Frankenstein The Handmaid’s Tale Link
‘What may not be expected in a country ‘It makes the men look like dolls on The search for knowledge
of eternal light?’ 12 12 Rhetorical which faces have not yet been painted; threatens the foundations which
question. Therefore, Walton’s quest to like scarecrows, which in a way is what society is based on: HMT has a
reach the northernmost part of the they are, since they are meant to scare.’ regressive attitude, doctors and
earth parallels Victor’s quest for the Ch6 42 Simile conveys desensitisation: scientists are ‘hung up on the
secret of life: both seek ultimate people have become inanimate objects. wall.’ Narrators focus on the
knowledge, and both sacrifice the The bodies have been stripped of their desire to control nature; Offred
comfort their respective pursuits. For identity, allowing onlookers to assume observes Wives ‘order and
each man, however, the search for 'light' the worst and imagine their loved ones maintain' their gardens. The
ultimately leads to darkness. The title in such a situation. Simile shows garden represents an impulse for
‘country of eternal light’ mirrors the Offred’s awareness of their purpose; life that cannot be denied or
white physical landscape of the north they are props used by the state to controlled. The gardens are the
pole, which emphasises its celestial generate fear in the population to scare wives way to cope with their own
quality. Additionally, the beauty and people into submission, so they can infertility.
simplicity of the phrasing epitomises the easily be controlled. The regime makes
18th scientific rationalists’ optimism and an example of the people who oppose
trust in knowledge as a pure good. them. Atwood was living in West Berlin
Shelley critiques society for it ’s when writing The Handmaid’s Tale,
unchecked attitude towards the pursuit which was still encircled by the Berlin
of knowledge. wall.
‘And when, on the morrow, she ‘My name isn’t Offred, I have another In both, women are viewed as
presented Elizabeth to me as her name, which nobody uses now because objects, possessed by men. Both
promised gift, I, with childish it’s forbidden. I tell myself it doesn’t novels explore the of
seriousness, interpreted her words matter… but what I tell myself is wrong, unconventional families. Victor
literally, and looked upon Elizabeth as it does matter ’ Ch14 94 and Elizabeth’s relationship could
mine - mine to protect, love, and Gilead strips people of their identity. be seen as incestuous pairing and
cherish. All praises bestowed on her, I For example, Handmaids are given in THT Offred is used as a forced
received as made to a possession of my patronyms and thus defined solely by surrogate. While the female voice
own.’ 29 the men who own them. Perhaps in Frankenstein is passive, Offred
In gothic literature the women exist as Atwood purposely withholds Offred’s is able to share her own
victims of the patriarchy as they are true name to allow Offred to represent perspective. However, this is
portrayed as powerless receptacles of women in the regime generally. By somewhat overshadowed by the
male desire. Victor’s usurpation of the confirming to herself that her name male professors of the historical
natural mode of human reproduction ‘does matter’ she internally rebels and notes, who control her narrative.
implies a kind of destruction of the reclaims a modicum of her identity.
female. Victor’s narration allows While the sexism portrayed in Gilead
Elizabeth to only be described in appears exaggerated, Atwood has
relation to him, therefore she is stated that “there's a precedent in real
rendered voiceless, becoming an life for everything in the book," "I
archetype of the traditional women. The decided not to put anything in that
repetition of the possessive pronoun somebody somewhere hadn't already
‘mine’ depicts his obsessiveness and done.”
need to control those around him. In ‘A
Vindication of the Rights of Women”,
Mary Wollstonecraft that argued that
women were not naturally inferior to
men and that it was due to their lack of
education that they are were perceived
this way. When Elizabeth is given a
voice, brave and passionate in her
defence of Justine. In this way Shelley
promotes the views of her mother and
subverts Georgian views of women.
‘The birth of that passion, which ‘“Nature demands variety, for men. It Both protagonists struggle to
afterwards ruled my destiny, I find it stands to reason, it’s part of the control their lives, Offred to a
arise, like a mountain river, from ignoble procreational strategy. It’s Nature’s higher degree as Gilead forces
and almost forgotten sources; but plan.” Ch37 249 her into submission. Both
swelling as it proceeded, it became the The repeated anthropomorphism of struggle with uncontrollable
torrent which, in its course, has swept nature absolves men of accountability. destinies
away all my hopes and joys.’ 31 Women are assigned role of the docile
carriers in ‘the procreational strategy’,
, The retrospective narrative reveals while men are viewed as multifaceted,
Victor’s fundamental lack of self- complex individuals. The verb ‘to trick’
awareness and moral responsibility. This illustrates the distortion of the female
simile compares his own ambition to an narrative and the view of ‘sexuality’ as a
external force of nature, beyond his weapon. Atwood highlights the
control. This deterministic outlook hypocritical nature of Gilead, as the
illustrates that he will not take Commander simultaneously justifies
responsibility for his abuse of science. casual, sexual relationships outside of
His hamartia – ambition – is the source wedlock and uses the Bible to justify
of his destruction. The poetic use of the prohibition of such relations.
hyperbole and metaphor reveals Victor’s
education and eloquence. This emphasis ‘Freedom to and freedom from.’ Ch5 34
on emotion and idealisation of nature The idea that freedom is subjective.
arose in response to the Industrial Aunt Lydia uses this aphorism to
revolution in the form of Romanticism. present freedom as a double-edged
As a romantic writer, Shelley is able to sword. Individuals are free from threat
explicitly illustrate the feeling of despair at the expense of their own civil liberty.
that Victor experiences using the The American New Right was a
sublime. conservative, Christian movement that
began forming in the 1960’s and 70’s in
opposition to sexual freedom (the
newly vocal gay rights movement). THT
is a speculative exploration of the
removal of “freedom to”.
‘Learn from me, if not by my precepts, ‘Thinking can hurt your chances, and I Offred has a similar dilemma to
at least by my example, how dangerous intend to last.’ Ch2 17 Offred’s tone Victor in that knowledge poses a
is the acquirement of knowledge, and captures her determination to survive danger. To survive Offred, lives by
how much happier that man is who past the unbearable existence of a being ignorant. Frankenstein and
believes his native town to be his world, Handmaid. Stripped of the fundamental THT have different didactic
than he who aspires to become greater process of reasoning, it is clear how messages, but the central idea of
than his nature will allow.’ 42 This break Gilead has eliminated her humanitarian not allowing scientific forces to
in Victor’s linear narrative to address rights. The depth of her helplessness is spiral is clear in both.
Walton encapsulates Shelley’s didactic shown by how Offred is terrified her Frankenstein explores
purpose for the novel, indicated by the sanity will snap if she tries to make unrestrained ambition and THT
subtitle ‘The Modern Prometheus’. In meaning out of the insignificant, presents the consequences of
Greek myth, Prometheus steals sacred instead she thinks about all that institutional sexism. Atwood’s
fire and gifts it to humanity. For his surrounds her but dares not make speculative novel reveals that
revolt against nature, Prometheus is connections. approaching dystopia is not
eternally punished and such is the fate Offred acknowledges that suppression unreasonable, if you consider the
of Victor. As a parallel to Victor in his of her thoughts is the way to survive, magnitude of female oppression.
endeavours, Walton is an essential part linking to Orwell’s idea in ‘1984’: the
of the moral lesson; his character tests threat of thoughtcrime.
the impact of Victor’s cautionary tale.
Walton is Shelley’s warning to her own
generation of learning limits,
particularly when toying with
transgression and power.
‘It may therefore be judged indecent in ‘In this house we all envy each other This idea of complacency and
me to come forward on this occasion, something.’ Ch8 57 lack of alliance within the
but when I see a fellow creature about The Republic of Gilead pits women Handmaid’s tale contrasts
to perish through the cowardice of her against each other as enemies or Elizabeth’s courageous
pretended friends, I wish to be allowed threats; other women are to be outspokenness.
to speak, that I may say what I know of mistrusted and treated with casual
her character.’ 66 indifference. In this way, uprisings are
This quote provides a resistant reading quelled as women are unable to find
for the gothic woman as it is evidence of allies in each other. Power is relative
female empowerment. Elizabeth uses within Gilead. The women have so little,
emotive language to become a voice of so they seek to gain upper hands from
moral reason and justice at the trial, and each other. The jealousy is created by
a champion of the bonds between the status and purpose allocated to the
women. Contrastingly, Victor seems different women, forcing them to
cowardly. This moment of courage and resent each other.
strength by a single woman is a unique
