'All men, in the novel, abuse their power and higher place in society over women'.
Discuss how true this statement is in Margret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale'.
The handmaids tale is set in a patriarchal society highly dominated by men, some of which abuse their power and use their higher status in society to get what they want. A prime example of
Another example of a character that abuses his power, is one who takes advantage of the protagonist of the novel, Offred. Offred, who is also known as a handmaid, lives in a house where she is expected to have sexual intercourse with the commander of the house once a month in order to fall pregnant as fertility rates were low at the time. "My red skirt is hitched up to my waist, though no further. Below it the commander is fucking. What he is fucking is the lower part of my body.
Prince and lady on terrace at night
English: Human sexual intercourse
This type of legs up missionary, called "the anvil...I do not say making love because this is not what he is doing". Amin Malak describes this process as the handmaid being 'desexed and dehumanized' (Malak, n.d.) The commander uses his power to oppress Offred and make her feel like an object to him rather than a person.
The commander furthermore abuses his power when he starts to meet Offred in private during the middle of the night, betraying his wife. "If I'm caught, it's to Serena's tender mercies I'll be delivered... I could become an unwoman. But to refuse to see him could be worse. There is no doubt about who holds the real power". Offred is put in a dangerous yet vulnerable position because she is scared of what the commander may do to her if she does not do what he says. Clearly, the Commander is playing on the fact that...