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What Does The Flower Symbolize In The Handmaids Tale

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In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the main character Offred faces many hardships throughout her life as a Handmaid, but the hardest and deepest issue she confronts is the lack of freedom she has due to her being fertile and children are desperately needed in the Gileadean society. Offred is stripped of her freedom once she becomes a Handmaid, and is unable to live the life she longs for, which she describes throughout the story through symbolism. Instead of a free life, she is confided to living in her bedroom except when the Handmaids are allowed to leave for events such as child bearing ceremonies, trips to the grocery store, and executions. The Handmaids are trapped in this lifestyle due to their low status in the Gileadean social …show more content…

The flower is the reproductive organ of a plant, just as the Handmaids are responsible for producing children in the Gileadean society. For example, Offred explores this comparison when she states, “Committed on the swelling gentile of the flowers” (153), when discussing the scene of Serena Joy shearing her garden. She then goes on to state that she covets the shears, and how the cut off the fertility of the plants in the Garden, symbolizing the frustration she has for the pressure the Handmaids face to bear children. The egg is a constant symbol for fertility as well and throughout the book there are many instances of this. One clear and concise example that Offred provides of the egg’s symbolism is when she states, “If I have an egg, what more can I want?” (111). These women are taught that their most important attribute and contribution to society is merely producing children, and this brainwashing is clear when Offred states that this is the most she could ask for. When Offred’s commander questions her about the new society the government has created Atwood also includes the quote, “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs”(252). This quote originates from the French Revolution and has been used by many harsh and tyrannical dictators such as Hitler and Stalin. It means that it is necessary to, “Sacrifice some lives for the greater good”(Iuvino 1), therefore it is clear that Atwood used this quote on purpose to describe the repressive nature the government of Gilead treats the

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