The Handmaid's Tale: 4 key scene analysis
Uploaded by Trilby on Sep 01, 2006
Question: There are a number of key unforgettable scenes in the novel. Without focusing on description, discuss what is so memorable about any 3 or 4.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood has a number of key unforgettable scenes with memorable language and imagery created through Offred’s opinions and descriptions. The introductory scene, the biblical scene, the first meeting with the Commander, and the Birth Day chapter are all scenes which are not only unforgettable within the context of the novel but contain language which both emphasises the ideas in the novel and is metaphorical and full of symbolism providing the reader with a greater understanding of the novel.
The chapter in which Offred is introduced to the reader sets the scene for the novel, in Offred’s bedroom. The room in which she stays is quite empty, the descriptions of the objects in the room are listed, emphasising the lack of character of the room; “A chair, a table, a lamp” (pg 17). This emptiness highlights to the reader immediately that Offred has an ‘empty’ life in Gilead. Offred’s references to herself are also memorable. She compares herself often with a nun, the time “is measured by bells, as once in nunneries. As in a nunnery too, there are few mirrors.” (pg 18). Nuns are associated with chastity and virtue, and are also often connected to the colour white, yet Offred also refers much to the colour “red: the colour of blood, which defines us” (pg 18). Red is a colour associated with fertility, which is contrary to the pureness of the nun references. Her comment that she is a “sister, dipped in blood” (pg 19) combines the two, which are contradictory metaphors, a nun; innocence, dipped in blood; fertility. The two are opposite yet Offred links them. This stands out to the reader because it is such an unusual pairing. In the mirror Offred describes herself as a “fairytale figure in a red cloak” (pg 19) which seems to create a separation between Offred’s story and reality.
In the chapter in which the Commander reads the bible, Offred continues to bring about this fairytale quality to which she gives her thoughts. She describes the Commander as “a shoemaker in an old fairytale book.” (pg 98).This gives her story another aspect of a fairytale, that the characters are like fairytale characters. The chapter also emphasises what role men and women play...