How Does Atwood Present The Woman In The Handmaid's Tale

110 Words1 Pages
This is an important quotation in the novel because of the simplicity of the diction Atwood utilizes to describe her body. It emphasizes the changeover from what Offred once thought of her body to what Gilead now brainwashed her into believing. Women appreciation has transformed from a wholehearted appreciation for the purity and simplicity of a woman to solely interest in their “central object”, their womb. Offred’s musings show that she has started to accept Gilead’s attitude toward women, which treats them as objects important only for the children that they can bear. Gilead, with these beliefs dehumanizes women and reduces them to “a cloud, congealed around a central