Theme - Gender Roles Flashcards
Gilead being a strictly hierarchal society critiques both religious far right and feminist left. As shown my offreds mother, it is not the solution thus avoiding black and white divisions. Forcing us to take our own assumptions regarding gender. The complicated questions of blame, as well as the brutal depictions of the oppression of women, earn the novel its reputation of great feminist literature.
“Waste not want _____. I am not being _______. Why do I want?”
Not
Wasted
• offred notes that the rug looks like “folk art” reflective of a cultural preference for artifacts that are made by women. She observes that this reflects a return to “traditional values” and the principle “waste not want”. Offreds statement that she is not being wasted highlights the way that women are used like tools or instruments in gilead, treated as objects with no value besides their designated function. Once again, offreds invokes the moral disdain for desire and particularly desires felt by women. Offred has internalised the idea that women are more like objects than people. Her use of a well known saying highlights how deeply embedded this idea is within the culture of gilead.
“I enjoy the _______. Power of a _____ bone, passive but _______”
Power
Dog
There
• offred has described the routine shopping outing with ofglen, the only time women are allowed out the house. Nick has winked at her which makes her worry that he is an eye. As offred walks away from the checkpoint she swings her hips, hoping to inspire sexual desire in the guardians and saying she enjoys the power of her desirability. Which she compares to the “power of a dog bone”. The scene infers that the intense repression of gilead has not successfully eliminated sexual desire and activity. Although offreds power has been severely restricted, they cannot be erased all together; her “passive” power remains. The scene raises a fundamental questions. What does it mean to have “passive” power? Does it allow offred to be more or less free? By comparing herself to a dog bone she dehumanises herself yet at the same time exerts that even sexual objects can have an influence over others.
“I avoid looking down at my ______, not so much because it’s _______ or immodest but because I don’t want to look at something that ___________ me so completely”
Body
Shameful
Determines
• offred is having a bath which she has at regular times not chosen by her. The bath is ran by Cora who sits outside and day to day bathroom items are band such as razors mirrors and locks are all forbidden to minimise any dangers the objects cause. However, she refuses to look at her, resenting the fact it “determines me so completely”. The passage emphasises the fact that offred has been reduced from the state of a human being to a simple body, an object or tool appreciated for its only use. The fact her bath is scheduled and controlled further confirms the way which offred is treat. Note that this treatment creates a different type of body shaming compared to the bible but a body shame nonetheless. Offreds thoughts indicate there is not much difference between being treated as a sexual object and being “valued” for your fertility. Both are degrading.
“But maybe _________ is _______, when women do it, for _____”
Boredom
Erotic
Men
• offred reflects on the fact she has little to do and wishes she could persue a hobby. She recalls paintings of harems that depict women looking bored and suggest that men find boredom erotic. Out of context, this thought is fairly innocuous and all things can be erotic. However, bearing in mind the way that women are treated in gilead offreds words take on a particularly sinister meaning. The “boredom” she experiences results from the fact that she has no freedom, independence or access to resources. If men find this erotic, it highlights that men’s sexual attraction to women includes the desire to control and belittle women.
“A ________ is valued she says, only if it is ______ and hard to get”
Thing
Rare
• offred here recalls the moment where aunt lydia states that a “thing is only valued if it is rare and hard to get”. Aunt lydia here is referring to women’s sexual availability, and once again, it is clear that in gilead women are considered to be no more than “things”. Aunt Lydia’s concern over value is similarly degrading, by implying that women are not just objects but commodities whose value is conditional, rather than inherent. Although her words seem strikingly harsh, in reality she echoes the kind of language that is used to promote abstinence among unmarried young people in the real world. Many young women are encouraged to play “hard to get” and Atwood draws this parallel to emphasise that the contemporary US may not be as far from gilead as we think.
“You wanted a _______ culture. Well, now there is one. It isn’t what you _______, but it exists. Be thankful for small ________”
Women’s
Meant
Mercies
• when the women were shown videos of the “offwomen” one of the videos shows offreds mother at a feminist rally and offred then remembers the fights her and her mother used to have. At the red centre she recalls thinking about her mother who had wanted a “women’s culture”. The red centre, along with the entire structure of the handmaids tale, is as offred reflects in this passage, a “women’s culture” of sorts. Socialisation is segregated by gender. She acknowledges that the hyper religious restricted world she now lives in is far from what her and other feminists intended. Aunt Lydia’s comment “be thankful for small mercies” is highly ironic, a reference to the religious imperative that offered be thankful for the hellish world she lives in now. On the other hand, we could perhaps read a note of sincerity in it and understand that there are several moments where she finds strength and solidarity through her connections to other women.
“You can ______ _______ only with your ________ on”
Think clearly
Clothes
• offred in this passage has secretly spent an illicit evening with the commander playing scrabble and sharing a kiss and when she goes to her room to take her clothes off she states she can’t think clearly without them on. This observation reveals that the complexity of the various forms of oppression to women are subjected in the novel. In many ways even her uniform is an element of oppression - it robs her of individuality and implies that her body is shameful. This quotation also shows that nakedness can be disempowering. Although her uniform is ridiculous she evidently feels protected by it. Her words suggest that concealing her body allows freedom and clarity in the mind.
“He doesn’t mind this at all. Maybe he even _______ it. We are not each _______ anymore. Instead, I am ______”
Likes
Others
His
• in this passage offred explains when the United States shifted into the republican of gilead and she, as were all other women, forced to be fired from their jobs and their bank accounts drained leaving them having to rely on a male dominant. She explains she considered protesting but luke encouraged her not to for her own safety. This leaves an element of suspicion in offreds mind and suspects that Luke liked the shift in power. This is an important moment in the narrative as it shows that offred and Luke’s relationship is a lot more complicated than what it initially appears to be. There is no doubt offred loves look, the memory of him sustains her allowing her to survive life as a handmaid. On the other hand, even offred and Luke’s relationship cannot remain untainted by sexism and wider political situation. Although she has her suspicions she never asks him about, implying that sexism creates a communicative gulf between men and women, even those who love and trust each other.
