Patriarchy In The Handmaid's Tale

In the selected passage from The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood plays with character symbolism and imagery to explore key themes and ideas that are overarching in the novel. The main character, Offred, lives in a state structured around the sole goal of controlling reproduction, which is achieved through assuming the complete control of women’s bodies through their political subjugation. The passage follows Offred’s heightened sensitivity to sexuality as she passes through a flowered garden in the summer, descriptive imagery and symbolism at once emphasising femininity, and deeper implications as Atwood plays with character symbolism reinforcing key themes of patriarchy and the criminalisation of sexuality, both pervasive throughout the entire

As Serena tended her garden, she “[cut] up with a convulsive jerk of the hands” in an aggressive motion that Offred comes to discern as a “blitzkrieg, some kamikaze, committed on the swelling genitalia of the flowers.” Her unseemly violence is only emphasized upon with Atwood’s use of martial diction in stark contrast to the sensual imagery of the flower’s “fruiting body.” Meanwhile, Offred and the tulips are symbolically linked not only by their characteristic red colour, but by their fertility – for Offred’s sole purpose in Gilead is to bear her the child of Serena’s husband – and with this in mind the passage’s opening action becomes symbolic as a violent attack on Offred herself, administered by Serena. This only holds more implications when considering Serena’s role in the Republic of

To contrast with Gilead’s emphasis on modesty, “there is something subversive about this garden of Selena’s” as flowers manage to break through the earth and make themselves known – it is “heavy with scent; languid,” and the descriptive olfactory and visual imagery quickly builds an atmosphere that is entirely romantic and luxurious. Yet, the garden’s sensuality coalesces with the already heavy use of symbolism in the passage; when one recalls that the garden’s flowers can be symbolic for women like Offred, the implications of the passage are larger still. “Light pours down upon [the flowers in the garden] from the sun, true,” as the men of Gilead exercise their power by subjugating women from their higher positions, “but also heat rises, from the flowers themselves, like holding your hand an inch above an arm,” as women exude their own unique power in embracing sexuality. When Offred attracts a Guardian early in the novel, she feels that her ability to inspire sexual attraction is one of the only powers she retains, as “such moments are the rewards [she] holds out for [herself].” (21) Such is to be seen in the Commander’s affectionate behaviour toward her. While he is the only major male character in the novel, he too seems to be a prisoner of Gilead, starved for the sensuality and genuine human