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The Dehumanization Of Women In The Handmaid's Tale

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In 1517, Martin Luther published Die 95 Thesen, a critique of the corruptive ways of the Roman Catholic Church, in specific accordance with the atonement of sins through monetary indulgences. Through this publication, Luther stresses how the religious gospel has been distorted to support the agenda of the head of state. In Margeret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, biblical stories are used to force the will of the Republic of Gilead upon its citizens. The main societal goal of Gilead is to establish an all-white population of Christ-abiding individuals. To achieve a large population, the use of Handmaids is validated using the story of Adam and Eve. In order to establish a rationale for the expulsion of Black individuals, they are coined the Children …show more content…

To endorse the dehumanization of non-conforming women, as well as allow men to receive sexual pleasure without religious reprehension, they are labelled Jezebels and forced to work as sex slaves. Due to her role in the Bible, Jezebel has become an archetype for a power-hungry, violent, and promiscuous woman. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Jezebel’s is a club in which Commanders come to initiate sexual activity with women of once high standings, including a sociologist, a lawyer, and a business executive (275). Moira, an educated and once outspoken individual tells Offred that “the Aunts figure [the Jezebels] all damned anyway,” as well as that “they’ve given up on [them] so it doesn’t matter what sort of vice [they] get up to” (289). Through this, it is shown that women who had distinguished roles in pre-Gileadean society are already condemned to hell, meaning their roles as prostitutes for the Commanders can be rationalized. The biblical character of Jezebel is used to push Gilead’s agenda, which consists of forcing strong women into submission as well as catering to the needs of powerful

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