Previous
Mood
Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—The Body and Nature:
Throughout The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood explores as motif the relationship between nature and different parts of the human body, interrogating how each is a part of the other. Atwood, through her protagonist, explores these biological relationships in a manner often uncanny or uncomfortable—a method thematically in line with how Offred views her own body. The "natural" process of childbirth has become a prison for Offred. In her mind, birth and death are closely connected, both literally and metaphorically. What is natural has the potential to become hostile.
One can see these sentiments communicated throughout The Handmaid's Tale using a range of figurative language. In Chapter 3, Offred uses natural phenomena to pinpoint the exact nature of Serena Joy's hostile demeanor:
Not so her eyes, which were the flat, hostile blue of a midsummer sky in bright sunlight, a blue that shuts you out.
In another instance from Chapter 4, Offred describes natural elements surrounding her in the garden as she leaves the Commander's house:
I walk along the gravel path that divides the back lawn, neatly, like a hair parting. It has rained during the night; the grass to either side is damp, the air humid. Here and there are worms, evidence of the fertility of the soil, caught by the sun, half dead; flexible and pink, like lips.
In this particular simile, Offred specifically connects the body to death through nature, comparing dead worms to lips. She relates her life to natural phenomena, but fixates specifically on the imagery of decomposition and decay.
Related Themes:
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—The Body and Nature:
Throughout The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood explores as motif the relationship between nature and different parts of the human body, interrogating how each is a part of the other. Atwood, through her protagonist, explores these biological relationships in a manner often uncanny or uncomfortable—a method thematically in line with how Offred views her own body. The "natural" process of childbirth has become a prison for Offred. In her mind, birth and death are closely connected, both literally and metaphorically. What is natural has the potential to become hostile.
One can see these sentiments communicated throughout The Handmaid's Tale using a range of figurative language. In Chapter 3, Offred uses natural phenomena to pinpoint the exact nature of Serena Joy's hostile demeanor:
Not so her eyes, which were the flat, hostile blue of a midsummer sky in bright sunlight, a blue that shuts you out.
In another instance from Chapter 4, Offred describes natural elements surrounding her in the garden as she leaves the Commander's house:
I walk along the gravel path that divides the back lawn, neatly, like a hair parting. It has rained during the night; the grass to either side is damp, the air humid. Here and there are worms, evidence of the fertility of the soil, caught by the sun, half dead; flexible and pink, like lips.
In this particular simile, Offred specifically connects the body to death through nature, comparing dead worms to lips. She relates her life to natural phenomena, but fixates specifically on the imagery of decomposition and decay.
Related Themes:
