The HandMaid's Tale

The overwhelming theme in the section of The Handmaid's Tale that we've read is the devaluation of women.  Or to a point one could say the overvaluation of women.  What do I mean? Well, it seems to me that on one level women are greatly devaluated and discriminated upon in this dis-Utopian society. While on another level, they are highly prized and revered.

The level in which they are treated as mere objects to fulfill a single ultimate purpose is how they are treated at the Commander's level.  The main character, the handmaid, is viewed as an object that the household owns.  She doesn't have any freedom within the household and even when she travels in the town , she is expected to act a certain way. Even the other women who serve the purpose of servants treat her with a certain disdain and dislike.

However, when she passes the guardians who secure and monitor certain areas in the city, it is apparant that on that level, her status is significantly over-evaluated.  She is aware that she has the power to influence the guards if given the chance on the sole purpose that she is a woman.  Guardians are the entry level position within the ranks of the society so they are not even supposed to look at a woman.  At one point in the book, the handmaid purposely sways her hips to entice and excite the guards.  It is stated that the guards who are men, have many freedoms taken away.  For example, they cannot look at women in the face, cannot really talk to them, cannot become certain professions, cannot look at magazines, and cannot even masturbate. 

One part of the story that stood out to me in which I can relate to modern times are when the two handmaids are traveling through the town and they see a group of "westernized" tourists.  The women tourists are wearing normal clothes for the era, their hair is down, and they are perceived as having more freedoms than the handmaid.  The guide tells the handmaids that the tourists want to know if they're happy with their circumstances, presumably with the restrictions of freedoms the pair has.  I correlated this with how I feel when I see women in strict Muslim societies wearing head to toe burqas.  It's obvious to me that these women live in a society inferior to men and through reading about their society and news stories covering rapes, stonings, canings, and other despicable behavior, I have come to believe that these women are indeed prisoners of their circumstances.  And just as the Japanese tourists, I would like to ask these women if they are truly happy with their situation. And I wonder if they would answer with the same hesitation and meekness I gathered the two handmaids did.

So in conclusion, with the devaluation and overvaluation placed on women in The Handmaid's Tale, it creates a disutopian society for all parties involved.  Even the commanders cannot be truly happy for the fact that in the book they have difficulty purchasing meat every week.  So if they can't even purchase meat, what other freedoms are even they giving up?

Are you happy?