Rebellion In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

The path to adulthood involves learning to make choices among various options. Depending upon the style of government in which people find themselves, the nature and amount of such choices can vary widely. For example, in a democratic government adults may enjoy a large degree of freedom of choice. While in a totalitarian government, adults are severely constrained in their freedom of choice. Irrespective of the style of government in which people live, they are faced with the decision to comply with, or to rebel against, whatever principles or laws are imposed on them by their governments. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, a democratic government is overthrown and is replaced by a theocratic military dictatorship. As a result, freedom

The most extreme form of rebellion occurs when a Handmaid commits suicide. Suicide is the ultimate expression of the control of self, sometimes used by the Handmaids who choose to rebel against their lack of self-determination. Since the suicidal Handmaids would often hang themselves, the regime takes precautionary measures to limit access to this lethal form of rebellion. For example, Offred moves into the Commander’s house and observes, “There must have been a chandelier, once. They’ve removed anything you can tie a rope to” (7). Thus, by the regime removing their means of suicide, the Handmaids are imprisoned in lives to them no longer worth living, an extraordinarily disadvantageous consequence. A second non-lethal form of rebellion for Handmaids is to become Jezebels, or prostitutes. Since prostitution is legally sanctioned by the regime, it gives women unwilling to be Handmaids, a lawful form of rebellion. However, again the consequences of rebellion are severe as a Jezebel not only faces the horrific circumstances of a whore’s life, a Jezebel is also required to be sterilized thereby removing any hope she might want to retain, of a future as a mother. The dehumanization of the Jezebel is even more detrimental to the woman than the dehumanization of the Handmaid, therefore serving as a deterrent against rebellion. Thus, the disadvantages of rebellion make it far from a clear choice for the women of