The Handmaid s Tale Intimidation Through Power And...

The Handmaid’s Tale: Intimidation through power and superiority In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the Handmaids are controlled through the use of force or intimidation. Many of those tactics include: training the Handmaids to conform, ceremonies of rape, and threats of death. These practices instill uncertainty in the Handmaids and create fear. They are trained to accommodate for others because they are merely only â€Å"two-legged wombs, that’s all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices† (Thomas 92). The Ceremony is their chance to prove their worth, because only the women who can bear a child are of worth. The women who are not of worth, well, they are sent to work in a toxic wasteland until they die. The Handmaids are aware of what†¦show more content†¦Offred, since she was Luke’s second marriage, is chosen to be a Handmaid when they are captured from trying to escape. Her daughter is given to another family and Luke’s destiny is a mystery, but Offred is sent to the Red Center. The Red C enter is the place where the Aunts train the new Handmaids on proper etiquette. The whole idea of the Red Center is to â€Å"shape thought† (Thomas 92). During the Testifying, Janine talks about her experience of being gang-raped when she was fourteen. Aunt Helena then responds with the simple yet contradictory question of â€Å"But whose fault was it?† (Atwood 72). The women are taught to believe that it is never a man’s fault for something awful happening â€Å"because in biblical times they are considered as transgressors† (Mouda 3). The older women, the Aunts, have even changed their way of thinking to conform to the new standards. The Handmaids answer Aunt Helena’s question with â€Å"Her fault, her fault, her fault† chanting in unison (Atwood 72). Offred realizes that becoming a Handmaid is better than death, but is it really? While at the Red Center, they are instructed on what exactly it means to be a Handmaid and what their purpose is. They are to bear children, nothing else. They â€Å"are made to believe that they are unholy and unclean if they don’t serve the purpose of their creation† (Mouda 3). Keeping to themselves is new for the Handmaids so after lights out many stay up and whisper advice and information about