Handmaids Tale :: essays papers

Handmaids historyIn what ways can The Handmaid&rsquos baloney be considered a feminist novel?The Handmaid&rsquos Tale is narrated by an oppressed woman, so it is tobe expected that feminism becomes a recurring theme. Wo workforce have no rightsor money unless they have a well-grounded marriage to a man. They are given fewoptions&ndash if they are fertile they can become sex slaves&ndash&lsquowomb on legs&rsquo to commandants or choose to go to the colonies.Infertile women or&lsquo unwomen&rsquo are seen as having no use so theyautomatically go to the colonies where they will die from disease orradiation. Their use and post is totally dependent on theirrelationships with men and ability to have children. Women are used bymen and treated as far inferior, in Gilead women are the men&rsquosproperty. The handmaids especially&ndash&lsquo We are a commodity&rsquo,their names in the household reflect this&ndash Offred&ndash Of Fred.They can be disposed of at will, even the Commander&rs quos Wives havelittle real importance and are given menial tasks such as orderingprayers at Soul Scrolls and knitting the Guardians scarves&ndash&lsquoMaybe it&rsquos yet something to keep the Wives busy, to give them asense of purpose&rsquo.But this concept of women being extensions and property of men is oneused in our own society. though mostly out dated now,&lsquo Mrs PeterWatson&rsquo is similar to&lsquo Ofglen&rsquo. But practically all termsfor women are the extension of the term for men&ndash Mr/s, fe/male,wo/man. This leads to the humor that Atwood is really just exaggeratingthe current situation of the world. The second quote at the beginning ofthe book from Swift&rsquos&lsquo A Modest Proposal&rsquo indicates thatThe Handmaid&rsquos Tale is Atwood&rsquos own satirical view of presenttimes. In an interview Atwood says&lsquo theres nothing in the text thathasn&rsquot already happened&rsquo. The third quote&ndash&lsquo There isno preindication in the desert that says&lsqu o Thou shalt not eatstones&rsquo&rsquo indicates that she believes Gilead could never comeinto existence because of the common sense of people, no one could reallybelieve in its philosophy and beliefs, the society&rsquos flaws are tooapparent.Another interpretation of the novel is that it is a reaction against anyidea that the woman&rsquos place is in the home, that her fix use is oneof reproduction. It demonstrates where these views could lead ifencouraged or entertained. It gives the idea that men would act that wayif given the power, that they would like to be in control and superior.That although men outwardly accept and respect women, inwardly they donot see them as equals&lsquo I sense in him (the Commander) none of the