The Handmaid’s Tale Random Analysis Flashcards
‘Garden’ ‘saint Serena’ ‘snipping of the seed pods’
The ‘garden’ represents Serena joy’s only true form of control as her other rights have ironically been stripped from her by the very regime she supported; Atwood suggested the garden as being a calm, peaceful haven away from the violence and threat of gilead by calling her ‘saint Serena’, who is ‘snipping the seed pods.’
A postmodern theorist might point out how atwood’s stream of consciousness allows the readers to learn of offred’s inner rebellion, where ‘what I coveted was the shears’ undermines te peace of Serena joy’s garden
Hope in the handmaids tale
In The Handmaid’s Tale, hope is depicted as a dual-edged force that can be both liberating and oppressive, depending on its context. It serves as a motivating factor for the Handmaids, driving them to fulfill their roles as surrogate reproductive partners in exchange for the possibility of rewards or survival. However, hope does not function powerfully in isolation; rather, it becomes a potent liberating force when intertwined with memories of a pre-Gileadean world. These memories serve as a contrast to the present and provide a framework for resistance, even if only internally. Conversely, hope is fragile and easily diminished, especially when its primary source—fertility—wanes or is weaponized by the regime.
In Gilead’s totalitarian theocracy, hope has been manipulated to align with the regime’s ideological goals, supported by selective biblical justifications. The rulers of Gilead portray themselves as the sole, infallible interpreters of scripture, much like the Puritans, who sought to enforce strict moral and societal codes under the guise of divine will. This distortion of hope ensures compliance, reframing a potentially liberating emotion into a tool of control, while stripping individuals of agency by co-opting their desires for survival and meaning.
‘And she said, behold my maid bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that i may also have children by her’
Meaning: the epigraph uses biblical precedent to justify gilead’s creation of handmaids. From the outset, a tone of misogyny, exploitation and violence is established.
Methods and impacts - phrase ‘go into her’ = invasive and violent imagery has connotations of forced sexual submission. Pattern of possessive pronouns in ‘my’- connotations of ownership, a power imbalance and oppressive rule.
Single word= ‘maid’ foreshadows the term handmaids, has connotations of being submissive and inferior. ‘Bear’- verb has connotations of a painful subordination, often via childbirth.
Link to context- one of atwood’s motivations for writing her novel was to warn of the dangers of extremist religious groups. She therefore, grounds her text in biblical structure to expose how these texts can be manipulated to suit the needs of totalitarian theocracies.
‘We are jubilant, it’s a victory for all of us. We’ve done it […] shell never be declared unwoman. That is her reward.’ Chapter 21
Meaning- childbirth is a form of saviour for handmaids in gilead, bc this enables women to prove their worth by fulfilling their biological destinies , thus contributing to the gileadean republic’s population.
Methods= collective pronoun ‘we’ -effort is shared to work towards their childbearing purposes, identity erasure through their homogenous function. Repetition of ‘she’ll never be’ = janine has achieved salvation due to giving birth.
Singe word= ‘unwoman’ if a woman is unable to have children, she isnt worthy of deserving gilead’s sympathies.
Context= Romania decree 770
‘They pick him up and heave him into the back of a van like a sack of mail […] what i feel is relief. It wasn’t me.’
Meaning= the disposable nature of people who had transgressed or de-aligned themselves with the theocracy of gilead.
Methods= simile ‘like a sack of mail’ - illustrates how the regime has normalised the practice of capturing and punishing people who transgressed almost as if it is a part of a daily ritual of delivering mail-desensitised to the brutality of gilead+ insignificant. Short declarative sentences = mimicking the rapid nature of the event that had taken place, heart racing.
Single word ‘relief’= emphasises the tension she felt.
Context= Salem witch trials
‘Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines us[…] a sister, dipped in blood’ chapter 2
Meaning= the hms are solely defined by their fertility, which they are made to visually display in society as a further reminder of their biological functions and destinies.
Methods= colour imagery red- connotations of fertility[menstrualcycle] passion, desire. Gory imagery in ‘dipped in blood’ almost connotes foul play, almost as if the handmaids were metaphorical killed and salvaged for their biological organs only.
Single word ‘blood’ repetition = fertility,utilitarian function of procreation, further clarifies role in society.
‘Wings’ angelic, saviour of mankind, covering and modesty and homogeneity.
Context= Afghanistan and taliban, strict codes of shariah law and submission and conformity to the regime
