“You wanted a women’s culture. Well, now there is one. It isn’t what you meant, but it exists.” (Attwood 127). The regime of Gilead claims that it supports the culture of female solidarity and unity, but only creates a culture of tyranny and oppression. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Marget Attwood, the author not only focused on the hierarchy between opposite genders but portrayed the disunity of women. This resulted in the consequent destruction of female solidarity. Women were not only seen as subservient to men but also subservient to each other. The matriarchy of relying on women to self-regulate aids the founders of Gilead in destroying female solidarity. This form of misogyny and dissension of women was caused by two social systems which are the culture of the Handmaid’s training system and the culture of the household which illustrates the public and private enforcement of this matriarchy.
In the Handmaid’s training system, the aunt’s hunger to exercise the last ounce of power that was stripped away from them causes them to initiate the disunity of women. The regime wanted to brainwash the handmaids into viewing the aunts as motherly mentors and guides on the path to successful assimilation into Gilead. In reality, the aunts are a class of powerful and strict women assigned to indoctrinate the handmaids with the beliefs and rules of the new society. They work hard to implant their slogans and maxims that drum the ideology of the new society into the heads of the handmaids. This form of brainwashing causes the slogans to echo in the handmaids’ minds as a form of reminder. The aunts are trusted with the duty to train the handmaids because they are ranked the most powerful female agents of the patriarchal society. In full collusion with male leaders and thus enforcing domestic hierarchy, the aunts stop at nothing to domesticate the handmaids and brainwash them even using physical and mental haram. The handmaids are the basis for Gilead’s survival since they are charged with reversing the dwindling birth rate due to the infertility of the wives. The Handmaids are victimized into wearing red from the blood of parturition also from Mary Magdalene and are labeled with a name composed of the commander’s name and a prefix denoting “belonging to”. After being arrested for participating in non-traditional marriages (second marriages or extramarital liaisons) At the Rachel and Lea Re-education Center (also known as the Red Center), the journey of female dominance over the handmaids begins. The Aunts impose physical harm by having “electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts” (Attwood 4). The fact that the aunts carry electric cattle prods isn’t only seen as a scaring tactic but it implies that the handmaid’s humanity isn’t recognized. The aunts are using a tool made for animals on human beings demonstrating the lack of respect in their relationship and how the handmaids are seen as objects. Another form of physical harm is torture techniques pursued by the aunts to teach the handmaids lessons. Moira, a militant rebellious lesbian, experiences the wrath of the aunts when she fakes being sick to escape the Red Center. This mistake instead of being solved verbally considering she’s a human being led her to not be able to “walk for a week, her feet would not fit her shoes, they were too swollen” (Attwood 92). The aunts torture the handmaids as if they are animals who are incompetent of understanding if they gave them a lecture and the aunts even have a system for the torture “It was the feet they’d do for the first offense. They used steel cables, frayed at the end. After that the hands.” (Attwood 92). The physical harm performed by the aunts implies that aunts view the handmaids as inhumane and regard them as soulless objects even animals. The aunts made sure to also impose psychological avenues in addition to physical harm. The mental harm included humiliation and all sorts of brainwashing. Humiliation was a technique used mostly on Janine, a handmaid, which resulted in Offred describing her as “a puppy who was kicked way too many times”. Janine’s biggest humiliation is when she’s forced to speak at a ritual called “testifying” and she tells the story of how she was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion. Instead of teaching the other handmaids how to sympathize with one another, the aunts initiate a chant “But whose fault is it?” and the handmaids reply all at once “her fault, her fault, her fault” (Attwood 72). This technique not only humiliates Janine but also brainwashes the other handmaids to blame one another instead of caring for them thus destroying female solidarity. Moreover, it emphasizes that the Aunts blame women for getting raped or experiencing any other form of sexual or domestic violence since before Gilead women had sexual freedom and led men on with their revealing clothing and individuality. Another form of brainwashing is when the aunts force the handmaids to watch pornographic movies. These movies represent acts of sexual violence against women performed by men “...women being raped, beaten up, killed.” (Attwood 118). This form of brainwashing is done to make the handmaids feel grateful for their position since they are safe from this treachery. It shows the aunts as, spokeswoman for the patriarchy of Gilead, are willing to plant only the unpleasant side of the world before Gilead so, they can be praised for their “heroism and valiance”. In addition, another form of brainwashing that is considered the most powerful tool is the manipulation and twisting of biblical sayings in their favor. Manipulation of religion is considered one of the most powerful tools in a dystopian society since religion means that God is watching and in dystopian societies, the government is always watching. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the aunts use the symbolic power of the bible to justify their acts and brainwash the handmaids. Offred got a hold of this brainwashing when Aunt Lydia mentioned that “All flesh is weak” to shame the men and women who give in to the sins of the flesh, in particular, their sexual desires. Offred remembered that the true biblical term is “All flesh is grass” (Attwood 39) which means it’s all part of nature and the composition of the body. Moreover, the aunts and the handmaids don’t share a unified vision for the future. All of these tools that cause either mental or physical harm create a barrier between the aunts and handmaids. This emphasizes that the aunts are seen by the handmaids not as motherly figures and guides, but as instruments that will propagate religion and make use of their power to brainwash women into accepting their new productive role.
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After the Handmaid’s training system, the female harmony continues to be dismantled when the handmaids are posted into households. The handmaid is therefore subjected to two relationships with women, the Marthas, and the Wives. In the Gilead regime, the Marthas were women who were given the task of serving the people living in the household by cooking and cleaning for them. In the household, the two Marthas are Rita and Cora who treat Offred as a necessary chore they must abide to. Offred remarks that they “they’ve been talking about [her] behind [her] back “ (Attwood 10). However, the two Marthas have a different reaction to Offred’s presence. In Rita’s case, she completely disapproves of Offred’s role in the new regime. She thinks that Offred could have chosen not to be a Handmaid even though her only other options were exile or execution “It’s the red dress she disapproves of, and what it stands for. She thinks [Offred] may be catching like a disease or any form of bad luck.” (Attwood 10). This shows that Rita doesn’t disapprove of Offred as an individual yet disapproves of her duty emphasizing that these women don’t bother to initiate a relationship amongst each other yet only judge based on appearance. While Rita is a source of criticism and disapproval to Offred, Cora is a constant reminder of her role. Cora has so much hope built towards Offred since she likes the idea of having a baby to take care of yet it constantly reminds Offred that she only views her as a “two-legged womb”. This lack of friendship between the Handmaids and the Marthas destroys female solidarity since they are both seen as subversive to the commander and his wife thus they should bond over that. Another reason for the disunity of women is the relationship between the Wives and the Handmaids. The Wives, who are married to high-ranking men in Gilead like commanders, experience infertility issues. The relationship between the handmaids and the wives operates on mutual dislike mainly because the handmaids are continual reminders of the wives’ failure to conceive. The wives treat the Handmaids with disrespect and cruelty and call them “little whores” instead of treating them with gratitude for going through the process of rape to possibly conceive their child while being denied the pleasure of motherhood. The way Attwood presented the Wives and the Handmaids automatically created a sense of disunity. The Wives wear the blue of purity, from the Virgin Mary which shows that the Wives are pure and moral. This regards them as worthy to accumulate the privilege of marriage and to accumulate a high honor role. On the other hand, the Handmaids wear red from the blood of parturition, but also from Mary Magdalene which is the opposite of the virtuous Virgin Mary’s blue. The red not only represents the color of blood for fertility but also represents shame and prostitution. This representation shows that the Handmaids could never be Wives due to their controversial nature. Moreover, the theme of hierarchy and social power also played a role in the disunity of the Wives and the Handmaids. The Wives are treated with value and respect even when being transported to Birthday in a van I hear another siren. It’s the blue Birthmobile, for Wives….No benches for them, they get real seats and upholstery. They face front and are not curtained off. They know where they’re going.” (Attwood 115) while the Handmaids sit uncomfortably on benches. The difference in transportation shows the difference in power and value between these women which serves as a reminder to the Handmaids to know their worth. Another factor of disunity is the Ceremony which is a socially condoned monthly ritual to conceive. For Offred to go through this “rape process”, she must detach from her body. As she detaches from her body it enables her to detach from her emotions and view the act as part of her social duty. On the other hand, Serena (the commander’s wife) can’t attain the luxury of attachment. Yet, she has to witness her husband having sexual intercourse with another woman to conceive a child. The purpose is that she failed to achieve herself thus it's an insulting and humiliating process for Serena which results in her crying afterward. This disparity leaves Offred wondering “Which of us is it worse for, her or me?” (Attwood 96). In addition, controlling the handmaids and forcing their way into the experiences are the only outlets the Wives have for feeling purposeful. During the ceremony, other than Serena’s presence, she “grips [Offred’s] hands as if it is she, not [Offred] who’s being fucked” (Attwood 95). The urge Serena has for gripping Offred’s hands is to demonstrate her power and involvement, but also that she’s in control of the process and the product. During Birthday, the Wives “massage her tiny belly, just as if she’s really about to give birth herself. “ (Attwood 116). This demonstrates the extent of the lies they are caught up in and their deep hidden desire to experience the ceremony and the birthday themselves without the presence of handmaids. The incapabilities of the Wives to enjoy the pleasure of conceiving creates a solid barrier between them and the handmaids whom they consider as sluts rather than saviors. The household similar to the handmaid’s training system continues to pave the pathway to a patriarchal society with no hope of female solidarity.
Women’s imprisonment paves the way for Gilead’s institution of a caste system which is superficially designed to simplify the lives of citizens by dividing them into classes with delineated standards of behavior, clothing, and responsibilities. The patriarchal has twisted a prominent feminist premise into a tool that enables women to oppress each other thus becoming agents of the patriarchal social order they wish to escape. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Attwood illustrates the lack of female solidarity as contributing to a tool of oppression fueled by the nature of relationships between women of different classes.
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