Turn on the tv, look at a billboard, or open a magazine, and what are the types of images portrayed in today's society? The sexual exploitation of women in our world seems to take over the media and gives many people a very shallow view of the role of women in society. But what happens when these casually held views are taken to their extremes? Margaret Atwood details a society in which this happened in her novel The Handmaid's Tale. This novel shows uses stereotypes of both men and women to show that such definitions of the roles of each gender will cause people to lose sight of the truth about individuals. The media often portrays women as being the ones who are meant to cook, clean, and have children, because they are not as smart or strong as the men. Offred, the main character, proved throughout the novel to be a smart, witty, and take-charge type of women. Her gifted mind was shown during a game of Scrabble with the Commander, where she showed that those of higher power are not necessarily smarter than those below them. Her induviduality was lost in her new life, where her soul purpose was to bear children. This, however, she was unable to do. The lack of a relationship with Luke, her lover from her old life, combined with her inability (or that of the Commander) to make a child left her feeling that she was living a worthless, meaningless life.
Society often depicts men as the ones who are the bread winners of the home; they are considered more intellectual then women, yet often seem to "have only one thing on their minds." This stereotype was also broken down during Offred's Scrabble game with the Commander. After losing the game, as Offred was about to leave, the Commander asked her for a kiss, and one as though she meant it. He only wanted the passion between himself and another woman, the passion that was missing during the Ceremony, which according to the stereotype of men, would give him what he really wanted. Atwood's novel shows that casually held definitions of gender roles do not always, if ever, define a person.
While reading The Handmaid's Tale, the following passage stuck out in my mind as the definition of how the women in Gilead live:
"Given our wings, our blinkers, it's hard to look up, hard to get the full view, of the sky, of anything. But we can do it, a little at a time, a quick move of the head, up and down, to the side and back. We have learned to see the world in gasps." (Page 30)
Blinders. The women in the society are forced to live only by seeing the things that they are allowed to see. Seeing the world in sections is society's way of keeping things how they want them; of making everyone think that things are working great just the way they are. It is very sad, in my opinion, that the women were forced to see the world in pieces. Physically, the women could not see all the things surrounding them. Yet, it goes deeper than that. They could not see the disrespect for themselves that not only society had lost, but each woman seemed to lose for herself. They could not see the whole picture of the society; they could not see the failure. And even worse, they could not see the hope of change.
Although when I first started reading The Handmaid's Tale, I was unsure of how I would feel about it, in the end, I am truly glad that I read it. While reading, the amount of detail used in many scenes seems to jump out to the reader, but when you begin to look deeper into the meaning and depth of the novel, it shows you the seriousness of the stereotypes that society holds. At times, however, the author seemed to have a lack of focus, as she jumped between flashback and present. This was sometimes confusing at the time, but when the novel was finished and the entire picture was in front of you, every scene helped Atwood to make a strong statement about society. The author's bravery in writing such a novel deserves to be commended, I believe. The novel shows the truth of society, which causes controversy, but no problem has even been fixed without opposing sides.
