Gender Roles In The Handmaids Tale
In the Republic of Gilead, gender plays a huge role. Gender can mean the difference between life and death sometimes as well as being the determining factor in how you are treated and viewed. The novel focuses on women in the Republic of Gilead, which are treated as government property and viewed as only a catalyst for childbirth. The women are withdrawn from society, forced to hide their identities with “red shoes…red gloves…[ankle-length] skirt...white wings…” (line 23, page 8), with the wings being similar to blinds on a horse. Men also are forced to act a certain way too, most of them being guards or soldiers in the ‘war’. In general, men and women are greatly oppressed in the Republic of Gilead when compared with our society today.
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The purpose of a handmaid is to be fertile and bear children but not by their choice. The handmaids are kept in houses along with other women, some older, some younger, and not all handmaids, under the supervision and control of a Commander and his wife. Women are also not allowed to read or write and certainly not think, say, or do anything that could represent freedom or go against the government. Even in normal speech, they must watch their words very closely and even have standard greetings and responses such as “Blessed be the fruit.” to greet and “May the lord open.” (line 9, page 19) to
The purpose of a handmaid is to be fertile and bear children but not by their choice. The handmaids are kept in houses along with other women, some older, some younger, and not all handmaids, under the supervision and control of a Commander and his wife. Women are also not allowed to read or write and certainly not think, say, or do anything that could represent freedom or go against the government. Even in normal speech, they must watch their words very closely and even have standard greetings and responses such as “Blessed be the fruit.” to greet and “May the lord open.” (line 9, page 19) to