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A review by emilyusuallyreading
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
3.0
A world has been created in The Handmaid's Tale where women's entire beings are reduced to gender-specific roles. There are the Wives (subservient partners of the men), Aunts (teachers of young women), Marthas (domestics), and Handmaids (read Genesis 30 for an idea of what this means). Men have taken complete control of Offred's world, claiming the need to protect women from violence while at the same time repopulate their struggling society.
What I Liked
There were some powerful scenes from Offred's previous life, such as when she was a little girl and feminists were burning magazines that featured provocative images of women. "I threw the magazine into the flames. It riffled open in the wind of its burning; big flakes of paper came loose, sailed into the air, still on fire, parts of women's bodies, turning to black ash, in the air, before my eyes." While I believe that pornography is harmful and exploitative of women, this scene emphasized what extreme legalism had done to Offred's world. The veil, heavy layers of clothing, and even gloves for her hands hid her body and femininity to such a degree that she was reduced to an object instead of a human being.
While a male-dominated society greatly harmed Offred and other women, The Handmaid's Tale also showed the damage done by extreme, militant feminists. Anyone who was willing to suppress truth and freedom to make a political statement ultimately oppressed women. Religion is also a huge component of The Handmaid's Tale, but the novels makes it clear that Christianity has been twisted out of context in order to fulfill totalitarian, political intentions. For example, Aunt Lydia teaches Offred the Scripture verse "blessed are the meek" so that she will learn a woman's subservient role, but she leaves out "for they will inherit the earth."
What I Didn't Like
One of the biggest issues for me is the extreme culture shift that takes place within Offred's young adulthood. As a married woman with a daughter, she lived in a society that was much more sexually liberated than ours is today. In a span of only 2 or 3 years, everything had changed to the extent that even basic conversation, greetings (May the Lord open, Praise be), clothing, and titles were completely foreign to ours. Offred was college-educated, had a good job, and viewed herself as an equal partner in her marriage. In an instant, even the right to read was stripped from her and nobody seemed to argue with the new totalitarian regime. The rights of women eroded seemingly overnight instead of over an extended period of time, and this is what I found unbelievable.
What I Liked
There were some powerful scenes from Offred's previous life, such as when she was a little girl and feminists were burning magazines that featured provocative images of women. "I threw the magazine into the flames. It riffled open in the wind of its burning; big flakes of paper came loose, sailed into the air, still on fire, parts of women's bodies, turning to black ash, in the air, before my eyes." While I believe that pornography is harmful and exploitative of women, this scene emphasized what extreme legalism had done to Offred's world. The veil, heavy layers of clothing, and even gloves for her hands hid her body and femininity to such a degree that she was reduced to an object instead of a human being.
While a male-dominated society greatly harmed Offred and other women, The Handmaid's Tale also showed the damage done by extreme, militant feminists. Anyone who was willing to suppress truth and freedom to make a political statement ultimately oppressed women. Religion is also a huge component of The Handmaid's Tale, but the novels makes it clear that Christianity has been twisted out of context in order to fulfill totalitarian, political intentions. For example, Aunt Lydia teaches Offred the Scripture verse "blessed are the meek" so that she will learn a woman's subservient role, but she leaves out "for they will inherit the earth."
What I Didn't Like
One of the biggest issues for me is the extreme culture shift that takes place within Offred's young adulthood. As a married woman with a daughter, she lived in a society that was much more sexually liberated than ours is today. In a span of only 2 or 3 years, everything had changed to the extent that even basic conversation, greetings (May the Lord open, Praise be), clothing, and titles were completely foreign to ours. Offred was college-educated, had a good job, and viewed herself as an equal partner in her marriage. In an instant, even the right to read was stripped from her and nobody seemed to argue with the new totalitarian regime. The rights of women eroded seemingly overnight instead of over an extended period of time, and this is what I found unbelievable.