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Lecture Notes – The Handmaid’s Tale
Real-Life Gileads
Trump's planned removal of Planned Parenthood will remove contraception options for the poor,
leading to an increased impoverished population
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These children could either be put into institutions or given to the
rich
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Female Subjugation Historically 'Normal'
Initially in New Zealand and Australia (in a colonialism context) women did not have access to
material, jewellery, dresses or any embellishments
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As a result,
gender roles were somewhat delineated due to our isolated colonial experiences
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In America, it is more passive and domestic - quilt
making, pie making
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Second-Wave Feminism
First Wave Feminism gave women the vote, but Second Wave Feminism gave women equality
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The BBC has recently published its data on what its presenters are paid - and it was discovered that
their female presenters are paid far less than their male presenters
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This is largely due to
unconscious bias - women will have to take time off for pregnancy and to look after their families
apparently, so it is not worth a company investing as much money into their career
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It tends to get
involved in other civil rights issues, preaching general equality and against the tyranny of the
majority
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Offred is a post-feminist character who no longer believes that feminism is necessary
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She is friends
with Moira, but doesn't understand why she fights as hard as she does
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Offred's mother believes
in the right of a women to be respected as an individual (burning pornography because she believes
it is the objectification of women), while Moira believes that a women has a right to her femininity
(women have the right to display their femininity in any way they choose)
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She neither fights for feminism nor fight against it, she believes that there is no
longer a need for feminism and takes for granted what she has
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The Soul Scrolls - A chapter of ironies
The chapter is significant because it develops not only Offred's character through flashbacks, but
through her interactions with Ofglen and The Commander
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The title of the chapter itself alludes to the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the documents that were untouched by the world for thousands of years, and so represent the view
of religion before it was corrupted by politics and society
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One of these characters that we discover more about is the character of Serena Joy, who was a
famous gospel singer and actress in a right-wing conservative religious programme (similar to praise
be)
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She is not, however, happy in her new life
that is based entirely on religious fundamentalism
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As a result, she is bitter and manipulative - she is
driven by her emotions and her hatred for the system that she helped to enforce
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She has power over Offred, another example of control over women by
women (which we see also in the idea of the Aunts)
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These women are unwilling to give
up the small amount of power that they have
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Cora drops eggs when she finds Offred lying on the ground, a
metaphor for the destruction of fertility
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Often
Offred describes the flowers in the gardens and trees - an allusion to the new life that she is
supposed to be bringing into the house
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We also find out more about The Commander
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He was one of the
founders of Gilead, so it is his vision of utopia, yet he is still not happy (like Serena Joy)
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Even though he is part of the patriarchy, he still does not benefit
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Historically, magazines were burned (even by the
commander), but now he is hoarding a stash of them
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He views himself to be someone with
whom knowledge and power is in "safe hands", and graciously extends this to Offred
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Offred herself exhibits the cliché "He
has no choice" when she is considering the nature of her affair with the Commander
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Nevertheless, he still maintains the power in the relationship because of the fact that he is a male
and has tailored society to suit himself
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The Soul Scrolls are indulgences,
people use them to “save their souls” and show how dedicated you were to the new regime
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It suggests that those in power are very
shallow, and the wives who use the Soul Scrolls are desperately trying to hold onto some form of
social status by showing everyone who passes how they rank in society
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The notion of "Big Brother" is a very 'divide and conquer' idea
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They have divided humanity, and forced people to

exist only within their own "bubbles"
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Because the Eyes arrive so quickly, Offred immediately assumes
that Ofglen is a spy
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This motif of 'eyes being everywhere' is another example of irony,
because Offred and Ofglen properly look at each other before Ofglen asks if Offred believes God
really listens to the prayers
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When they see each other and themselves in the
mirror, it allows them to transcend the boundaries Gilead has placed upon them
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This is
reinforcing how passive Offred is, and how weak she is in the face of power, no matter how much
she wants it
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By having the Eyes occupying Harvard, Atwood is showing us how the very
first thing most dictators will get rid of is education, and to this effect the Gileadean regime has
removed the sources of education
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There is also irony in that the centre of
power is held around Boston where America was originally threatened by Puritans
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The motif of fish is also becoming evident,
notably through the irony of Loaves and Fishes
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There is a shortage of food because it no longer has contact with
outside nations but is unable to be self-sufficient under the new regime
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It is also an allusion to the Handmaids, where there are not enough of them to go to each
family
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The
shoal of cars and the "shark" of the Eyes car is a continuation of this theme of fish
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There is some happiness when she sees her daughter, but it is overwhelmed by
her sadness that she can no longer be involved in her life
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He also offers her a voice,
but forces her to agree by virtue of her dependence on him
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He is the ultimate hypocrite of the novel
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Lexical Choices
The use of the word "little" inspires inferiority and makes Offred seem powerless and fragile like a
child
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It also alludes to the idea of the treasured nature

of food being similar to the treasured nature of the child
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Using the phrase "don't you think" offers Offred a small fragment of a voice, by asking for her
opinion, yet he has no choice but to agree with her
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Absolute Objectification
Offred is experiencing absolute objectification when she goes to Jezebels
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He also expects her to be excited and enthusiastic about visiting Jezebels, and to be thankful to him
for providing her with this opportunity
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She is also an object that he is showing off to the rest of the club, and the other men are allowed to
stare at her like she is a prize that he has won
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She does not own her own body anymore, and as a result she
is open and vulnerable to male gaze
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The other women are seen as objects as well
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He dismisses their
intelligence and their past experiences, stating that "they prefer it here"
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This objectification also
serves to eliminate the intelligent women from the general population, because if women are smart
they can fight back against injustices
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This occurs in democratic
countries, not just theocratic nations
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The Appearance of Jezebels
Anything that women wore that was in any way suggestive is now considered to be an invitation to
promiscuity
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Even
though much of the clothing used to be associated with joy or happiness, the Commanders have
made it appear tawdry and desperate
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They are forced into these
roles, as opposed to taking them up of their own volition, which is what makes Jezebels wrong
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She was a fighter, a Third Wave
Feminist who was very outspoken and opinionated
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At the Red Centre she was still behaving like this rebelling even though she was punished
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However, after Jezebels, she has been destroyed
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This alludes to the fact that a lot of the Handmaid's
experiences are the experiences of African American women sold into slavery
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The model of the Underground System is again ironic, because Atwood does not
deal with the idea of race (anyone not Caucasian was eliminated from Atwood) and yet relies heavily
on racial history as a basis for the Handmaid's experiences
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For someone outside of America to
comment on American history is almost an insult to American experiences, because Atwood has no
cultural link to these experiences
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She is not a
specific person
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The court turned her into someone who she felt she barely knew, because of the way it
attacked her
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She is any
woman, but represents every woman
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Throughout the whole court case, she was effectively gagged because the court
was being bombarded with stories of how good he was at swimming and how kind he was
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Both
Offred and Jane Doe are very passive, and allowed things to happen to them without being able to
speak out
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By reading the
statement in court, she got her view across and was able to empower herself
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We no longer hear just Brock Turner's version of events, just like after Offred makes
the audio tape it is no longer just The Commander's version of Gilead
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