Aidan Simas lit log #2

Preface: I chose these songs in particular because they portray elements of Gilead. They are somber, nearly wordless, and somewhat mysterious save for 1 song. I believe these overarching themes dutifully portray Gilead as a society that silences its dissenters, glorifies its atrocities, and makes itself inescapable to those it holds captive. Melancholy is everywhere and hope is running thin.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6bQ4DvKU7H88wbLcJQFvco?si=RxIJ1-Q7R9C9ABN64VEIow

我昨晚夢見你了 (Translation: I dreamed of you last night)

I chose this song because it reminds me of the melancholy that seems to pierce the minds of all Gilead’s residents. The collective emotions of people from all walks of life. You can see this in specifics like with Serena Joy knitting scarves for the angels in her sitting room. Or when Offred gets into a bath and thinks of her loved ones. In the song there is this sense of melancholy created by the rain, and the other notes as well create a dark atmosphere, almost reminiscent of the image of Offred staring at the bodies on the wall. pg.31 “Now we turn our backs on the church and there is the thing we’ve in truth come to see: the Wall.”

Rain (From “Halo 3:ODST”)

This song has a very deep meaning, one that synergizes with Offred’s situation as a handmaid and as a person. The meaning of this song is hope, hope even though you are by yourself and on your own, hope even though the whole world may be against you, and hope as you search for a way out of the hell you jumped feet first into. The closest image I can think of to this meaning in the book is the pillow that says “Faith” on Offred’s window. It is a preservation of hope even through the dark shadow of Gilead’s oppression. Pg.110 “I get out of bed, go to the window, kneel on the window seat, the hard little cushion, FAITH, and look out. There is nothing to be seen.”

Opening (from “Jin Roh”)

This song is not melancholic nor does it inspire the feeling of oppression. Instead it is militaristic and very proud. It sounds of victory, and imagery of a proud fascist society. Think of “Triumph of the Will” (yes the nazi propaganda film). It synergizes well with the imagery that Gilead provides of itself. The matching uniforms, military force, the examples made of those who would go against it, even the secret police or “Eyes” as the book calls them. This imagery is present at the women’s prayvaganza. Pg.218 “This commander ascends the steps to the podium, which is draped with a red cloth embroidered with a large white-winged eye. He gazes over the room, and our soft voices die.”

Your Home

This song is very somber. It’s cold and warm at the same time. It has tones of machinery whirring in the background and that same sense of melancholy that is everywhere in Gilead. The imagery most reminiscent of this music is when Offred is describing the egg. The commentary on its simple perfection really synergizes with this song. Pg.110 “The egg is glowing now, as if it had an energy of its own. To look at the egg gives me intense pleasure.”

Corridors of Time

I find that this song sort of seems exotic. The melancholy in the main chords of this song pervades throughout the song but it is undercut by the other parts in some areas. This feels most like how I felt when Offred was describing the commander’s room. Mostly how many things that Offred sees that were “supposed to have been destroyed”. Pg.137 “Books, books, and books, right out in plain view, no locks, no boxes. No wonder we can’t come in here. It’s an oasis of the forbidden.”