Examine the significance of the male characters in The Handmaid’s Tale [25]
Introduction In Margaret Atwood’s 1983 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, masculinity is
presented via R.W. Connell’s characteristics of masculinity, enforced
by marginalisation and subordination. Furthermore, the novel highlights
oppression outside of the institutionalised misogyny, enabling a greater
connection to the historic context of the novel.
Display Gilead’s “Gilead is latent” (Stillman), “a critique to modern hegemonic masculine
latency/critique values and roles” (Myren), “When Luke was still in flight from his wife.
of contemporary When I was still imaginary”, "You know I'll always take care of you."/”I’ll
masculinity take care of it”, “I had to think about them, my family.”, “I’m just and
(subordination) ordinary kind of guy” “he wasn’t being a jerk, studies had been
es
done”-Latent misogyny is present in the past male characters just as
much as the present, who feel the need to exert their masculinity (like
Luke bearing the meat back to Offred/his paternalistic attitudes). In this
ot
way, Luke and the Commander are similar characters, the Commander
is simply an inflated version of Luke’s masculinity, a microcosm for
en
what happens when an ordinary marketing man is given the power to
suppress women. An example of this is men’s feeling of being
intellectually superior to women, like Luke and the Commander
explaining Latin, or the Commander insinuating women can’t count
ur
(”Luke uses his knowledge of etymology to reinforce gender roles”
Miner) Luke is also presented as hovering and paternalistic. For
example, he seems “high” on the idea of being a father, but uses it to
at
cement himself as a patriarch who stifles Offred’s protests. He is also a
precursor to the dehumanisation of women, killing the cat by using the
er
word “it” instead of she. The use of men as a symbol can be evidenced
by the assertion by Miner that the men in the novel are all “eerily
similar” and therefore represent the continuation of misogyny through
lit
time, even to Piexoto (note the use of jokes by all three men to oppress
women). Luke and the Commander represent men who use mistresses
el
to reinforce sexual power.
Offred’s escape Luke is a memory that Offred uses to escapes the reality (Banerjee),
ev
from Gilead “whatever political commitment Offred might be capable of making
vanishes in light of her commitment to romance” (Miner), Miner’s
assertion that Offred becomes trapped in a fairytale narrative, “He has
al
no lute and I no rose to throw”, “tanned skin, mist in the sun, filmed
with smoke. I sigh, inhaling”, “night by night he recedes, and I become
more faithless”, “I want Luke here so badly. I want to be held and told
my name”. Offred is allowed a mental escape from Gilead through the
male characters in the novel, however this means that her escapes are
in fact defined by men. Her time with Nick becomes a crass
pulp/romance approximation, unusual for her often genre-defying
postmodernist writing, but this helps her escape the horror story that
she is forced to live within by distracting her with lust. Luke acts as a
bookmark to a time where she is affirmed and can feel special, and his
Introduction In Margaret Atwood’s 1983 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, masculinity is
presented via R.W. Connell’s characteristics of masculinity, enforced
by marginalisation and subordination. Furthermore, the novel highlights
oppression outside of the institutionalised misogyny, enabling a greater
connection to the historic context of the novel.
Display Gilead’s “Gilead is latent” (Stillman), “a critique to modern hegemonic masculine
latency/critique values and roles” (Myren), “When Luke was still in flight from his wife.
of contemporary When I was still imaginary”, "You know I'll always take care of you."/”I’ll
masculinity take care of it”, “I had to think about them, my family.”, “I’m just and
(subordination) ordinary kind of guy” “he wasn’t being a jerk, studies had been
es
done”-Latent misogyny is present in the past male characters just as
much as the present, who feel the need to exert their masculinity (like
Luke bearing the meat back to Offred/his paternalistic attitudes). In this
ot
way, Luke and the Commander are similar characters, the Commander
is simply an inflated version of Luke’s masculinity, a microcosm for
en
what happens when an ordinary marketing man is given the power to
suppress women. An example of this is men’s feeling of being
intellectually superior to women, like Luke and the Commander
explaining Latin, or the Commander insinuating women can’t count
ur
(”Luke uses his knowledge of etymology to reinforce gender roles”
Miner) Luke is also presented as hovering and paternalistic. For
example, he seems “high” on the idea of being a father, but uses it to
at
cement himself as a patriarch who stifles Offred’s protests. He is also a
precursor to the dehumanisation of women, killing the cat by using the
er
word “it” instead of she. The use of men as a symbol can be evidenced
by the assertion by Miner that the men in the novel are all “eerily
similar” and therefore represent the continuation of misogyny through
lit
time, even to Piexoto (note the use of jokes by all three men to oppress
women). Luke and the Commander represent men who use mistresses
el
to reinforce sexual power.
Offred’s escape Luke is a memory that Offred uses to escapes the reality (Banerjee),
ev
from Gilead “whatever political commitment Offred might be capable of making
vanishes in light of her commitment to romance” (Miner), Miner’s
assertion that Offred becomes trapped in a fairytale narrative, “He has
al
no lute and I no rose to throw”, “tanned skin, mist in the sun, filmed
with smoke. I sigh, inhaling”, “night by night he recedes, and I become
more faithless”, “I want Luke here so badly. I want to be held and told
my name”. Offred is allowed a mental escape from Gilead through the
male characters in the novel, however this means that her escapes are
in fact defined by men. Her time with Nick becomes a crass
pulp/romance approximation, unusual for her often genre-defying
postmodernist writing, but this helps her escape the horror story that
she is forced to live within by distracting her with lust. Luke acts as a
bookmark to a time where she is affirmed and can feel special, and his
