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The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

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The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood depicts the future dystopian society, Gilead. There, the few remaining fertile women, called handmaids, are enslaved to a life of procreation to combat the dangerously low birth rates. The theme of oppression and rebellion is prevalent throughout the novel, and is best illustrated by Confutatis from Mozart’s Requiem. In his final hour as he composes Confutatis, Mozart begs God for mercy to be called one of the blessed to enter heaven. The compelling lyrics of Confutatis accompanied by intense orchestration parallel the lives of the Handmaids, who desperately seek to escape the oppressive world they are imprisoned in. The women of Gilead are stripped of the possession of their name, identity and their …show more content…

At the Red Center, Moira, a rebellious Handmaid, and Offred often arranged to meet in the washroom to exchange a few words: “Moira? I whisper. Is that you? she says. … I feel ridiculously happy” (84). The precious yet illegal friendship between Moira and Offred kept their lives slightly more bearable during their training at the Red Center. Eventually, Moira escapes from the Red Center after injuring Aunt Elizabeth and stealing the Aunt’s high-ranking uniform to walk out of the center. As Offred describes her last impression of her friend, “Moira had power now, she’d been set loose, she’d set herself loose. She was now a loose woman. … Nevertheless Moira was our fantasy” (154). Moira never returned to the center again, giving the Handmaids hope that they too will be able to escape from the oppressive regime in the future. The second chorus of Confutatis, sung by the sopranos in a soft, angelic-like quality, “Voca me (“Call me”) / Voca me cum benedictus (“Call me when you are blessed”)”. The chorus is sung in C major with sopranos and altos echoing each other, representing the many bathroom visits Offred and Moira took to console each other. Similarly to how Mozart prayed to be one of the blessed souls to enter heaven, the Handmaids pray to be one of the lucky women to one day successfully escape. However, the happiness and hope the sopranos’

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(Atwood 187). Although Handmaids experience oppression by the Gilead regime, Atwood emphasizes the importance of unity and collaboration in the face of difficulties. The government of Gilead presents how hypocritical their society is toward women’s rights since the government uses a form of manipulation to make the Handmaid’s circumstances more tolerable. Additionally, Offred expresses how women do not have a right to their bodies because of the power others have over them as Offred states “I am abject” (Atwood 331). Offred expresses the removal of her individuality, autonomy, and basic human rights.

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Just like Hamlet, Offred was also unable to trust anyone other than her best friend, Moira because of the situation she was placed in. Since Offred was a handmaid nearly all of her human rights were taken away, because of this she was unable to build relationships of trust with other people. She had lost all connections with people she loved, with the exception of Moira. Gilead, a world where all the citizens are obligated to obey those in power, none of the people had any meaningful relationships such as friendship or companionship. As shown by Offred 's statement: "We aren 't supposed to form friendships, loyalties, among one another" (Atwood 353), people were expected to not create new relationships.

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Moira is the embodiment of defiance towards ‘The Republic of Gilead’ and its oppressive nature, Offred constantly reflects on memories of her for use as a symbol of hope and defiance. In Gileadean society the only purpose of handmaids is to be a vessel for children, so it was only natural for Moira, as a lesbian, to resist the changes that Gilead and The Red Center tried to enforce upon her. Margaret Atwood uses Moiras frustration to change the tone of The Handmaids Tale to a story that focuses on trying to resist the power of an oppressive regime rather than just revealing what life in such a society is like. Offred constantly looks to Moira as a guiding figure because she is strong and independent. This is why when the protagonist finds

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Offred uses this relationship to placate her complacency but also to muster up her courage to run away when the time came. In another light, Offred is intelligent simply because she knows things. An early comment she says is that “Men at the top have always had mistresses, why should things be any different now?” (Atwood 163). Since Offres knows this it implies that she not only is acquainted with the culture of life before Gilead, but also that she is well versed in cultural norms from other time periods.

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The Commander also has the power to break the rules that govern men and women, forcing Offred to do what he wants regardless of the possibility of her punishment. The Commander takes Offred to Jezebels, a prostitution hub, actively putting her in danger without consequences of his own, all of the blame being shifted onto Offred. Furthermore, the Commander gets to indulge in aspects of life deemed illegal, like board games, magazines, and infertility without consequences. However, if Offred is found to be participating in these acts with the Commander, as he repeatedly requests, then she will be sent away and possibly hung for public speculation. The Commander's indulgence and biased perspective of the world as a result of his idealism, results in putting Offred's life in danger.

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She is used by Commander for sex and companionship and had an affair with Nick (higher preganancy chance). Most of her actions are being forced “Which of us is it worse for, her or me?”(151) meant the sex between the narrator and commander is unbearable to the point of watching your husband having sex with another women right infront of you. Her only defiance done totally by herself is “I will use the butter later that night.” (113), everything else including escaping the Gilead, having an affair with Commander, having an affair with Nick and leaving the Commanders house are all stimulated by others. Offred represent those who does not stand against oppresion, being pushed around and used for sex.

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It is narrated by the protagonist, Offred who is a handmaid forced into sexual servitude. Facing a plunging birth rate, the fundamentalist regime treats women as property of the state. Handmaids are the few of the remaining fertile women and their sole purpose is to help the government into re-populating their society, where a lot of people are left sterile. The Handmaid’s Tale deals with the theme of women in subjugation to misogyny in a patriarchal society, primarily. It shows the struggle that women have to go through in that society, as a Handmaid or as not being able to be one.

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