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Similes
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Japanese Visitors:
In Chapter 5, Offred and Ofglen encounter a group of tourists, whom Offred describes as being Japanese, though she is not completely sure about their ethnicity. These tourists are fascinated by Offred and Ofglen, clearly unaccustomed to such religious extremes. This passage presents an ironic inversion of Western/non-Western cultural dynamics.
I stop walking. Ofglen stops beside me and I know she too cannot take her eyes off these women. We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed. It has taken so little time to change our mind, about things like this. Then I think: I used to dress like that. That was freedom. Westernized, they used to call it.
The above passage is ironic because the Japanese tourists react with shock to Offred and Ofglen, mirroring the way that "Western" women—a group that Offred herself once belonged to—would have reacted to women in other conservative religious countries (i.e., places in the Middle East). Japanese culture is generally more conservative that American culture, though not as culturally conservative as some other countries. This real-world dichotomy contributes to the irony of the scene: two women who once lived in a culturally "liberal" country have become objects of the pity and fascination they themselves once directed towards some "non-Western" women.
Related Themes:
Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Serena Joy:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 8, Offred describes Serena Joy, the Wife of her household, with no small amount of vitriol, taking care to highlight the irony of the older woman's situation.
She doesn't make speeches anymore. She has become speechless. She stays in her home, but it doesn't seem to agree with her. How furious she must be, now that she's been taken at her word.
Offred points out the situational irony of Serena Joy's current predicament, as a Wife in Gilead: once an advocate for "traditional womanhood," Serena Joy now has what she wants, and she is clearly unhappy with it. A "traditional woman," according to the extreme religious customs of Gilead, would not be allowed to make speeches. Ironically, the very thing that gave purpose and drive to Serena Joy, now that it has been realized, prevents her from achieving that same sense of fulfillment.
The sentiments expressed in this passage are important ones: namely, Atwood draws one's attention to the strange and often paradoxical position of women in conservative religious movements. Serena Joy, like her real-world counterparts, must contend with a high level of cognitive dissonance, requiring her to discount her personal frustrations, angers, and needs in favor of supporting her oppressors.
Related Themes:
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Aunt Helena:
An important thematic through-line in The Handmaid's Tale is that of betrayal from within: that is, there are certain older, wealthier, whiter, etc., women in Gilead who support an oppressive patriarchal system in an attempt to boost their own relevance and power. There is an inherent situational irony and hypocrisy in this. Female figureheads of this extreme religious movement, including Serena Joy and Aunt Helena, deliberately peddle ideologies that harm women, despite, ironically, being women themselves.
Offred highlights this irony and hypocrisy in the following passage from Chapter 13, wherein she provides the reader some background on Aunt Helena:
Aunt Helena is here, as well as Aunt Lydia, because Testifying is special. Aunt Helena is fat, she once headed a Weight Watchers' franchise operation in Iowa. She's good at Testifying.
In this passage, the central situational irony is that Aunt Helena, a fat woman, spent her career before Gilead peddling weight loss solutions, exploiting other fat people to make money. Weight Watchers and diet culture generally have a reputation for predatory behavior towards people classified as "overweight" or "obese."
Offred parallels Aunt Helena's predatory and manipulative tendencies as a Weight Watchers representative with her exploitative role in Gilead's religious extremist movement. Aunt Helena is equally willing to sell out her fellow fat people and women for power or money.
Related Themes:
