Discuss the issues of feminism in the 'The Handmaid's Tale'
The novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood is considered a feminist dystopia because it is set within an imperfect society of the future and addresses the misogyny of patriarchal culture. It conveys a sharp reminder of the continued need to guard and develop more fully women’s rights and positions. In ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ the state of Gilead has complete control over women’s bodies through their political subjugation. Women were deprived of their basic human rights, such as the right to read and write or to make choices in their lives, such as what to wear: ‘Then I think : I used to dress that. That was freedom.’ They were robbed of economic independence when the state took control over their bank accounts and therefore all their finances. The Commander and the Aunts claimed that women were better protected in Gilead, that they were treated with respect and kept safe from violence:
‘There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.’
Yet while it claimed to suppress sexual violence it actually institutionalized it, as we see at Jezebel’s and during the ceremony. The latter is depicted as the dehumanization of Handmaids and Wives, who were made to participate as passive objects and victims in a sex act robbed of sensuality, desire and love:
‘The Commander is fucking. What he is fucking is the lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because this is not what he is doing. Copulating too is inaccurate, because it would imply two people and only one is involved. ‘
In Gilead women were grouped according to their domestic functionality: Handmaids serve to
reproduce and were reduced to ‘two legged wombs’. Marthas were obliged to take care of all the household chores, Wives’ purpose in life was to raise children and Econowives who were lower class wives, were meant to carry out all the domestic functions: that is reproducing, taking care of the household and also raising children. Unwomen who had no value were either used in brothels or sent to the Colonies to clean up toxic waste. In Gilead, women lacked the freedom to actively form new relationships with each other. The different categories of women served only to widen gaps between women, and this could be seen through the dissatisfaction of all women in Gilead. Handmaids were constantly committing suicide, Wives and Econowives were all extremely bitter to the handmaids. The restrictive male-dominated society could not bring happiness to even the most pampered and powerful women.
In Gilead’s power structure, women are subservient to men because they are considered to be less than man. This system involves the marginalization of women, illustrating a famous feminist’s Simone De Bouvoir’s point in ‘The Second Sex’ that a man defines a woman not as autonomous but only as a relative to him. Women in Gilead must concentrate on basic survival and so avoid direct, honest reactions to this marginalization. Sometimes the women disguise their actions, appearing to accommodate the demands of this oppressive system, while subtly rebelling. However, others rebel actively such as Moira who did not accept her fate as a Handmaid. Janine, on the other hand as an opposite to Moira embraces it entirely. She is servile and gives in completely to the Republic and it’s dogma. Offred’s mother, like Moira was a staunch feminist and believed men were unnecessary and that living solely with women would solve many of the problems women were currently facing. She organized pro-abortion protests and marches against male violence and pornography. She was conscious of her rights and fought for equality. Before Gilead, Offred was dismissive of her mother’s strong feminist view and felt uncomfortable with her mother’s activism. She had not considered herself a feminist and feared that feminism would alienate her from men. During Gilead, Offred understands that feminism only forced women to recognize their natural alienation from men. There were however, those women who truly believed in the barbaric anti-feminist regime of Gilead, such as the Aunts, like Aunt Lydia who told the Handmaids: ‘Think of it as being in the army’; and the Commander’s wife, Serena Joy who was an anti-feminist activist and an advocate for ‘traditional values’ and conservative views.
In the Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood explores the issues of feminism through the dystopian and maledominating regime of Gilead. Through the various characters in the novel she portrays a variety of women which include both active and passive feminists, anti-feminists and even servile women.
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