The Handmaids Tale 2

The Handmaids Tale 2

            Offred the main character is a Handmaid, a woman who is assigned to a wealthy man and her job is to get pregnant. There are also women called Martha’s who are assigned to keep house. The ones who belong to the wealthy men only have to do one task, but the women who belong to the poorer men have to try and do everything if they can. The whole society is based on the notion that there is no separation between Church and state, everything revolves around one religion.  All the jobs the men do have titles like Angel, Guardian of the faith, The eyes of God, which is the one that bothers me the most. They use faith as an excuse to spy on everyone and make sure they are not doing anything that isn’t allowed.  The society uses religion as an excuse to oppress women. The Republic of Gilead is more specifically using the name of god to control women’s bodies. They aren’t allowed to learn to read which in turn makes their minds easier to manipulate, an their bodies easier to control because these poor women don’t know any better, or they are afraid.

            In class we talked a lot about feminism and reading with a feminist lens. I have been doing that with this book because in this book for the most part women are objects, but according to aunt Lydia things are the way they are to protect the women. “There is freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.” Before all the new rules, which I personally consider strange and absurd, it was anarchy. Everyone had too much freedom especially men apparently, and women weren’t safe unless they were locked inside their houses. I had never thought about it like that before, freedom from is very important to but clearly there is an imbalance of both in this strange future society known as the Republic of Gilead.

            There is one part where Offered is walking and she comes across the wall, a place where criminals are hung and displayed to set an example. All of them have signs that say they were punished for performing abortions. After I read that it made me feel like this society was moving backwards. Women had to fight for the right to choose weather or not they wanted to bring another life into the world. Now the Handmaids are being used for their ability to become pregnant. Women are being protected in some ways but they have lost all their rights in others. The society sees women’s sexuality as dangerous, which is why they have to dress in what are essentially nun habits only they are red not black. But like any other common activity or notion after a while they won’t question, which I think, is so sad. Aunt Lydia tells Offred that someday it will seem normal, but Offred used to have a husband and a daughter and she seems way to indifferent right now.