Atwoods Humanization with Characters

In The Handmaid’s Tale, the author Margaret Atwood uses many subtle literary comparisons between her characters and animals. There could be many different reasons for these animal references, as Offred often compares herself to things such as pigs and rodents. However, the reader could point this out as a piece to a larger puzzle. No section perfectly embodies this more than the second and third paragraphs on page 165, chapter 27.

The author begins this chapter with Offred meeting up with her fellow handmaid Ofgled as they start their routine walk into town. Atwood then writes: “Ofglen and I are more comfortable with one another now, we’re used to each other. Siamese twins. We don’t bother much with the formalities anymore when we greet each other; we smile and move off, in tandem, traveling smoothly along our daily track. Now and again we vary the route; there’s nothing against it, as long as we stay within the barriers. A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze. We’ve been to the stores already, and the church; now we’re at the Wall. Nothing on it today, they don’t leave the bodies hanging as long in summer as they do in winter, because of the flies and the smell. This was once the land of air sprays, pine and floral, and people retain the taste; especially the Commanders, who preach purity in all things” This section contains two important details. To start, the comparison between the handmaids and “rats in a maze” is an example of symbolism as mentioned above. Atwood yet again uses these animal comparisons to emphasize the lack of respect and continuous oppression that these women are facing. This is nothing new for The Handmaid’s Tale, as Offred constantly thinks thoughts of this nature, however why might the author include the sentences that follow?

One reason could be to keep some sort of foundation of humanity for the readers. Looking at examples throughout history, we can see how people have the tendency to dehumanize others. This can be blatantly shown in Gilead, as the handmaids are dehumanized to feel like nothing but tools and machines. When the author continuously makes these references to animals and writes about these people hung on the wall, she may start to allow the reader to dehumanize the characters. Even if they are viewing the story through Offred’s eyes, it may become difficult to understand any of the characters from a realistic perspective. This is possibly why Atwood may have included the sentence, “they don’t leave the bodies hanging as long in summer as they do in winter, because of the flies and the smell.” It allows the characters to be understood even in the most obscene conditions. Even if the commanders are awful and the handmaids are likened to rats, Atwood makes sure to add in human details such as sensitivity towards senses. Even the people in Gilead don’t like the smell. They like things to be neat. By including this just after the rat comparison, Atwood allows viewers to humanize the people within the society, while still noticing the oppression the handmaids have to deal with. The placement appears to be very intentional.

Though this may seem conclusive, other interpretations could of course be made. The concepts of “neatness” and “purity” could play deeper into the themes of fabrication, rather than the aforementioned relatability. This might be due to our modern societies. As cities don’t keep clean in our world, why would they in Gilead? These assumptions create more questions about why Atwood would have this section, as what would be the purpose of further isolating the reader from understanding her writing? When readers interpret this desire for neatness as unrealistic, it further establishes the commanders as villains. The word choice of “purity” could definitely back up this idea, with its naturally negative tone. Atwood most likely allows for readers to draw their own conclusion on how far removed from reality these people are. There’s no question there is evil involved, but how relatable should this hatred towards the government be?

Despite the many different ways of viewing the author’s decisions within this passage, it’s clear that the intentions are to create a sense of isolation or unity between the reader and Offred. These themes can be found throughout the entire novel, as they can be found through close reading and thorough inspection of Atwood’s themes.