The Handmaid's Tale

In a passage from pages 84-85 in Margaret Atwood's

novel, The Handmaid's Tale, diction, imagery, syntax,

rhetorical shifts and other literary devices were used

to depict the character's attitude. Offred's attitude

towards her life was one of sorrow and depression.

Offred had begun to take her bath, something

that she seldom got to go. During this time, she had a

flashback about her daughter and was wondering what had

happened to her. Offred was filled with sorrow and longed

to know if her daughter was still alive. As Offred lied

in the bath, "lapped by the water," (L 1) the symbolism of

water was shown. Water symbolizes purification and

redemption and it is also associated with fertility and

growth. Water is also the symbol of birth as the water

that surrounds the baby. This was ironic because while

she was lying in the water, Offred had thoughts about her

little girl. The bath water was to purify Offred and make

she fertile so that she may fulfill her duty as a handmaid.

This caused sorrow in Offred's heart because she was

unhappy with her life, she wanted things to go back to

how they should be or at least how they used to be.

Offred believed that her daughter did not die when she

was taken away and she hoped that the girl was still alive

(L 2-3). Offred made herself be positive and think that

her little girl was still alive somewhere out in the world

but it was hard to think about the good, when everything

was full of sorrow ness. Offred longed to see her baby

girl and her body was filled with sorrow knowing that she

would probably never see her daughter again. Offred

questioned her importance to her daughter by asking if

the girl still remembered her and if her daughter pictured

her in her mind (L 4-5). This rhetorical question is

important in depicting Offred's attitude because even

though Offred knew that no one would answer this question,

she felt that the burden needed to be lifted off of her

and hopefully free her of some sorrow. Offred knew that

almost everyday she thought about her daughter but it

troubled her when she wondered if her daughter thought

about her. Offred's sorrow was even stronger at this

point because she felt that she had lost a major part

in her life by losing her daughter. Offred was questioning

her own importance in the little girl's life and since

she did not receive any answers, sorrow ness filled her

heart. Offred believed that who ever took her daughter

away must have told the girl that Offred had died because

that is what kind of people they were (L 6-7). Thinking

of this really upset Offred because she worried that her

daughter had forgotten about her because the girl believed

that Offred was dead. This also upset Offred because she

felt that if her daughter was still alive that she might

come looking for her. Offred believed that her daughter

had been told this for two reasons. One was that she

figured that the crooked people who ran society would be

capable of telling such lies and also she thought that

if her daughter knew that Offred was still alive that she

would have found her by now. Thinking about this made

Offred very sad because she longed to see her daughter

again. Offred criticized the people who captured her

daughter by saying that, "they would say it would be

easier for her to adjust." (L 7-8) Offred felt that such

lies had been told to her daughter in order to take

control of her easier and free her mind from the life

that she had lived before. This upset Offred because

she wanted to find her daughter and show her that she was

still alive. Offred went own to think about how much

time had been lost since she had last seen her daughter.

Offred knew that her daughter was about eight years

old now and how time has been filled with so many other

things but Offred knew how many years had passed (L 9-10). Even though handmaids were not allowed to have calendars, Offred kept track of time, especially of things that were of importance to her. Her daughter was of great importance to her and Offred knew the age of the girl now. This showed how sad and full of sorrow Offred was and how she wanted to see her daughter again if she had kept track of time. Offred felt it had been time lost but she still knew how much time had passed. Offred went on to try and free herself of the sorrow by saying that "it was easier to think of her as dead," (L 10-11). Even though Offred loved her daughter dearly, she figured it would be easier to picture her daughter happy in heaven and not have to deal with the situation that the world was in at the present time. This way Offred would not have had to "hope or bash her head against a wall," (L 11-13). Offred spent a lot of her time worrying about where her daughter was and how she was. If Offred knew that her daughter was dead, then these worries would not take place in her mind.

Offred's attitude then shifted to depression as

she snapped back into reality as Cora yelled at her to

hurry up and take her bath (L 15-16). Offred washed

herself well and scrubbed off the dead skin. She wanted

herself to be totally clean and germless like the

surface of the moon (L 17-21). Offred felt as if she

was not clean that she was not healthy that she was not

happy. Offred was depressed the majority of the time

because she wanted her life to be like it used to be, when

she was with her family and happy. The aids that Offred

used to clean herself were referred to as "puritan aids"

(L 19). This was ironic because the setting of the story

is sometime in the present and for Offred to be using to

be using puritan type aids would be depressing especially

if she was accustomed to using my modern type aids. This

depressed Offred because she missed everything from her

old life and she longed for it. The people in charge of

Gilead did not let the handmaids bathe often because they

feel like it is better way and bathing too often would

"interfere" (L 23). Water symbolizes fertility and a

person would think that the Gilead society would want

fertility and promote baths. Offred was depressed because

this was another thing that she missed from the past.

As Offred finished up her bath, she acknowledged a small

tattoo on her ankle (L 24-25). The small tattoo of four

digits and an eye was the marking of who she was and what

her purpose was in life. Offred was depressed because

she felt like her own identity had been stripped of her

and that she no longer was herself. The handmaids were

branded like cattle and used for their sole purpose to

reproduce. Offred was depressed because of her thoughts

about her daughter and her lifestyle. This tattoo

guaranteed her place in life and that she was too important to be lost. Handmaids were considered very important in Gilead and Offred would be a handmaid until she was not longer fertile of she had been given her 3 chances. The passage closes with Offred comparing herself to a "natural resource." To Gilead, handmaids were a major component of life and were almost as important as water or air. This is why the reference was made to Offred being a natural resource.

The character's attitude of sorrow and depression

are shown through the diction, imagery, syntax, and other

literary devices in this passage from The Handmaids Tale.

Atwood used these elements to depict and stress the

attitude.