The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale is saturated with ideas taken from the Bible.  Just like the strict laws of the country, the occupations, names of places, and even the country's name are all based off of the Catholic faith. Everywhere that Offred looks is another biblical reference.

The different social "classes" in the novel include the Marthas, Handmaids, Wives, Econowives, Commanders of the Faithful, Eyes of the Lord, Guardians of the Faith, and Angels. The name "Martha" is an allusion to Martha of Bethany in the Gospel of Luke. The story goes that Jesus came to visit Martha and her sister Mary. While Mary sat and listened to Jesus the whole time, Martha was cooking and completing the necessary preparations. When Martha asked why Mary was not helping her with the work, Jesus replied that Mary had taken the better choice, and "it will not be taken away from her".

It was probably something like this

In the book, therefore, Marthas are the women who work around the house cooking and cleaning.

The idea of a handmaid in this society comes from a passage in the book of Genesis. In it, a man and his wife cannot succeed at making a baby. Frustrated, the wife suggests to the husband that he use a handmaid instead. The Eyes of the Lord are referenced several times in the Bible, saying each time something to the point of "The eyes of the Lord see all". In this case, the Eyes are the secret police of the country, so it makes sense to think that they "see all". The Angels fight in wars to protect Gilead, which is strange since angels are generally thought of as messengers of peace, not war.

Most of the stores and buildings in The Handmaid's Tale are references to the Bible. The Rachel & Leah center gets its name from the very same Bible passage as the handmaid comes from. The two women who utilized handmaids in that story were named Rachel & Leah. Since the Rachel & Leah is essentially handmaid school, it was named after the original endorsers of handmaids.

The clothing store, called "Lilies of the Field", is a reference to Matthew 6:28. Essentially, it says that people should not be anxious about clothing. "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin". Spin is in reference to spinning clothing, which was a woman's job. This sets the precedent for the simplistic red and green dresses for Handmaids and Marthas. It can also be viewed as supporting equality for women since it suggests that even women shouldn't have to be working.

A field of lilies for reference; notice they do not toil or spin

All Flesh, the meat store, is a reference to a Bible passage which says that all flesh is grass, and that all grass dies and returns to the earth. It means that everyone dies one day, perhaps reminding the people that one day they will be judged. The other two food stores, Milk and Honey & Loaves and Fishes, represent abundance. Milk and honey were somewhat of delicacies, and were also promised to the followers of god in great abundance if they could get to the Promised Land. Jesus performed a miracle when he provided more than enough bread and fish for a very large crowd while he was only supplied with a small amount. The names of the food stores are ironic because, in reality, there is a food shortage in Gilead.

The brothel in the Handmaid's Tale is named Jezebel's. Jezebel was the name of the Queen of Israel, and is known for having convinced her husband, King Ahab, to convert himself and his people over to the worship of Baal and Asherah rather than Yahweh. She also falsely accused an innocent landowner of blasphemy because he would not sell his land to King Ahab; the landowner was put to death. The name Jezebel is related to false prophets and corruption. The people hated Jezebel, and eventually they rose up against her and threw her out of a window (group-defenestration), where she was left for the dogs to eat. Additionally, she is related to prostitutes because she wore her fine dress and put on makeup before she was killed.

The name of the USA was changed to the Republic of Gilead when the Sons of Jacob took over. There were 12 sons of Jacob in the Bible, and each was the patriarch of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Gilead means "hill of testimony" or "mound of witnesses". It is often referenced in the Bible, and is known to be a fertile and desirable place to live. The country was probably named Gilead to promote an idea of fertility in a time when the conditions of the world have caused people to become overwhelmingly infertile/sterile.

Favorite Quote/Passage

"Nothing changes instantly; in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death  before you knew it."
I really found this analogy interesting. I can imagine that the entire society is all being slowly boiled to death without noticing it. It applies to Gilead as well as the country pre-Gilead. Before Gilead, the world was becoming worse every day with people becoming complacent. It is also like the way that The Sons of Jacob took over the U.S.; although they took over the government quickly, they slowly rolled out the new laws until the country wasn't America at all anymore.

Thoughts on the Novel

I liked The Handmaid's Tale. The detached, sometimes erratic, stream of conscience writing was easy for me to follow. The political and social commentary is actually interesting to read when the author portrays it through an extreme society. As someone who enjoys asking "what if...?", The Handmaid's Tale was an enticing and fully fleshed-out scenario. Gilead is so opposite from the world of today, yet it includes parallels to pieces of our world (of course theocracies exist in the Middle East today, and Gilead isn't nearly as far away as it seems). The only part I truly disliked was the ending. I just wish that there could have been more closure for Offred's story. After such a long journey with her, I think she deserves a real ending, rather than simply disappearing as if the writer lost interest.