The Handmaids Tale as a Biblical Allusion Essay - 1462 Words

The Handmaids Tale: A Biblical Allusion Imagine a country where choice is not a choice. One is labeled by their age and economical status. The deep red cloaks, the blue embroidered dresses, and the pinstriped attire are all uniforms to define a persons standing in society. To be judged, not by beauty or personality or talents, but by the ability to procreate instead. To not believe in the Puritan religion is certain death. To read or write is to die. This definition is found to be true in the book, The Handmaids Tale (1986) by Margaret Atwood. It is a heartbreaking story of one young woman and her transformation into the Gilead society, the society described above. In the book, we meet Offred, the narrator of the story. This†¦show more content†¦This allusion is applied with this one quote from Aunt Lydia, the woman who indoctrinated the handmaids to the ways of the Republic of Gilead, The Republic of Gilead. . . knows no bounds. Gilead is within you (p. 23, italics: mine). The lush soil, and the future, of Gilead was located within the handmaids. Another allusion is that of Offreds name. Each handmaid is required to take up the name of the Commander to which they are assigned. For example, Offred belongs to the Commander named Fred, therefore, her name is Of. . . fred. But there is a deeper meaning to her seemingly menial name. Offreds name could also be interpreted as Off. . . red. To understand this biblical allusion, one must first understand the required uniform of the handmaids. Offred describes, I. . . advance my feet into the sunlight, in their red shoes, flat heeled to save the spine and not for dancing. The red gloves are lying on the bed. I pick them up, pull them onto my hands, finger by finger. Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us. The skirt is ankle- length, full, gathered to a flat yoke. . . , the sleeves are full. 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