The Repression of the Handmaid

In the novel the Handmaid by Margaret Atwood, we meet Offred who we see in the very first pages struggles and is repressed. In the beginning, we learn that she is not to go out in public unless she is completely covered up. Nothing may show: hair, legs, arms, etc. Later on Offred goes to live in the home of the Commander. On page 16, there is evidence of how religion serves as an institution to repress women. Offred had stated that the Commander's wife was allowed to hit her because of "scriptural precedent". This could tie into what we've previously learned in this class about horizontal hostility. The Commander's wife demonstrated this when she looks down on Offred and treats her differently because Offred is of lower class. Religion served as a form of repression because religion was used as an excuse for violence against women. Offred struggled for power due to her class and we see evidence of this on page 22 when she speaks of how she was using her body to attract young men she saw on the road. She says she felt a certain power by withholding her body from them. Offred says that it was like "teasing a dog with a bone held out of reach". Offred longs for freedom and power and this moment gave her a small sense of freedom and power. Another form of freedom was how a woman was dressed. When a group of Japanese tourists came, Offred remembered a time when she dressed that way and said how "that [used to be] freedom". Offred also was not allowed to sing of freedom as shown on page 54 when she sings Amazing Grace. Lastly, there seemed to be a hidden message about the importance of child-bearing. It was very important for women to have children, probably as proof of their femininity. Offred was told that there are only 2 types of women :fruitful and barren. It was law and if women were fruitful they had to have babies. There are many instances of repression against women in this book. It will be interesting to see how this affects Offred and how she will handle it later on in this novel.