This novel is a new favorite of mine. It explores a topic I can get very passionate about- feminism. I really enjoyed reading it, in fact, I read ahead of our classes's schedule to finish the novel. I would recommend this novel to anyone, because it offers a perspective that many people blow off. First, however, I would make sure they can handle the content. While I personally had no problem with it, others may need a gentle warning. This novel highlighted the problems of today's culture without naming them outright. What I liked most about it was that it was so extreme it shocks people into thinking about our own society. For example, Offred is never allowed to speak or determine her own life. This is very extreme, but it's reminiscent of today's society, where woman make up only 13% of the world's government. There was not much that I disliked about the book. Though the ending was dissatisfying, it had a purpose and it served that purpose well. And above all, talking about feminism in English class for a few weeks was a blast.
One symbol that was seen throughout the novel is the outfit Offred and the other Handmaid's adorn themselves with. It is seen in the above picture, a red gown that covers the whole body and a white head covering. The red gown strips all individuality from the woman beneath them; they are featureless and bulky. The red color of them has many connotations. Red is a symbol for fertility, which is Offred's whole purpose as a Handmaid. Red is also a large part of the female menstruation cycle, and of all blood. Yet the color red can be associated with other meanings, such as passion, love, and adultery. While Offred's life in Gilead lacks passion and love, her actions during the Ceremony could be considered adultery, even if they are supported by the government authority. Another aspect of Offred's costume is the white headress that frames her face. She calls them her "white wings". This name is highly ironic, as wings are a symbol of freedom and the wings are nothing but. They prohibit speech, and only allow the women to look straight ahead. This restricts the basic everyday actions of looking at their environment and makes enforces the idea that the Handmaid's are just reproductive objects.
One of my favorite passages from The Handmaid's Tale is on page 226 to 227. This passage talks of the time before Gilead, of our current society. It highlights how woman fall for men, fancy themselves into love because they believe in love and in its passion. And woman would try to save themselves, and the man they were in love with. One part of the passage reads, "With that man you wanted it to work, to work out. Working out was also something you did to keep your body in shape, for the man. If you worked out enough, maybe the man would too." This follows the idea that woman change themselves for a relationship, hoping that if they alter themselves enough the man will love them more. This is a phenomenon seen today, a problem of many people. The passage goes onto explain how woman always change when something goes wrong, they always change themselves or the man, but there is always something that can be improved. Offred misses this, the changing. Although it is not healthy to change oneself for a man, she misses the choices she used to make and freedom she once had to change herself, and alter the situation around her. In Gilead, she is frozen in this position of submission, forever commanded to bow her head and become nothing but an empty womb waiting to be filled.
Above all, I loved the truths spelled out in this novel. It points out many huge injustices that surround us daily., the ones we ignore. Offred's life offers perspective and knowledge that will stay with whoever reads her tale.
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