Review of The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Attwood
Favourite Quote: ‘We are two-legged wombs, that’s all: sacred vessels ambulatory chalices.’ (146)
Margaret Attwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale imagines a future in which women are barren and men are sterile. As with any rare commodity, fertile women acquire a high price, thereby becoming the property of rich commanders. A possible vessel for childbearing, the protagonist Offred is assigned to a couple, stripped of her identity, her name, and her voice. War and the repercussions of chemical waste have put the population at risk, therefore the fate of humanity rests in her womb.
The Republic of Gilead is a futuristic and fantasy world; however, Attwood explains in the introduction that elements of the text are based on real-life events. Whilst writing the book in 1984, she was living in Germany amongst a harsh, authoritarian political landscape. Civil rights were restricted to control the population, citizens did not possess the freedom to move freely. This lack of individual agency is exhibited by Offred who is under constant surveillance. Even the language she is allowed to use is constrained, a reminder that her intellectual thought is not valued, her sole purpose is to reproduce. However, rebellious acts are shown with hushed words between bed frames or on daily walks, subtle communications that show women resisting containment. Signifiers of the Soviet Union include a wall surrounding Gilead, a representation of the Berlin Wall. Limp bodies of rebels hang as deterrents to others who are tempted to rise against the regime. These reflections heighten the tragedy of the mental and physical harm Offred is subjected to as a projection of historical events. Moreover, Attwood highlights evidence of oppression that can be found within the political structures of modern-day America. A warped view of Christianity is exercised to justify the restrictions placed on women’s reproductive rights. Today, anti-abortion laws in some states make accessibility to an abortion limited and dangerous for those who manage to have the procedure. In this fictional world, women are forced into ceremonies of rape, and religious practises are used to validate the need to reproduce to preserve the human race.
Since publication, The Handmaid’s Tale has been met by resistance in schools and by groups of parents for its explicit sexual scenes and critique of Christian practices. Attwood illustrates a divide within America, between communal morality grounded in tradition and religious values against the liberalised views of equality for all members of society. I believe that the text is an important tool for education as it engages with issues of consent, contraception, and abortion. We never learn Offred’s true name, possibly Jane, therefore she represents all women and the inhumanity of gender bias. Attwood inspires hope that gender roles will cease to exist with the rebellion of her characters, eluding to the possibility of Offred’s ultimate escape. The women interpret their reduced language to find some form of communication and a sense of unity. Offred stretches her confinements by befriending the commander, using scrabble as a tool to exercise her freedom, feeling a rush of power from commanding a pen across a page. These small acts signify defiance, a refusal to be valued solely by the abilities of a woman’s biological makeup.
Structural elements of the text create an interesting dynamic, contrasting flashbacks of Offred’s previous life with one reduced to the red colour of a gown. Snippets of her husband, her child, her friends, and everyday conversations permeate the text. Head to toe, her clothing symbolises her sole purpose as a fertile woman, compelling the reader to question their ability to have a free sense of self.
This was an electric and thought provoking read, one that I devoured in a few days. Fortunately, the story doesn’t end there as I have got my hands on the highly anticipated sequel The Testaments. Will Offred escape the oppressive state of Gilead and find her family alive? I’ll have to keep reading to find out!