How Does Margaret Atwood Use Power In The Handmaid's Tale

In her novel The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood uses the relationship between language and power to comment on the patriarchal society of Gilead. She does this through the use of neologisms, biblical language, and the protagonist’s musings. In the novel the words Unwomen and Unbaby are introduced. The protagonist, Offred, overhears two of her housemates talk about the unlucky Unwomen in the Colonies (Atwood 10). The Unwomen are who do not have any use in Gilead’s society. Offred also mentions the Unbabies who are babies who have been miscarried. Both the Unwomen and Unbabies are considered useless in their community, but there is no term for men. The word Unmen is nonexistent implying all men serve a purpose in society. Some men who