The Handmaid's Tale - Chapter 21

The Handmaid's Tale - Chapter 21 "A contraction hits her, she doubles over. One of the women kneels and rubs her back. We are all good at this, we've had lessons." ️️Every handmaid has lessons in childbirth at their training centre, so that it's more likely the baby will be born correctly and survive, as the job of all handmaids is simply to give birth to as many healthy babies as possible for their wives and commanders "It must be from Janine: a smell of dens, of inhabited caves, the smell of the plaid blanket on the bed when the cat gave birth to it... Smell of matrix." ️️this olfactory imagery presents this experience as a very intimate and primal one, but also presents Janine as something almost less than human, as an animal, whose only purpose in this moment is to give birth "the woman next to me says, low in my ear 'are you looking for anyone?' 'Moira', I say, just as low. "Dark hair, freckles" ️️this brief interaction between Offred and this stranger shows how secretive and careful the handmaids must be simply in order to survive, as they aren't even allowed to talk with one another at a birth, they need to walk on eggshells at all times, and are in such a desperate and isolated situation that they are grateful for even a small scrap of information about old friends that they haven't seen in a while "Pain marks you, but too deep to see. Out of sight, out of mind." ️️ "Two of the wives in their blue dresses and veils hold her by the arms, as if she needs it" ️️the sardonic tone present in this line emphasises the hatred that Offred and the other handmaids have for the wives, as Janine's wife is pretending that she is the one giving birth just so she can get more attention and not feel left out of the process, which takes away the attention from Janine, who is the one that is really struggling in this moment, and Offred understands and sympathises with Janine in this way, and gets back at the wives through the only way she can: her thoughts "someone has spiked the grape juice... It won't be the first time at such a gathering; but they'll turn a blind eye. We too need our orgies." ️️This suggests that the authorities of Gilead do have some sympathy for the handmaids and lower classes of society in general, as they "turn a blind eye" to the grape juice being spiked with alcohol "here's the crowning, the glory, the head, purple... Oh praise." ️️The way the actual birth is described here shows how much the birth itself means to the handmaids, and to this society as a whole, as giving birth to a healthy baby is now such a rarity in Gilead thanks to all the chemical pollution, that they are all conditioned to be obsessed over giving birth and to praise those who do... "Aunt Elizabeth inspects it: a girl, poor thing..." ️️Janine's baby is automatically put at a disadvantage because she's a girl, due to Gilead's extremely sexist society and regime... However, as she is being born into a family with a commander and wife, rather than an econwife for example, she is still being born into a higher social class and so still has some advantages... "We smile too, we are one smile, tears run down our cheeks, we are so happy." ️️The handmaids are all overwhelmed with happiness at the birth of Janine's baby, even though it isn't their baby, showing how much births mean in this society, how important and special they are "The wives from downstairs are crowding in now, pushing among us, pushing us aside." ️️The wives disregard the handmaids completely, due to their low social status, even though they were the ones who helped make this all happen, especially Janine "The Commander's Wife looks down at the baby as if it's a bouquet of flowers: something she's won, a tribute." ️️This simile shows how much this birth means to the wife as well, as she will now be viewed more highly on the social ladder because she has a baby, as in Gilead, having a baby is a status symbol as well as a privilege "It's the wives who do the naming around here." ️️This shows how much power the wives - and commanders - have in Gilead, as even though the baby is technically Janine's and she was pregnant with and gave birth to it, the wife will still have all authority and ownership over the baby, including deciding what to name it, and Janine has none of this because she is a handmaid... ""We stand between Janine and the bed, so she won't have to see this." ️️this shows the protective, pack-like, nature of the handmaids, who crowd round Janine to protect her from seeing how her own baby is being immediately taken from her and named and held without her permission - it shows how the handmaids all have a closeness, and sense of understanding and sympathy with one another, as they must all go through this struggle together and they all understand what it's like when no one else does "she's crying helplessly, burnt-out miserable tears. Nevertheless we are jubilant, it's a victory, for all of us. We've done it." ️️Janine is incredibly upset and traumatised over not only giving birth but then having to watch her baby be forcibly taken from her by her Commander's wife... However she and all the other handmaids are still aware that this is still a victory for them, as any successful birth is, because this is their purpose, and now Janine won't be sent to the colonies... Even after all this trauma and oppression, they still find something to be greatful for, showing how desperate they are... "she'll never be declared Unwoman. That is her reward." ️️Now that Janine has successfully given birth to a healthy baby for her wife and commander, and has therefore fulfilled her purpose as a handmaid, she won't ever be sent to the colonies, and won't ever be declared an "Unwoman" (although she will still be sent to another house to try to do the same for another wife and commander). The prefix "un" here symbolises how Gilead's society views women who can't give birth successfully as less than human, showing how they feel that a woman's only purpose is to give birth... This is similar to the way in which babies who are deformed or ill in some way are called "unbabies", as they are also considered less than human due to their condition, and so are killed immediatly after birth. This basically suggests that Gilead only views those that are "perfect" in their opinion as human and worthy of respect, showing how cruel and superficial this society really is... This also links to the way in which women who couldn't give birth, and those who were ethnically not "Aryan" (white, blonde, blue eyes, German), were greatly discriminated in Nazi Germany - and many aspects of Gilead do link to Nazi Germany like this because the novel was written only a few decades after the end of WW2, and so Atwood was bound to draw some inspiration from this... "What confronts us, now the excitement's over, is our own failure." ️️This shows how desperate the handmaids are to give birth, as this is their sole purpose in this society, and so Janine's own successful birth simply reminds them that they must do the same eventually, or they will be forced to join the colonies with the Unwomen, where they will eventually be killed by toxic waste... "Mother, I think... you wanted a women's culture. Well now there is one. It isn't what you meant, but it exists. Be thankful for small mercies." ️️The last line here especially shows how desperate these handmaids in this society really are, as even though this "women's culture" is terrible and oppressive, they are still grateful for it, as it is still a "small mercy"... Offred may also be thinking of her mother here because she is experiencing a time of stress and loneliness, in which she seeks comfort, and her mother symbolises comfort and familiarity for her...