I, used to be, my control...

A quote that really caught my eye was spoken from Offred. She states “I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will . . . Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping… (page 73). Offred is responding to her body in this quote from the reading. It seems as she’s saying her body is only important because of the main ‘object’, her womb, which bears children to make the men happy. But before her body was “an instrument,” it was hers. She seemingly has internalized Gilead’s attitude toward women, which treats them as objects. Gilead’s attitude towards women brainwashes these women to believe they are useless as an individual, they’re object and only important for children. It seems that Offred is mesmerizing over her past and having a daughter of her own and how she tried to escape with her. Her daughter was too young to understand that they needed to be silent when shots rang but unfortunately Offred had to witness her own daughter being taken away from her. Offred describes her selfless self as “a cloud, congealed around a central object, which is hard and more real than I am.” She’s just a resource that is needed for these men. Offred had the control over her body, and now that she’s just an object she no longer has that control.