Examples Of Misogyny In The Handmaid's Tale

Dystopian literature is used to convey somewhat realistic versions of our society that we can connect to. Dystopias are usually futuristic and are used to convey a warning for us to avoid certain scenarios that could affect our future. In Margaret Atwood's, The Handmaid’s Tale she chose to convey exaggerated but real life examples of Misogyny, her novel acts as a social commentary on several issues, and addresses how Patriarchy is used to restrict/control women socially, politically, and economically through the use of labels, the lack of money/ job opportunities, and through dehumanization.
In The Handmaid’s Tale labels/names are used as a means of control. The most obvious way that labels are used in the novel to control women is by the

The first step the government took in taking away women’s independence was taking their jobs, Offred recalls her boss walking in and saying, I have to let you go, he said. It’s the law, I have to. I have to let you all go. He said this almost gently, as if we were wild animals, frogs he’d caught, in a jar, as if he were being humane (Atwood, 176) The government strategically does this because they understand that money is power, by taking away the women’s job they are leaving them powerless, vulnerable, and dependent on men to survive, this even makes some of them turn to illegal prostitution, The Commander explains how respectable women went from lawyers to prostitutes after the reforms, “Well we have quite a collection. That one there, the one in the green, she’s a sociologist. Or was. That one was a lawyer, that one was in business, an executive position; some sort of fast-food chain or maybe it was hotels. (Atwood, 238)” This shows exactly how strong, successful women were reduced down to Prostitutes in a attempt to create better lives for themselves. The women chose to be prostitutes rather than work for men as econwives, handmaids,