she is almost scared to take the chance of freedom that is being handed to her. This portrays a sense of dehumanisation in terms of female characters as freedom is regarded as a basic human right.
Being reduced to the role of a handmaid has meant Offred's physical identity has been severely altered from how it was in her past life, Atwood presents her attempts reconstruct her physical identity under the supervision of the regime throughout the novel. The dystopian novel is written in first person narration so the reader gets a first hand, female understanding of how Atwood wants the reader to perceive Offred’s physicality. Being a handmaid means that Offred has no real control of her body. The initial role of a handmaid is to produce a child for Gilead's elite and it is made extremely clear to them that they are of no worth and their only use is as 'containers'. The use of this word demonstrates their low value as a container is never cared for, only its content is important.
Synthesis essay I’m defending the claim that women’s rights are suppressed in the Middle East and that they should strive to give women freedom such as western women have. Source c states that a new law was introduced that allowed marital rape. This law that was approved also makes it illegal for a woman to resist her husband’s sexual advances. She must also have her husband’s permission to work outside the home or go to school. This is evidence that the women in this part of the world are oppressed and abused.
The Republic of Gilead is a dystopian society where the government restricts and dictates the lives of it citizens; however there is a clear distinction between the roles of men and women. The women in particular are defined by their gender roles, which also strips them of their individuality. Colour is often used throughout the novel to help distinguish between the roles of women and their place in society. Offred describes her outfit which to her looks like “sister dipped in blood” symbolising the fertility of the Handmaids as the red suggests the blood of a women’s menstrual cycle. The fact that “everything except the wings around [her] face is red” represents the government’s own view of them, that there only purpose in the regime is to be the carriers of the next generation.
Pope's gender ideologies deflate the power, intelligence and beauty of women while supporting man's violence and belittling of women. The symbolism of the lock of hair can be viewed with two different types of gender criticism, one that defies the patriarchy and one that feeds into the power of the patriarch. In Ellen Pollak's essay, "Rereading The Rape of the Lock: Pope and the Paradox of Female Power," Pollak maintains that the lock of hair is a phallic symbol and therefore it is cut off to reduce Belinda to femininity. The symbolic loss of the Belle's much-coveted virginity is realized in the form of a castration or literal cutting off of that body part of her associated most strongly with those 'masculine' attributes of the coquette - her power, skill, and pride (Singh 472). Julie Kristeva, author of "Women's Time" while not accepting Pollak's theory of castration believes that castration is unique only to men: "castration results in the creation of a sense of separation which is symbolized by the penis"(Singh 472).
Women over time have been the subject of judgment, critic, and ridicule, having women’s bodies parts portrayed as objects and being objectified through advertisements creates the fight for equality for women that Jean Kilbourne has devoted most of her life trying to achieve. Kilbourne a feminist herself preaches the issue of objectification of women through her writings of Killing Us Softly. Killing us softly reflects the issue at hand by raising the awareness of objectification of women through certain advertisements. Advertisements Kilbourne refers to in her essay are the ones that don’t portray women in the correct way or show the proper equality women have in present day. Women being inferior to males, having their mouths covered, or being mistreated within an add is something that should be stopped or at least being acknowledged that it is a negative message toward women.
The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, takes place in The Republic of Gilead where reproduction rates are declining. To counteract this, the remaining women with viable ovaries, called Handmaids, are assigned to high class households with hopes of conceiving a child. Feminism, a topic that is central to the novel, is the ideology of equality for women. However, the society in the novel is depicted as the exact opposite of feminism. By utilizing the Handmaids as a representation of the females in the Gileadean society, the author exposes the flaws of an anti-feminist society through objectification and the absence of agency.
In Sonia Chadha’s article Women as Metaphor she explains “how the word ‘handmaid’ is only a euphemism for a slave girl”, this is because handmaids are only recognised and defined by their job, their duty to the commanders and the wives and are reduced to their function as fertility objects. Since Offred is handmaid she is already a powerless
Issues of Women’s Liberation from the Oppression Found in Society and Marriages Sherry Heide ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Instructor: Louise Becker 09 January 2012 Issues of Women’s Liberation from the Oppression Found in Society and Marriages What is said of women suffrage is not always true today in America or other countries, what is the truth, is that it is based largely on the perception of the woman experiencing the suffering. Women throughout time have suffered from oppression in society and in their own marriages. Gender roles are not something we are but instead something we do. It is completely unnatural for women of today to be the money makers, everything to the children (taxi, disciplinarian, etc..),take out etc cook, housekeeper and so on yet still their husbands will is forced upon the entire family instead of taking his place with his wife as partners. Did the verse found in Genesis chapter 3 vs. 16 cause centuries of women's suffrage?
Feminism in The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, looks at feminist issues in a fictional setting, that are based on historical events. In this novel, feminist theory is presented through the absence of equal rights, the prevalence of gender roles, and the control of sex and sexuality Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. Feminist political activism commonly campaign on issues such as reproductive rights, violence within a domestic partnership, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, discrimination and sexual violence. (EKU) The story is narrated by an oppressed woman named Offred, who lives during a totalitarian, dystopian future United States, called the Republic of Gilead. In Gilead, women are seen as property and are subordinate to men.