Dissatisfactions in life as portrayed in The Handmaids Tale In Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale, the patriarchal society oppresses

certain classes of people based on the role they play in society which is shown to be true for the general population of Gilead and results in most people being dissatisfied with their lives. The two classes of people consist of the upper Bourgeoisie class and the lower Proletarian class. Members of both the upper class, such as the Commanders and Wives, and the lower class, such as the Handmaids, face some form of oppression under the Gileadean regime. The Commanders and the Wives belong to the upper Bourgeoisie class and are unhappy with their lives in Gilead. When Gilead was established, magazines that promised transformations of womens faces and bodies to make them look more visually appealing to others were destroyed. The Commander replies that some of us retain an appreciation for the old things, when asked why he has such a magazine in his possession (Atwood 157). It may be inferred from the Commanders reply that although he assumes a position of high power in Gileadean society, he is dissatisfied with his life and still keeps mementos from the past. The Commander is not happy with his life because of his strained relationship with his wife. The condition of his relationship with his wife becomes apparent when he reveals that [they] dont seem to have much in common these days (Atwood 158). The Commander is discontent with his relationship with his wife and tries to make up for it by calling Offred to his study often. Despite being a Wife, Serena Joy is dissatisfied with her life in Gilead and despises Offreds relationship with her husband. She makes her dissatisfaction clear on her first meeting with Offred when she states [t]ill death do us part, when talking about

her husband (Atwood 16). Her attitude towards Offred regarding her husband confirms that she does not approve of having another woman in her husbands life although it is required by law in Gilead. It is clear that high ranking officials such as the Commanders and the Wives are unhappy with their lives despite the fact that they constitute the upper class of society. The Handmaids are part of the lower Proletariat class and are oppressed under Gileadean regime which is the cause of dissatisfaction in their lives. Offred loses her daughter when she is captured by the Gileadean authorities. It is certain that she misses her daughter when she thinks to herself [s]he fades, I cant keep her with me, shes gone now (Atwood 64). Offred only has memories of her daughter and does not even know whether or not she is alive. Since the early days of the Gileadean regime, women are barred from taking up any kind of jobs and are forced to serve in their homes only. Swale explains in her analysis of Atwoods work that [a womans] role [is] to be gentle, expressive homemakers. Swale also states that Offred alludes to this when, on losing her job, she decides to do more baking. Swales analysis brings to light the fact that being a woman Offred is oppressed by the regime and is not happy about it. Under the new Gileadean regime, women are forbidden from reading or writing any text, literature or sign boards. According to Cavalcanti, [r]eading and writing are forbidden to women; writing on notice boards is replaced by pictures; books and other reading materials are banned. Handmaids are oppressed in the way that they are not legally allowed to read or write. Offred resents this many times in the novel. For instance, she remarks that playing scrabble with the commander was a luxury because

it gave her the freedom to read. Handmaids are clearly oppressed under the Gileadean regime and their dissatisfaction in life is shown throughout the novel. In conclusion, the oppression of certain classes of people based on the role they play in society is true for the general population of Gilead and results in most people being dissatisfied with their lives. The Commanders and the Wives portray their dissatisfaction with life in the Gileadean era. The Handmaids portray their oppression in the Gileadean era. These people represent the upper Bourgeoisie class and the lower Proletariat class of society respectively and both face oppression causing dissatisfaction in their lives under the Gileadean regime.

Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Anchor Books, 1986. Cavalcanti, Ildney. Utopias of/f Language in Contemporary Feminist Literary Dystopias. Utopian Studies 11.2 Spring 2000. General OneFile. Web 7 April. 2012. Swale, Jill. "Feminism, and politics in The Handmaid's Tale: Jill Swale examines the social and historical context of Atwood's novel. (Literature in Context)." The English Review Sept. 2002: 37+. General OneFile. Web. 7 April. 2012.

Annotated Bibliography Swale, Jill. "Feminism, and politics in The Handmaid's Tale: Jill Swale examines the social and historical context of Atwood's novel. (Literature in Context)." The English Review Sept. 2002: 37+. General OneFile. Web. 7 April. 2012. Jill Swales article approaches The Handmaids Tale from a feminist political perspective. In the article, women from the past are compared to the women in the present. The author discusses the relationships between Victorian women, Second wave feminism and post-feminism. She shows how the society of Gilead has been derived from history. Jill Swale has a degree in Humanities and has also studied Art and Language in Paris and Florence. She has lived in Italy and ran an art gallery for 15 years. She is currently the Head of Sociology at Kendrick where she also teaches English. Her works frequently appear in notable publications such as Sociology Review and Teaching Thinking. Swales article analyzes the oppressions faced by Handmaids in Gileadean society because they were women. It relates the events that take place in the novel to what we have already seen in the worlds history.