The Handmaids Tale - Margaret Atwood
Page27
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Passage“Its been a long time since I’ve seen skirts that short on women. The skirts reach just below the knee and the legs come out from beneath them, nearly naked in their thin stockings,blatant, the high-heeled shoes with their straps attached to the feet like delicate instruments of torture. The women teeter on their spiked feet as if on stilts, but off balance; their backs arch at the waist, thrusting their buttocks out. Their heads uncovered and their hair exposed, in all its darkness and sexuality”
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Reactions, Comments, Questions
This passage is from the view of Offred who is looking at tourists, she describes them in a way to show that she has conformed to her society but envy's the women. She admires the clothes because she used to dress that way, but her society has lend her to believe that is not right anymore. Although she has two conflicting opinions about those clothes Offred gets taken back to the way that the world was before, why were women the ones to show extra skin and attempt to stick their butts out. In her present world women are either the "wives", servants or handmaids while the men are the "controllers". Offred stares at these women because she knows that they still have control of their own lives, they get to pick out what they want to wear in the morning while she has to wear the same red robe and be used as a carrier for babies for the sate.
Page151
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Passage“If she were to find out, for instance. He wouldn’t be able to intervene, to save me; the transgressions of women in the household, whether Martha or Handmaid, are supposed to be under the jurisdiction of the Wives alone.”
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Reactions, Comments, Questions
This is where we get one of the first senses of powers that are given to women, and not to our surprise their power is dealing with other women. The wives are allowed to deal with the other women of the house and that is all, other than that they get to live under the power of their husbands. Offred is not afraid at this point, she knows she is doing something against the law but it would be either that or she would continue to look for her "out". It seems weird how men are known as the "controllers" but their wives are still only known as the "wives", being a "husband" would be to equal to this story. Do the wives only deal with the Martha's or Handmaids because they do the duties that traditional housewife would do?
Page153
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Passage“The fact is that I’m his mistress. Men at the top have always had mistresses, why should things be different now? The arrangements aren’t the same, granted.”
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Reactions, Comments, Questions
Another blast from the past, Offred recalls how men on the top have always had mistress, she herself was a mistress to her first husband while he was still married too. Its alarming to me how the women's roles have drastically changed from be able to work and have their own families to being reduced to carrying babies. While the men still have similar roles and traditions, having mistresses is something that men in power apparently always had and still. Its alarming to see how much the women's roles have changed but on the other hand not surprising to hear that men are still being unfaithful to their wives. In the traditional role as a mistress people disliked you, it wasn't a good role to be in. Even still in this society when the status of being a woman has become so low, the old role of being a mistress is still present. Proving that in this book males are still held higher then women, and if any tradition roles are left for a woman it is the negative ones.
Page167
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Passage“They’ve frozen them, she said. Mine too. The collective’s too. Any account with an F on it instead of an M. All they needed to do is push a few buttons. We’re cut off.” |
Reactions, Comments, Questions
This was a flash back Offred had about her and her best friend's conversation. She had just got fired from work then to go and try to buy something to find out that her bank account was frozen. Any account that was registered as owned by a "F" or female was shut down, just by a simple push of a button. After this quote a couple more pages down her husband tell her that he'll take care of her but she feels so helpless, like she has to depend on him. In the past that's the way things were, marrying a husband was the logical choice so that he could provide for his family. Why did this new government want women to be so much lower on the social scale then men?
Retell:
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian novel about a society who has taken such control over women to the point where they are now just existent to carry the children of the higher class individuals. Due to alarmingly low birthrates at the results of chemical spills the handmaids are distributed to those in power. They are constantly watched and have little to no rights, Offred is the narrator of the novel, her life is repetitive and depressing. Many Handmaids commit suicide and for that reason they are always being watched and can only be given certain things and privileges. Offred is a woman to keeps sane by thinking about the way things were in the past, although she does say once in a while "I do not want to be telling this story". Offred becomes friends of Ofglen who informs her that there is a underground operation that is going to try and overthrow the government. The story takes an unexpected turn when Offred finds out that the commander's wife, Serena Joy, knows the whereabouts of her daughter. Offred then has to sleep with a younger man who works at the house in order to try and get pregnant. Offred wants so badly for things to be the way they used to be, just when Ofglen gives her that hope she hangs herself when she hears the eyes are coming after her. Offred then loses any hope she had of becoming apart of this underground operation as Ofglen was her only link. The only thing that helps her tolerate her life is spending nights with Nick behind the backs of the people she was hired for. During the last few pages of the book, Nick comes into her room and asks her to go with him, he could be an eye(working for the government) or he could want to save her but either way she agrees. As a reader there is no knowing of what happens to Offred from that point.
Relate:
This novel reminds me of 1984 when it came to the reproduction part of this novel, in 1984 it was known as "their duty to the party" to have a baby, while in The Handmaids Tale having a baby is for a very similar purpose. When someone takes over a society they want to rule, they want to rule people, and when the government of Gilead found out that the birth rates were low Handmaids were made. This act of reproduction was strictly business in 1984 and in The Handmaids Tale both were emotionless and one was completely ridiculous where the wife would hold the handmaids hands while the commander had sex with her. This character reminds me of myself in a sense that she does follow the rules for the most part but she attempts to break the ones she can if she believes she's right. This novel can also be related to the world when new laws are made that people have the right to protest, although Offred doesn't have the right to protest, she protests in her own way even if its rubbing butter on her face to moisturize because they aren't allowed any products.
Reflect:
I realize now that this novel was a complete disgrace to women everywhere, nothing against the author, but this dystopian novel was just spine chillingly cruel. The lack of rights for women of this novel was a big giant step back from the society that I live in presently. While reading this book my point go further proved about women in a society full of oppression, no matter how hard that society tried to degrade these women they still found ways to fight in their own ways. Offred was a very powerful character even though she seemed like a bystander at times she still resisted the change. The fate you chose for Offred at the end of the book is really a reflection of your knowledge of dystopian texts and your level of optimism. I personally favour the idea that she was taken somewhere safe and Nick is her hero. That is because my outlook on life is more on the positive side, and on a side note I was really upset when Winston didn't win in 1984.