Essay, Research Paper: The Handmaids Tale - Passage Analysis

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.