Examples Of Power In The Handmaid's Tale

‘Power’. This 5-letter word can mean very different things in different situations. Perhaps as elementary schoolers, the child who could run the fastest was in power; their speed enhanced their status amongst their 20-person class Alternatively, on a global scale, power could be defined as the strength one country’s army has over another; a country with a strong army is now respected by others. Ultimately this sense of power, whether inherent or fabricated, can create intense power dynamics between the people in power, and the people who the power is held over. In The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood skillfully crafts her story to reveal how power and control can change the dynamics between those in authority and their adherents. More specifically,

As readers are introduced to Gilead, they are familiarized with the strict limitations and procedures in it. We learn that the handmaids are even stripped of some fundamental rights, like their freedom to speak, with extreme measures such as, ‘spaces between [their beds] so [they can] not talk” (4. Speech is one of the most essential ways of developing identity and expressing oneself, which is limited in this society, causing these women to lose their identities. One might think that when placed against such unfair rules, it would be ideal to speak against them. However, readers soon

Offred even offers readers a look into her mindset as a handmaid, in that “all [she] has to do, [she] tells [herself], is to keep [her] mouth shut and look stupid. It shouldn't be that hard” (236). While the only apparent consequence of this complicity may be the unreasonable living conditions, the implicit costs are the voices and identities lost by these individuals. In a community that already promotes uniformity rather than diversity, continuous compliance with such standards will only reinforce the rules. In fact, we first see Offred expressing discomfort as she describes how she is discontented with her situation. However, as the story progresses, we see her start to accept her fate and fully conform, claiming that it is “truly amazing, what people can get used to, as long as there are a few compensations” (271). This is representative of how continuous compliance eventually leads to acceptance, which reaches the same unfortunate end destination: suffering the consequence of lost identities and unheard voices.

Though rebelling against undeserved power may seem like a proposition with promising results, The Handmaid’s Tale exemplifies how this can be untrue, especially in a patriarchal society like that of Gilead. Rebellion