How Does Margaret Atwood Use Allusions In The Handmaids Tale

As many devout Christians would say, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, takes the idea of political legitimacy in a corrupt society and identifies its source of power: God. Atwood’s narrative follows the life of a young woman named Offred, an independent woman working in American publishing when the country is taken over by the state of Gilead. In the newly formed Gilead, women able to have children are indoctrinated by the teachings of Aunts. These women, who are inspired by Nuns, restructure Offred and her peer’s views on social structures in the Republic of Gilead, which are subsequently conservative due to their religious allusions

In the novel, the Red Center is a facility where women learn to become Handmaids. It is inspired by the Red Tent, a biblical location for women to escape the throes of men when they are menstruating. However, these two locations heavily contradict one another in their ideals, as the Red Center is a place of conformity and feminine suppression. The Red Tent, on the other hand, is a place of feminine liberation, often referred to as an oasis for women on their period. Atwood contradicts this idea when describing the Red Center through the perspective of Offred, claiming that “we weren’t allowed out, except for our walks, twice daily, two by two around the football field, which was enclosed now by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire” (5). The Red Center, which enforces strict schedules and behavior procedures, does not accurately represent the original intentions of the Red Tent, a place of female empowerment. Atwood uses their differences and their blatant misinterpretations to show how religious perspective can change the government of a nation. The Red Tent never kept women in, but the Red Center, which is lined with ‘barbed wire,’ refuses to let the Handmaids out. Atwood continues to juxtapose these locations when referring to the Aunts who run them. Of the religious leaders, the most commonly featured is Aunt Lydia. She believes that Offred must learn how to live as part of a community. When referring to her new life at the Red Center, Aunt Lydia exclaims “think of it as being in the army” (10). In the Red Center, women are supposed to embrace one another for their femininity as seen in the Red Tent, a biblical safe haven for women. However, due to Gilead’s patriarchal society, women living for the purpose