Answer to C.Q. The relationship between the men and women of Gilead is portrayed by Margaret Atwood as an imbalanced power dynamic, where the men hold all the power and the women are voiceless and powerless.

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Answer to C.Q. The relationship between the men and women of Gilead is portrayed by Margaret Atwood as an imbalanced power dynamic, where the men hold all the power and the women are voiceless and powerless.

Gender Roles

Gender roles in Gilead, along with stereotypes, are the backbone of how Gilead's patriarchy works. Gilead uses gender roles in conjunction with female and male stereotypes to create an unbalanced power dynamic in society. The women are tasked with conceiving, taking care of the house, or training handmaids, which are stereotypes we see today, and have seen over the past millennia, and the same goes for the male stereotypes and roles, which are being the household's leader and breadwinner. These gender roles prevent opportunities for women in Gilead, and limit them to the roles they have been tasked with, and because these roles have no real power with them, it causes a power imbalance between the men and women of Gilead. These roles reflects a pervasive belief in the inherent superiority of men and the subordination of women, perpetuating a cycle of oppression and inequality.

Through her exploration of gender roles, Margaret Atwood critiques the nature of patriarchal societies and the impact they have on an individuals freedoms.

Female Competition

The Handmaid's Tale illustrates a society where female competition emerges as a consequence of patriarchal oppression. Within the country of Gilead, women are regulated to certain roles dictated by men, which promotes an environment of scarcity and rivalry amongst them. We see unwomen shoot daggers at Offred as she and Ofglen pass by the colonies. We also see how Serena Joy didn't take a liking to Offred as she resented her role. We don't see any other examples of any similar competition between wives and handmaids, however it is likely that it occurs in other household, as it is an invasion of their marriage.

The Handmaid's Tale portrays female competition as a product of the oppressive patriarchal society of Gilead.

Stereotypes

The stereotypes women have had over the years have based idea of Gilead's social structure, and contribute to stereotypical gender roles. The most common female stereotypes are that women stay home as caretakers of the household, while the men are typically seen as the "breadwinners" of the household, providing income and are the leaders of the household. these ideas are what caused Gilead to emerge as a society, as it implements these stereotypes to both genders, but because of that, the women of Gilead have had their rights and freedoms stripped away, while for the men, almost nothing has really changed. Women lost their jobs before Gilead rose to power, but the men of society were able to keep jobs, bank accounts, and everything, while the women had everything taken away from them.

Margaret Atwood depicts a society that reflects our own history, where women were solely caretakers of the household and the men were the leaders and breadwinners of the household.

Male Privilege

In The Handmaid's Tale, all of the men in society are given high authority and power over women, and are also allowed more freedoms and rights. Because of this power imbalance, the men of Gilead have a male privileges. Gilead is a society dominated by men, and that results in there being more privileges for the men of society than the women, as we see throughout the book. We see as characters like Offred, Ofglen and Moria all have little to no freedoms, and are referred as objects for the benefit of Gilead, whereas men like the commander have more rights, and more privileges, like being able to read, having freedom of speech, and having jurisdiction over all women. This demonstrates how only the men of Gilead benefit from the patriarchy set forth, and why it would be undesirable for them to change anything.

The portrayal of male privilege shows us the inequalities that preserve gender based oppression in Gilead. Only the men benefit from such a system, as it priorities their own needs and desires, while the women are marginalized. The privileges bestowed to the men of Gilead reinforce the power imbalance between men and women in Gilead, and reinforces the patriarchal power structure of Gilead.

Female Oppression

Female oppression remains another consistent theme in The Handmaid's Tale, as the whole premise of the book revolves around the oppression of women. Women are oppressed through many means, such as power dynamics, the male gaze, gender roles and the theory of the patriarchy. Female oppression is caused by the patriarchy and imbalanced power dynamics, as men hold all the power in Gilead and have the most freedoms, and the women are referred to nothing more than vessels, dehumanizing the women of Gilead through the means of the male gaze. After being objectified by the men of society, they are conformed to tight gender roles, being the caretakers of the house or solely having the purpose to reproduce for the country of Gilead. Women are oppressed by the removal of their power, voice, opinions and even the ability to make their own decisions. women in Gilead are oppressed because of the imbalance in power dynamics between them and men.

The portrayal of female oppression highlights the patriarchal control that Gilead has, and where women are regulated to subordinate roles and denied freedom and basic rights, as well as control over their own lives, all stemming from the power that men hold in Gilead.

The relationship between the men and women of Gilead is portrayed by Margaret Atwood as an imbalanced power dynamic, where the men hold all the power and the women are voiceless and powerless.

Male Gaze

The Handmaid's Tale uses plenty of key feminist lens terms, such as the male gaze. The male gaze is evident throughout the novel, and we see the male gaze through different forms. The most common form of the male gaze is the ceremonies that occur in Gilead. The male gaze refers to how women are objects for the men of the text, or objects of appreciation and are no longer subjects of their own bodies. The ceremonies revolve around the commander procreating with the handmaid of their home, as that is the duty of the handmaid. The handmaids are there as a method of reproduction, and are no longer subjected to their own body and are objects of the men. The male gaze reinforces the power imbalance between men and women as the men do not go through dehumanization that women go through, and instead are actively participating in the male gaze by participating in the ceremonies.

The portrayal of the male gaze highlights the dehumanizing effects of patriarchal control, where women's bodies become objects of the male desire and male domination. The male gaze only reinforces the power dynamic between men and women because it benefits the men of Gilead, and preserves the idea of the patriarchy.

Women and Age in Gilead

The purpose of the handmaids in Gilead are to reproduce and conceive for their commanders. However, if a woman is unable to conceive children, they are sent to the colonies as an Unwoman, incapable of having a baby. Most Unwomen are unable to conceive because of decreased fertility, due to pollution, hence why Gilead exists in the first place. However, there are other reasons why women can't conceive, age being a factor as well. Unless you are a wife, women who are unable to conceive, regardless of why, are sent to the colonies. They are also sent to the colonies if they lose their youthful appearance, as handmaids are kept for not only their fertility, but also their youth so the Commanders can conceive children with them. This means that if a handmaid reaches the age where they can no longer conceive, they will be sent to the colonies. This ties in with a common stereotype of how women are only valuable for their beauty (in this case, fertility) and lose their value as they age. We see this with Offred, where she was not able to conceive, and a doctor offered to impregnate her so she would not be declared an Unwoman as time passed on.

Through the feminist lens, we see as Margaret Atwood depicts a society where women are dehumanized based on their age and fertility. Gilead's obsession with age and appearance reflects broader societal attitudes that prioritize women's looks over their intellect and lived experiences. The men of society are not punished for their age, but the handmaid's are, which portrays the imbalance of freedoms and power between the men and women.

Power Dynamics

Throughout the novel, men occupy positions of authority across all levels of Gilead's hierarchy. Commanders hold the most power, dictating the lives of handmaids, wives and other women. women however, are relegated to subordinate roles, stripped of any freedoms and rights. The Aunts enforce compliance of handmaids, and wives remain bound to their husbands, although they still have some freedoms most women do not. We see as Serena Joy is allowed to knit and has access to freedom of speech, something handmaid's and Unwomen do not have. This imbalance is further exemplified by the absence of women in positions of decision making and the systemic suppression of female voice.

The depiction of power in Gilead highlights the patriarchy that governs ever aspect of society. The men maintain dominance through institutionalized oppression, and regulate women to mere vessels for reproduction.

Patriarchy

The country of Gilead is an extremist patriarchy, where men, and only men, are in full control of the country. They are given more rights and freedoms and are fully in control of women, as there are no women with full authority over Gilead. Instead, there are women that are in control of lower ranking women, like handmaids. Commanders are the Apex of Gilead, boasting the most power and no women have jurisdiction over them. The commander of Offred's home for example, is in full control of the household and all of the women who reside there. Other male rankings like The Eyes and The Guardians, the law enforcement of Gilead, are also in control of what happens in Gilead, reporting any crimes or frowned actions that handmaids, unwomen, and even higher ranking women do, as well as seizing any criminals, male or female, as we see with the random woman captured by the black van, and the mention of Ofglen's capture. We also see female classes like the Aunts, who have jurisdiction over all handmaids, daughters and Unwomen, and Wives who can issue commands to other women like Aunts and Guardians, to an extent, but have no control over any man in Gilead. All male classes have rights and freedoms, and male classes higher than economen have full rights over all women.

The evidence provided proves the patriarchy Gilead abides by, where all men are in charge of all women. Most women remain voiceless, while all men can still appreciate some freedoms that remain in Gilead, such as reading. This patriarchy promotes the power imbalance between men and women in Gilead.