Examples Of Instinct In The Handmaid's Tale

Anabelle Savarese
Ms. Delude
Great Works of Literature
23 January 2023

The Suppression of Desire: How Human Instinct May Prevail Human instinct is the natural motivation or impulse to perform an action against external stimuli. Under totalitarian governments, human instincts are suppressed or manipulated to fit the needs of said government. Whether it be the suppression of sexual desire or even living, the government would do anything to ensure they could be stopped. That being said, human instinct in most cases finds a way to prevail despite the circumstances. In novels such as 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale, the main characters' sexual instincts are repressed, yet they use these instincts to ultimately rebel against their governments. Throughout

Under the party of Big Brother, married couples were initially forced to attempt to procreate, or else they were split up. Winston Smith and his wife Katherine would attempt to perform this act, however, Winston would describe it as “extraordinarily embarrassing, and, after a while, horrible,” (Orwell 97). Katherine would simply “submit” during the act and she described it as their “duty to the party,” (98). We see the same effect in Margaret Attwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The handmaids are forced to submit to the commanders to procreate and sustain the government. They perform a ceremonial act described similarly to how Winston was feeling with his wife - pleasure is completely stripped away. In The Handmaid’s Tale, however, it is taken to an even higher extreme. The act is no longer consensual and the handmaids are being raped by the commanders. In 1984 the human instinct for sexuality is further taken away by the implementation of the “Junior Anti-Sex League, which

1984 provides a sector of work that creates pornography for the proletarians. Winston remarks that "Tacitly the Party was even inclined to encourage prostitution, as an outlet for instincts which could not be altogether suppressed,” (99). This provides extreme irony in this novel, as Big Brother is doing everything in its power to suppress instincts, specifically sexuality/desire. We further see this idea flourish in The Handmaid’s Tale. There is a place called “Jezebels,” in which the commanders can attend. It is essentially a prostitution club. Again we are provided with the irony that although Gilead is suppressing women's rights and instincts, a place lies where they can continue, to withstand all ideals which the party is promoting. This proves that ultimately it is extremely difficult to suppress human instinct. Furthermore, Winston meets Julia, the dark-haired girl, and they begin to meet to have romantic relations. This is strictly forbidden by the Big Brother Party, and their acts are seen as a direct rebellion against the party. During their first meeting, Winston recounts their actions to follow that, “not merely the love of one person but the animal instinct, the simple undifferentiated desire: that was the force that would tear the Party to pieces,” (172). Their actions are one of the only ways they can rebel against the party, and Winston believes