The Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood - 1997 Words

In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, power is emphasized multiple times throughout the text. The plot of the story consists of wealthy men being the overseers of the economy. Since the birth rate of healthy children has drastically decreased due to environmental problems, women are only wanted for their ability to reproduce offspring and replenish the world. Therefore, the poorer women are taken away from their homes and placed with wealthy couples to bear offspring for them. The main character, Offred, is one of the many women who was taken from her family and placed in the home of a Commander and his wife. Since the role of each societal class’ power has changed, different characters in the text have subtle ways of displaying power.†¦show more content†¦Her body is completely in the hands of the Commander and his Wife. All she can do is sit still in humiliation and endure what is being done to her (Atwood 93). Furthermore, Offred is treated as the child of the household even though she is a fully grown woman. The Marthas will not discuss certain matters with her because she is dispensable. If Offred were to be replaced, punished, or transferred, their household information could possibly spread to other homes. Therefore, many things are purposely kept from Offred (Atwood 53). At one point, Offred shares her thoughts of stealing an item from the house. Offred is not a thief, but the lack of freedom is desperately driving her to feel a sense of rebellious power. If she can steal something, Offred will feel a sense of power and thrill that she has not received in a while. She carefully considers what she could steal and where she can hide it, but comes to the conclusion that feeling power such as that is too dangerous and risky (Atwood 81). Moreover, power is shown in the simple fact that each set of women have certain colors to wear daily. The upper class women or Wives wear blue clothing. Therefore, when seeing the color blue, a certain level of respect is expected from others. Wives have power over all other women that are â€Å"lower† than them, so they demand to be reverenced and obeyed properly. Also, the Marthas wear green and the Handmaids wear red. The lowest class of women wears striped, colorfulShow MoreRelatedThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1357 Words   |  6 PagesOxford definition: â€Å"the advocacy of women s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes† (Oxford dictionary). In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood explores feminism through the themes of women’s bodies as political tools, the dynamics of rape culture and the society of complacency. Margaret Atwood was born in 1939, at the beginning of WWII, growing up in a time of fear. In the autumn of 1984, when she began writing The Handmaid’s Tale, she was living in West Berlin. 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