In Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, there are many apparent themes. A specific theme that appears often throughout the work is the control of sexuality. In the novel, sex is necessary for the government to obtain their primary goal: control of reproduction. As the goverment creates the Ceremony, they are forcing the Handmaids to endure harsh sexual affairs. The Commander is essentially raping the handmaid, because the handmaid has no say in the matter. People of Gilead burn pornography magazines, are openly opposed to gays and hate the idea of abortion and anyone who believes in it. The society of Gilead is based on sex. Everything the society is about derives from sex. Reproduction would not be possible without sexual relations between a handmaid and the commander. A Commander would not use his rights as a man if it were not for the sexual beings at Jezebel's. By creating uniform, restricted, and organized sex, the society ignites rebellion. Because the society of Giliead focuses on sex so immensely, the theme appears often throughout the novel.
One of my favorite passages of The Handmaid's Tale is from chapter thirteen. "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. I could use it to run, push buttons of one sort or another, make things happen. There were limits, but my body was nevertheless lithe, single, solid, one with me. 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. Inside it is a space, huge as the sky at night and dark and curved like that, though black-red rather than black. Pinpoints of light swell, sparkle, burst and shrivel within it, countless as stars. Every month there is a moon, gigantic, round, heavy, an omen. It transits, pauses, continues on and passes out of sight, and I see despair coming towards me like famine. To feel that empty, again, again" (Atwood 73-74). Though this passage is lengthy, there would be no other place to cut it off. This passage highlights Offred's feelings about her body. The memories of what it was allowed to be and what it is now used for contrast. The disappointed diction contributes to the reminiscing tone of the passage. Offred wants to have her body for herself again; it frustrates her that she is so limited to what should rightfully be her own. Because like all other handmaids, she is put through the Ceremony with her commander, it tears her body apart, along with her mental state.
My thoughts on the novel are somewhat contradictory. I loved parts of the novel, and then I was deeply angered by other parts of the novel. The idea of the society intrigued me, that the government would all of a sudden control people's rights and even their bodies. On the other hand, the idea of the society made me so angry because how could they take away the rights of one's own body? It is their own, afterall. But I do suppose that is what happens in current times, with prostitution and such. Regardless, that idea made me upset. The idea of the Ceremony also made me angry. Yes, it is rape because the handmaid had no control over the situation. She did not have a choice, and was unable to consent because the handmaids had no opinions, therefore the act of the ceremony is certainly rape. More disturbing was the Commander's wife being there, and being encouraging of her husband having sexual relations with a woman she most likely despised. Overall, the work was not hated, just some ideas in the work were. The diction was understandable, and it was not a difficult read, but the concepts and ideas were hard to read sometimes.
