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Monday, August 30, 2010
"People will do anything rahter than admit that their lives have no meaning. No use, that is. No plot." (215)
By saying this, Offred is admitting in a way that her own life has no meaning. She feels that the lives of the Handmaids in general have no meaning- other than reproduction. Their lives are simple, dull, and repetitive, with no other purpose than to have children for those who cannot. However, many of the Handmaids are in denial. They will not admit that their only purpose is to reproduce. Atwood is using this as social commentary, to show how important it is for women to lead fulfilled and eventful lives. She does this by showing how the lack of meaning in Janine's life causes her to inflict misery on herself.
"A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere as long as it stays inside the maze." (165)
This symbolism forces the reader to take a look at what freedom truly is. Rats in mazes think they are free because they can move about, when in reality, they are trapped. They are unaware that they are in a maze, they consider themselves free. The handmaids are free to go anywhere within town that they want, as long as they stay within the boundaries- their own "maze." Like the rats, many of them are oblivious. They do not have any desire to go elsewhere, nor do they realize how much control they are under. Escape is something that does not cross their minds. Atwood is saying that there are many levels of freedom, and that slight freedom and total freedom are not the same. She is making the point that one should not settle for only slight freedom.
"We are not each other's anymore. Instead, I am his." (182)
Offred points out that when she lost her job, she lost her sense of equality in her relationship with Luke. Rather than it being a balance where they both supported and depended on each other, she was now entirely dependent on him for support, comfort, and finances. She could no longer take care of herself, or him, which meant that he was entirely in control of her. Atwood is arguing against this, stating through Offred's concerned tone that women are not meant to simply be the possessions of men. In healthy relationships, each partner should depend on the other, and there should be a balance.
"All the women having jobs: hard to imagine, now, but thousands of them had jobs, millions." (173)
Atwood points out here that while it takes a long time to achieve equality (decades where women did not work,) it only takes a few moments to tear it down. Offred can hardly imagine a time where women, including herself, were equal. Yet, that equality took decades of women fighting for their rights to achieve. Atwood's message here is that it is essential to keep fighting for, protecting, and appreciating the rights we as Americans and women have.
"...nobody dies from lack of sex. It's lack of love we die from." (103)
Offred's point here is that love is what their society is missing. Even though the women have sex, it is only for reproductive purposes, and they do not enjoy it. The men do not enjoy it either, because there is no love. Even in marriages, there is no love, because all marriages are arranged. There is no happiness, no natural falling in love. What Atwood is saying is that love is essential to life- without love, society would be miserable and empty. This ties in well to 1984, where sex was basically the same- only for reproduction. Both authors seem to agree that love is necessary for a good society.
"Pen Is Envy, Aunt Lydia would say..." (186)
Here, Atwood uses a play on words (Pen Is Envy spells "p**** envy" when the spaces and capital letters are removed) to show how the women in The Handmaid's Tale, even the Aunts, secretly envy the men's privileges of being able to read and write freely, and have other freedoms that men have. The Aunts are not allowed to express how they feel openly, so this is likely their way of saying it to themselves so that no one else catches on. This also shows how oblivious the Handmaids are to their own treatment- even Offred does not understand the true meaning of the Aunts' slogan. The capital letter of the I makes this a clever hidden note in the book for anyone observant enough to notice and analyze.
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