Handmaid's Tale 1

While reading this novel I was shocked at just how complacent the women of Gilead had become with their situation. They had little to no power, no individuality, no freedom, yet it seems as if they did not even notice the injustice with which they were being treated. Offred, for one, has become so complacent in her situation that she doesn’t bother to gather information for Mayday. Her husband and daughter were taken away from her and she remembers her life before Gilead when she had so much freedom, yet she has come to accept this new order as normal, however unhappy she may be. Serena Joy enjoyed a certain amount of power in the world before Gilead, and the only power she is free to exercise is in her own home. In the world of men, she is nothing. Women in this novel are reduced to means of reproduction, with no other role in society than to have children. In this way, they lose their humanity, they become mere tools in the eyes of men.

I had to wonder to myself why the women of Gilead would allow this to happen. Why would they accept a government and willingly participate in it when its entire doctrine revolves around stripping them of their dignity and power? The only answer I came up with is that those in power in Gilead put out a very good campaign of words. They made women believe that their job as baby-making machines was the most important and most sacred job. The women didn’t even realize their rights were being demolished. They gave the most loyal, such as Aunt Lydia, enough power to control other women and to convince them that the government was protecting and honoring them and their fertile bodies. They made women believe that they were sacred vessels that carried the future of the country in their wombs. Unless they were unable to get pregnant, at which point they were no longer useful and were sent away.

The government also controlled women by striking fear into their hearts. They told them that outside of Gilead, they would be raped and beaten. In Gilead, they are safe from violence. In order to protect themselves, women willingly gave up their rights and their freedom. The government used fear to make its people support their crazy beliefs. To me, that is the most important message of this novel. We should be wary of any government that uses fear to scare its people into giving them the power to do things that would under normal circumstances seem wrong.