In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood tells the story of the life of a handmaid in a totalitarian society, called Gilead. Due to environmental disasters and a plummeting birth rate, the rulers of Gilead treat women as property of the state. In their desperate attempt to repopulate their world, the handmaid’s are of highest value due to their fertility and are forced into sexual servitude. However, these women are stripped of most of all their power and live their life for Gilead. Throughout this story, Atwood reveals many themes. One theme that she greatly exemplifies, is the theme of power. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood exemplifies the theme of power through the oppressive society of Gilead.
The theme of power is most considerably shown through government. Governments must force a certain amount of power and control on their people for their society to function properly. However, when the power and control become too extreme, it eliminates the freedoms and power of its people. In the novel, Offred says, “I want to keep on living, in any form. I resign my body freely, to the uses of others. They can do what they like with me. I am abject. I feel, for the first time, their true power.” (p.286) This quote shows how the government’s ultimate control and oppressive conditions have damaged and objectified these women to nothing. One of the most infamous people that come to mind dealing with oppressive power is Hitler. This quote exemplifies how Hitler deemed Jews and millions of others to be subhumans, similar to how Gilead deems the handmaid’s as nothing but having children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_policy_of_Nazi_Germany
Also, Offred states, “where the tattoo is, a Braille he can read, a cattle brand. It means ownership.” (p.254) This implies that the tattoo is a symbol of the repressive, controlling nature of the totalitarian society Offred lives in. This shows the true power the government has over these women. Hitler also comes to mind with this quote. The matching striped clothing that comes to mind when you think of the Holocaust is a symbol of ownership and how the Germans objectified the Jews and others to nothing.
The theme of power is also shown through the media. In today’s society, media has the biggest influence on the world. Media is so powerful that it can easily influence someone positively or negatively in a matter of seconds. News is almost always biased to a certain peoples views on a certain topic. In the novel, Offred says, “They show us only victories, never defeats. Who wants bad news?” (p.83) This quote is an example of how the media can be biased. Gilead only wants to show all of its citizens the good news, so they will be influenced positively and unaware of the bad news. Just like in today’s society, media is constantly biased. Certain news stations only encourage their views and opinions and undermine anything against them. The most common topics that are biased are politics and sports. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_bias_in_the_United_States
In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood exemplifies the theme of power through the oppressive society of Gilead. Atwood most considerably shows this through government and media. This theme’s relevance to the novel is just as important as its relevance within today’s society. Both the novel and today’s society exemplify the true power of power.
Luke's Blog 