An Essay by an A-level English Literature private tutor + A* student.
An essay on the response to adversity in The Handmaid's Tale and Frankenstein
Edexcel English Literature A-level
Compare the ways in which the writers of your two chosen texts (Handmaid's and
Frankenstein) present characters responding to adversity. You must relate your
discussion to relevant contextual factors
Both Shelley and Atwood seek to explore their protagonists response to adversity through a
cri cism of human behaviour. This is vicariously presented through the illustra on of a threatening
environment as well as the lack of prescribed individual iden ty it is evident that both writers seek
to present the ways in which protagonists may respond to adverse situa ons as limited. These
ideas are also re ected in the me periods that both Atwood and Shelley are wri ng in as the rise
of Reagan and enlightenment respec vely posed threats to fundamental human rights such as that
of choice and bodily autonomy.
Both texts open with a sense of threat in order to foreshadow the limited responses to adversity
by both protagonists. Shelley employs the symbol of the sublime and natural imagery in order to
do this. Whilst nature is ini ally presented through the roman c trope and its rejuvena ng
powers.Shelley cri cises human behaviour through the symbolism of nature as feminine through
the viola on of this symbol by Victor. The concept of man manipula ng science in order to usurp
the role of both God and women is introduced through this. Nature is presented with feminine
quali es as it has the power to both create and sustain life moreover within the roman c
movement nature usually holds intrinsically feminine connota ons. Therefore the metaphor of the
rape of nature can be seen as man using science to usurp the role of both God and women; ‘they
penetrate into the recesses of nature, and show how she works in her hiding places’. The
phallocentric verb has inherently masculine connota ons presen ng the dominant en ty as man.
Moreover ‘they’ is a third person plural noun as opposed to ‘she’ which is third person singular
presen ng a power imbalance and the idea that nature has been taken advantage of, in addi on
‘she’ further personi es nature. As Shelley was a roman c, the symbol of nature and the sublime
plays a key role in her wri ng and allows for the cri que of human behaviour in support of nature
and the natural order therefore she is possibly condemning, what she would view as immoral,
advancements in science at the me such as galvanism and the threat that playing God poses to
humanity. Addi onally Frankenstein is wri en using a framed narra ve which has been said to
represent the womb, as it is Walton who is essen ally piecing together the narra ve it could be
noted that he is usurping the role of women in crea on, further fe shising or even undermining
the role of crea on itself as is also seen in the employment of the handmaids as a fe shised and
manipulated patriarchal symbol of crea on. Through the ini al presenta on of the se ng being
explored through the extreme concept of rape one could argue that a claustrophobic and tense
atmosphere is created propelling both the Monster and Victor to respond to these adverse
circumstances in equally extreme ways: murder, galvanism.
Similarly Atwood employs a threatening and claustrophobic environment in order to present the
limited responses to adversity allo ed to O red and the other handmaids. The descrip on of
O red’s room opens with a short bleak sentence ‘A chair, a table, a lamp’, whilst the rule of three
emphasises her uncomfortable surroundings, one could argue that the rule of three is an a empt
to embellish her surroundings, possibly a emp ng to deceive herself of her true condi on. Her
rela onship with language could be considered a minor response to adversity however the
unchanged se ng of the room throughout the novel emphasises her unchanged situa on as well
as her li le power. Furthermore the objec vely bleak descrip on emphasises the constraints of
her government assigned room. The lack of hope is further portrayed through the suicidal imagery
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