HMT chapters 13-14 Flashcards
what is the significance of Ecriture Feminine?
This was a term coined by Cixous in her essay, “the laugh of the medusa”, she suggests that women’s voices are supressed by the patriachy who fears them
This refers to a style of writing where women are freed from oppression, HMT is an example
Vicious claims that the body constitutes the source of the unconscious, and this is the source of women’s writing
she claims that female bodies are confiscated and used as a token of oppression
what are the key features of this style of writing and what are examples?
fragmented and non-linear narrative
freedom of thought
symbolism/poetic
puns/creative metaphor
painful memories resisted/subject change
sense of inner narrative
“these pictures were supposed to be erotic”illicit thoughts that Offred wouldn’t have been able to share
“I sink down into my body as into a swamp”- Offred is describing the experience of waiting to become pregnant.
what is the significance of the dystopian element of news reporting?
media control is key to dystopian novels, this is evident with the unreliability of the news “only victories, never defeats”
what is key context for chapter 14?
“children of ham”refers to dark-skinned people who are resettled, in the bible Ham was a son of Noah upon whom a curse was placed, this formed the 19th century racist ideology. The “resettlement” has connotations of the holocaust/concentration camps
symbolism of paintings of women- “their breasts restricted” suggests Gilead attempt to refer to a pre-feminist world
reports of victories in war- reminder that battles are being fought elsewhere, for example at the Canadian border to establish Gilead.
