The Oppression Of Women In The Handmaid's Tale

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” (Ghandi) In the Handmaid’s Tale women are harshly oppressed, even though they are the foundation of society. Additionally, in Luce Irigaray’s story Women on the Market, women are deprived of power, yet ironically they determine the social status held by men. In both societies, women are treated like slaves and are seen as nothing more than powerless objects. I believe that women are essential to the continuation of humanity even though the highest ranking men further empower themselves, by making sure women remain oppressed through their harsh rules and reproductive roles, which strip women of all power.
Imagine a society in which the most important people have

The main character, Offred, shares her views of this society while incorporating many of her flashbacks of the wrath she received from the system in which she is enslaved. I believe that the restrictions set in place are unnecessary and are comparable to modern day slavery. For example, speech is highly regulated by the secret police. During her limited outside time Offred has “never said anything that was not strictly orthodox” (Atwood 19) These cruel limitations are irreconcilable with the first amendment of the Bill of Rights; which emphasizes freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The purpose of the first amendment is to empower the people and stray from the government having too much power. The Gilead Society takes an antithetical approach and choses to limit these rights in order to impose fear into the

Before this society existed women had power through their looks and romantic potentials, however this influence is now non-existent. The power that many women possess is in their reproductive organs. The elite men are aware that without their ability to reproduce, society would cease to continue. This is why the founders of the Gilead Society needed to create the role called a Handmaid; whose job is to be impregnated by an elite member of the community. For example, Offred’s job is to bear the child of a Commander; to accomplish this they must have sex. Offred describes this act as “Not making love...not does rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for” (Atwood #) Offred has been deceived to believe that she has a choice in this act because she chose her role in society. However I believe this is rape, considering that the women were only given cruel and dehumanizing choices to choose from. While the primary purpose of the act is reproduction; another aspect is the fact that this act of sex contributes towards further oppressing women in society. Similarly, in The Women on the Market the women are subjected to roles that revolve around reproduction and the continuation of