Salvaging and Particicution celebrations of Gilead

Once again, Atwood creates a paradoxical situation in part XIV when the “salvaging” takes place; women are hanged for unnamed crimes in front of Harvard University and an audience of women as well. Atwood describes the salvaging as a routine practice where “[they] take [their] places in the standard order” (273) and she even describes the accused as looking like “graduating students” (273) on stage. This is very ironic because a salvaging means saving, yet these women are being hanged and killed for actions that Gilead considered crimes. This proceeding only enforces the totalitarian regime of Gilead since it is apparent that the hanging of these prisoners “salvages” and helps maintain the strict rule of the Gilead Regime. It almost becomes a show where the women play a guessing game to guess the crime of the abused, since “the crimes of others are a secret language among [them]” (275). The salvaging works to show that anyone who opposes or acts against the set behaviors will be punished and Gilead cannot be over ruled, instead the hangings reinforce the powerlessness of women and the powerful totalitarian regime.

Another strange event of Gilead is seen in Chapter 43: “Particicution”, in which the group of Handmaids are allowed to attack a Commander who has been “convicted of rape”, and thus” has abused his position of trust” (278) so he must die. The Particicution is an interesting event in which the Handmaid’s actually have power over a commander. I believe this event may also be used to punish those who dare act against the set rules of Gilead. On the other hand, the Particiuction also allows the Handmaids to let out their anger and frustration for being so powerless under the totalitarian government. Gilead has manages to strip women of their identity and those few involved in Mayday are punished harshly if found out; punished by Paricicution maybe. When Ofglen mentioned that the commander they were beating “was a political…one of [them]” (280) I realized that the rape accusation was nothing but a constructed story to fool the Handmaids into believing he deserved to be beaten and killed. Again, the Gilead society blocks off individuals who try to deceive it; it seems like no ONE person can fight the Republic of Gilead.