1984 + The Handmaids Tale

1. Since the form of government in The Handmaid's Tale is a theocracy, religion (Bible) based, shouldn't access to the Bible be easier? Not being "kept locked up, the way people once kept tea locked up" (87)


Essentially this is how the society "should" work. I believe Atwood is clearly demonstrating how in this society everything seems pretty backwards. The fact that they (the men) lock up the bible shows that they don't really want the wome to be truely pious. Instead it seems that this government is using religion as an excuse to keep its' people, especially women, in line. By not having a wide spread of people know the Bible, there will be no new interpretations or counter ideas that the government will have to deal with. If this society was actually based off God, not only would the bible be there for anyone to read, the churches would not be closed, and the bible would not have been changed to fit the government's will.

I found some more religious references in The Handmaids Tale. The servants in the house that Offred lives in are called “Marthas”. This is a religious reference to Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus in the New Testament. She was a friend and follower of Jesus, and her reputation was one of working hard managing her brothers home. Her joy was to welcome others into her home- she had the gift of hospitality.

The name “Handmaid” also refers to the Old Testament. A reference to this can be found in the epigraph:
“And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said unto jacob, Give me Children, or else I die......And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her”.

In this passage we see that Rachel insists that her husband Jacob bed his handmaid because Rachel is unable to conceive a child. This passage is what Gilead uses to justify its actions by forcing women into being handmaids. Gilead uses this biblical scene in a twisted way, simply as a political maneuver to make the citizens of Gilead believe that they are doing the right thing.

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Originally Posted by sal7861

1. Since the form of government in The Handmaid's Tale is a theocracy, religion (Bible) based, shouldn't access to the Bible be easier? Not being "kept locked up, the way people once kept tea locked up" (87)

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The so called "theocracy" is a hypocrisy. The Commanders claim to be so holy, but in such a restricted society they are the ones doing the worst acts, such as visiting a brothel like, "Jezebel's" (Atwood 249). The Commanders want to have control and do what they want. They use the Bible in a very cautious way, only using select passages. The society was taken with the word of God so it has to be maintained in the same way. If someone who didn't support the theocracy were to have access to the Bible the whole government could have been overthrown alot sooner.

The fact that Gilead uses passages from the bible, picking and choosing only the ones that will help promote the ideology of the regime, can be seen in many parts of the novel. The greeting ritual between the Handmaids consist of set phrases such as “may the lord be open” (29). This not only shows biblical allusion, but also shows how the women are forced to act, being compelled to say phrases of religious nature. It also represent the passivity of their situation. They are not allowed to lead personal conversations and express their own opinions; they have to follow exactly what the leaders of Gilead want them to be. This can be seen in a passage when Offred and Ofglen go on their daily walk:
“The war is going well, I hear,” she says,
“praise be” I reply,
“we’ve been sent good weather.”
“Which I receive with joy” (19)

The names in this thing were awesome. I liked how Offred not only means that the commander's name was Fred, but also references the red color of the handmaid's dresses. When the Commander takes Offred to the jezebels, she gets to change clothes, and take the "red" "Off". This symbolizes a return, sort of, to her old life. Because she is not really Offred, she has a normal name, just as Ofwarren is really Janine. The same thing happens when she goes to Nick. She gets to remove her new life for a while, and return to what she used to be able to do with Luke. The way that Atwood works subtle things like that is really interesting.

On a totally different note, what were the significance of the greetings said between the handmaids? I didn't recognize them, hopefully someone can help me out with how that connects to the religious aspect of Gilead.


The names of the handmaid's show whom they "belong to". For example in the historical notes we learn that there are, "two whose names incorporate the element Fred." (306) The narrator's name means she is "Of Fred". Similarly Ofwarren, belongs to man named Warren. This is important to the novel because it further helps the women in the society loose their identity. A name helps say who you are and now that they are restricted Offred does not know how to find people she knows and not loose herself. This re-naming seems like a rather smart idea by the new theocracy so that opposition cannot form too strong.

1) How come nobody cares about seeing a Martha's face, but everyone cares about seeing a Handmaid's face?


2) What's the significance of Offred comparing everything in the Gileadean city to a museum?

What is the purpose of the prologue? To me it almost felt like it was saying it is ok to take drastic action in drastic times, but the whole book is about showing how awful the consequences of such actions can be. Is this supposed to be irony, or is there some message that was lost upon me. Also I like how it was almost a flowing story, but in truth it is three different passages. Is there any signifigance to this? It it showing that this is a universal idea?

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Originally Posted by Generic_Idea

The so called "theocracy" is a hypocrisy. The Commanders claim to be so holy, but in such a restricted society they are the ones doing the worst acts, such as visiting a brothel like, "Jezebel's" (Atwood 249). The Commanders want to have control and do what they want. They use the Bible in a very cautious way, only using select passages. The society was taken with the word of God so it has to be maintained in the same way. If someone who didn't support the theocracy were to have access to the Bible the whole government could have been overthrown alot sooner.

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The passages that the commander reads the wives are only selected because they support the ideology of the republic of Gilead. The passages are used to brainwash the women into thinking that they are doing what is good for society. What’s also significant is that Offred knows that the passages read to her are not the original ones form the bible, but she cannot look up the original words because reading is prohibited and the bible is locked away. The fact that it is locked away shows importance in that it is done to prevent the people from forming their own opinions about the way things should be.
“who knows what we'd make of it, if we ever got our hands on it? We can be read to from it, by him, but we cannot read.” (94)

When Offred is observing the room she has been moved to for being a handmaid she states, "There's a hard little cushion on it, with a petit cover: Faith." (57) Why is it important that Offred finds this word whcich has a religious connaotation as opposed to any other word?

Why does Atwood change words in religious text such as "ceremony" and "prayvaganzas" in the Gilead regime?

Why is the wife present in the Ceremony? Is there a precedent for this in the Bible? Why would they cause the wives this much heart ache? The Commander could just go have the ceremony and the wife could stay in the livingroom or something.

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Originally Posted by rachmaninoff

1) How come nobody cares about seeing a Martha's face, but everyone cares about seeing a Handmaid's face?


2) What's the significance of Offred comparing everything in the Gileadean city to a museum?

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1)In the Gileadean society, the handmaid's are hidden to avoid them from showing off their bodies. The government thinks that if the handmaids do not have any freedom, they won't have any temptations. Their only job is to produce offspring. Showing off any part of their body is dangerous because it suggests that they do not take their duty seriously. The Marthas are not capable of having kids. Therefor they have more freedom because any temptations won't matter to them.

2)I don't believe Offred compares everything to a museum, but the church was turned into one by the Gileadean government- "The church is a small one, one of the first erected here, hundreds of years ago. It isn't used anymore, except as a museum. Inside it you can see paintings of women in long somber dresses, their hair covered by white caps..." (41). It's interesting that the government turned the church into a museum. It shows how the government changes all aspects of religion to fit their goals. The museum also sensors what it shows. The paintings of women are dressed exactly like the handmaids- long dresses with white wings. This shows how much of an influence the government has on every aspect of society, even religion.

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Originally Posted by heath24

When Offred is observing the room she has been moved to for being a handmaid she states, "There's a hard little cushion on it, with a petit cover: Faith." (57) Why is it important that Offred finds this word whcich has a religious connaotation as opposed to any other word?

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The word "faith" is one that describes Offred's view of her situation. During the time she is a handmaid she has hope that things will go back to normal. For example, she likes to think of where her husband Luke may be. She comes up with 3 different scenarios he could be in. She concludes by saying, "The things I believe can't all be true, though one of them must be. But I believe in all of them, all three versions of Luke, at one and the same time...Whatever the truth is, I will be ready for it" (135). This shows that she knows her husband is somewhere. The pillow serves as a way to symbolize Offred's hope for her old life. Though the government may think this pillow means faith to become pregnant, Offred still holds onto the original meaning of faith by continuing to believe things will be alright.

The wives are able to buy prayers at the Soul Scrolls store. Why is it important that the only prayers they can order are "for health, wealth, a death, a birth, a sin" (216)? (in chapter 27)

Offred at one time asks "Which of us is it worse for, [Serena Joy] or me?" (123 - right before chapter 17) Both wives and handmaid's have to give up a lot in this society, but is one situation worse than the other?