Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Context of Production The Handmaids Tale as a Work of Its Time - Literature Essay Samples
Texts are, by nature, cultural artefacts, intrinsically influenced by the societys from which they emerge. Margaret Atwoodââ¬â¢s The Handmaidââ¬â¢s Tale (1985) offers a ââ¬Å"twist of todayââ¬â¢s societyâ⬠ââ¬â the phallocentric Gileadean dictatorship, as seen through the eyes of narrator Offred. Set in a totalitarian and repressive theocracy, Atwood warns of the danger of fundamentalist religion ideology ââ¬â likely influenced by the global resurgence of totalitarianism in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She offers a warning, particularly to female readers, of the need for feminism due to the subversive nature of the patriarchy (written in the shadow of the 1980s anti-feminist backlash), as well as the need for women to work together rather than against each other. With the founding of the UN Environment Program in 1972, as well as the publication of Rachel Carsonââ¬â¢s 1962 Silent Spring, global concern over environmental degradation was evident during th e 1980s ââ¬â influencing Atwoodââ¬â¢s dystopian warning of the need to preserve our environment. Hence Atwoodââ¬â¢s contextual concerns arise in the novel. The 1980s featured environmental concerns, influencing The Handmaidââ¬â¢s Taleââ¬â¢s dystopian depiction of a ravaged environment, and its suggestion of the need to preserve our environment ââ¬Ëbefore it is too lateââ¬â¢. 1980ââ¬â¢s environmental concerns were evident from the 1983 UN World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Report), the founding of the UN Environment Program and the Union Carbide Bhopal gas leak disaster India ââ¬â which sparked immense protest and worldwide rage. Offred describes ââ¬Å"an Unbaby, with a pinhead, or two bodyââ¬â¢s, or a snoutâ⬠¦or webbed feetâ⬠. This disturbing dystopic image evokes Greek notions of half-man half-beast creatures ââ¬â implying a need to avoid this scenario of environmental destruction. On numerous occasions, Offred observes the character of Serena Joy in the garden ââ¬Å"positioning her shearsâ⬠ââ¬Å"like a kamikaze intent on the seedpodsâ⬠. The seedpods are a pl ants reproductive organs, so on a figurative level, this could be read as humankind, ââ¬Ësuicide bombersââ¬â¢ destroying the future of the planet and killing ourselves in doing so. Writing from the vanguard of the 1980s environmental movement, Atwood emphasises the importance of environmental preservation. Atwood submits an indictment against fundamentalist religion, likely influenced by her fears surrounding the resurgence of the American New Right such as the 1979 Moral Majority, figures such as Pat Robertson, as well as the rise of the 1979 Iran theocracy and Sharia law under Ayatollah Khomeini. The Gileadean regime forces its ââ¬ËHandmaidsââ¬â¢ to undertake daily prayer. Offred states that ââ¬Å"what we prayed for was emptiness, so we would be worthy to be filled: with grace, with self-denial, semen and babiesâ⬠. This highly sardonic, yet humorous, statement highlights the emptiness and hypocrisy of the regime -perverting what should be a meaningful religious act. Offred also humorously states that ââ¬Å"the Bible is kept locked up, the way people once kept tea locked upâ⬠. To a modern reader, the concept of locking tea up seems absurd, and through the juxtaposition of these two actions Atwood highlights the absurd extent to which the regime has perverted religiou s worship. This is also seen in the Gileadean slogan that ââ¬Å"God is a national resourceâ⬠as well as the purchase of ââ¬Ëprayersââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â highlighting the regimes commercialisation and bastardisation of worship, and in turn discouraging fundamentalist religion. Atwood criticises a world in which females are complicit in their own subjugation, emphasising the need for feminism. The character of Serena Joy acts as the regimes mouthpiece for anti-feminism ââ¬â ââ¬Å"her speeches were abouthow women should stay homeâ⬠, drawing a parallel with 1980s Christian televangelist Tammy Faye Bakkerââ¬â¢s similar speeches. However, Offredââ¬â¢s extremely unsavoury portrayal of Serena perhaps indicates Atwoodââ¬â¢s disapproval of the actions of female anti-feminists. For example, Offred introduces Serena with a ring on her finger ââ¬Å"like an ironic smileâ⬠ââ¬Å"like something mocking herâ⬠, depicting her actions as hypocritical. ââ¬Å"Her lips were thinâ⬠, her chin is ââ¬Å"clenched like a fistâ⬠and ââ¬Å"her eyes flat hostile blueâ⬠ââ¬â evocative of Serenaââ¬â¢s unhappiness and ââ¬Ëfuryââ¬â¢ at having been ââ¬Å"taken at her wordâ⬠. The increasingly popularity during the 1980s of te levangelists, in particular the ââ¬Å"Praise the Lord Clubâ⬠with 13 million viewers, likely influenced Atwoodââ¬â¢s concern surrounding women who have a role in oppressing other women. After the second wave of feminism of the 1960s-1980s, pioneered by figures such as Germaine Greer, a conservative backlash was evident in America ââ¬â for example, the 1982 failure of the Equal Rights Amendment (granting equal rights for women) to pass Congress ââ¬â likely influencing Atwoodââ¬â¢s portrayal of the inevitability of the filtration of patriarchal ideology into society, and the need for feminism. The society which follows Gilead in the ââ¬Ëhistorical notesââ¬â¢ appears to have progressed with regard to gender equalityââ¬â with a female ââ¬Å"Professor Maryann Crescent Moonâ⬠chairing a historical convention. However, Professor Pieixoto then states that they are ââ¬Ëenjoyingââ¬â¢ the female chair ââ¬Å"in two distinct senses, precluding, of cours e, the obsolete thirdâ⬠(sexual enjoyment). This is met with audience ââ¬Å"laughterâ⬠ââ¬â showing their acceptance of his belittlement of the chair. He regards her in terms of her sexuality, not her intellectual ability ââ¬â drawing sharp parallels with the overtly patriarchal antecedent Gileadean society, and warning a reader of underlying patriarchal ideologies. As readers, we are isolated from Pieixotoââ¬â¢s thought process, positioning us against him immediately. However, his sexual puns, acting in jarring contrast to Offredââ¬â¢s first person and deeply personal narrative, alienate us from him even further ââ¬â condemning the patriarchal values he embodies. Pieixoto refers to the ââ¬Å"Underground Femaleroadâ⬠ââ¬â a resistance organisation rescuing women ââ¬â as ââ¬Å"the Underground Frailroadâ⬠ââ¬â espousing the patriarchal notion that this organisation, and women, were weak and ineffectual. This is again met with ââ¬Å"laughterâ⬠ââ¬âand implicit audience approval. He refers to the Commanders as ââ¬Å"gentlemenâ⬠ââ¬â a subtle indication of the esteem in which he holds them, despite their creation of a phallocentric system of institutionalised rape, conformity and terror. In the light of the anti-abortion riots (after the the 1973 Supreme Court Roe vs Wade judgement legalising abor tion) and the anti-feminist backlash which could be said to have characterised the 1980s, Atwoods concern with the pervasiveness of patriarchal ideas, and hence the need for feminism, is made clear. Texts cannot be separated from their time periods, and The Handmaidââ¬â¢s Tale is no exception to the rule. Fundamentalist religion during the 1980s saw rising popularity, influencing the novels key concern with this trend. Figures such as Phyllis Schlafly and Tammy Faye Bakker, openly opposing feminism, emerged during the 1980s ââ¬â an arrival Atwood discourages through her characterisation of Serena Joy. With the 1980s came a sentiment that feminism was ââ¬Ëoverââ¬â¢ and equality had been achieved ââ¬â a sentiment arguably still existing today ââ¬â a complacency which Atwood warns against ââ¬â by depicting patriarchal systems as invasive and ever-present, thus an ever-present need for feminism. Another ââ¬Ëzeitgeistââ¬â¢ of the period encapsulated by Atwood is that of environmental concern seen through events such as UN actions and the Bhopal gas leak protests. Dystopias, by nature, extrapolate existing social trends to their worst possible circumsta ntial outcomes, indicating that they are fundamentally intertwined with their production context.
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