Customs And Events In Gilead example essay topic

Biblical Influences in The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale presents a picture of a dystopian society which uses the Bible to justify its actions. Upon the creation of the society of Gilead, new customs and events had to be created in order to entirely separate it from the past. The older way of living was made illegal and everything changed -- from the accepted forms of greeting to what occurred in a married couple's bedroom. The government uses biblical allusions to establish conduct in all facets of life in Gilead.

Everything has a religious nature: educational practices, outside life and interaction, the role and treatment of women, the titles of people, and customs. In order for a woman to become a Handmaid, she must have viable ovaries and attend the Rachel and Leah re-education center. Once there, she is fed edited versions of Biblical passages. Offred is exposed to Mark 5: 3-12 frequently: "Blessed be this, blessed be that. They played it from a disc [... ] Blessed are the merciful.

Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the silent. I knew they made that up, I knew it was wrong, they left things out too" (Atwood 89). The words have been changed "in order to perpetuate the role of the Handmaids" (Breuer), and so that the women believe that in order to fill their role, they must do as the Bible says. In a more cynical approach to the editing of biblical verse, Offred remembers that Aunt Lydia told her that she must "cultivate poverty of spirit.

Blessed are the meek. She didn't go on to say anything about inheriting the earth" (Atwood 64). Again, Offred recognizes a familiar passage and knows that the line following the one Aunt Lydia states is missing. Aunt Lydia purposely leaves off the part about inheriting the earth because although the 'blessed are the meek' line is convenient for the purpose of encouraging the Handmaids' feelings powerlessness, the next line might give the Handmaids a sense of power and importance that would be dangerous for them to have in the society of Gilead. Yet another example of Aunt Lydia's willingness to distort the information which is fed to the Handmaids is when she states "from each according to her ability; to each according to his needs" (Atwood 117). She attributes this quote to St. Paul, but "these words are not in the Bible at all; they are a garbled version of Karl Marx's description of systems of production".

(Young). The phrase serves to make a point about the role the Handmaids are supposed to fill, and Aunt Lydia deftly attributes it to the Bible because then it would be valued in the eyes of the Handmaids. Atwood also creates elements in the Handmaid's outside life which are Biblical allusions. For example, the names of the stores Offred encounters are taken from the Bible. The name of the clothing store Lilies of the Field is taken from Matthew 6: 28: "And why do you worry about clothes?

See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin". The meat store, All Flesh, is taken from Isaiah 40: 5, but in it's original context, the words 'all flesh' actually mean 'all of humanity. ' Milk and Honey is another store found in Gilead, but it is also "a common biblical phrase, often used to describe Canaan, the 'Promised Land' " (Brians). The authorized manner of speaking even sounds pious: " 'Blessed be the fruit,' she says to me, the accepted greeting among us. 'May the Lord open,' I answer, the accepted response" (Atwood 19).

The conversation is almost scripted, but it has biblical connotations. It also shows the "role and function that these women have in society, which is pretended to be of religious nature" (Breuer). Even the names of the three existing types of cars are biblical: 'Whirlwind' and 'Behemoth' both appearing in Job 40: 6-8 and 'Chariot' appearing in II Kings 2: 11. This is another example of the extent the creators of Gilead wished to have the Bible in their society.

The role women play in Gilead is also dictated by the Bible. First and foremost, the red habits and white wings the Handmaids are forced to wear resemble the dress of nuns. The Ceremony, a "passionless scene of begetting in which the Handmaid's fruitful womb is interposed between the presumable non sterile patriarch and his barren wife" (Lawson), is the main practice in Gilead involving women. The custom of a man being able to sleep with a woman other than his wife is based on the Bible: When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, give me children or I shall die!

... Then she said, Here is my maid Bil hah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees, and even I may have children through her. (Genesis 30: 1-3) Another role women play in the new society is that of a prostitute working at Jezebel's. In the Bible, specifically in I Kings 21: 1-29, Jezebel is the wicked wife of King Ahab. It seems as though women are actually given a choice as to what they want to do: they can become a Handmaid or work at Jezebel's. However, "Gilead's misogyny is made plain, for Jezebel's name suggests the scandal of female sexuality which Gilead can neither condone nor ignore" (Young).

Gilead can get away with treating women badly because everything they do is justified in the Bible. The titles Atwood gives the various people in Gilead also have Biblical connotations. This suggests that "the regime justifies the roles these people have in society with certain events in the Bible" (Breuer). The title 'Martha' refers to the sister of Mary who served Jesus (Luke 10: 38-42) instead of worshipping him; this is the basis of the Marthas being servants.

Another title is that of Angel. Angels are, in biblical terms, holy figures, but in Gilead, they are the people who fight the wars. This seems to be the justification for their wars: they are being fought by 'angels' and are therefore holy wars fought for the good of the people. The servants of the women in the Bible are called Handmaids, and in The Handmaid's Tale, Handmaids are the women who serve the Wives in that they carry children for them. Proverbs 15: 3 reads "the eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good". This is the source of the name for the Eyes, who are supposed to watch the people in Gilead.

In order to keep all facets of life related to the Bible, the few titles there are available in Gilead are biblical. The cultural customs Gilead has formed also have biblical relations. The Women's Prayvaganzas are usually for mass weddings between daughters of Wives and Angels returned from the war. The Commander heading the Prayvaganzas reads a lengthy passage from the New Testament, which sums up nearly all of Gilead's doctrines regarding women: [I will that] in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety. [... ] Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. (I Timothy 2: 9-15) This is read at Prayvaganzas because it is an all-women event, and it serves to remind the women in attendance their exact roles in society. The newlywed girls have become women through marriage, so the Commander is reading their rights as women.

The Salvaging's are ceremonies where women are allowed to beat a man to death if he is an enemy of the state or has raped a woman. They have less to do with the Bible, but are directly related through the biblically-related name; salvation is generally a term used to mean one has been saved by Jesus. The biblical connotation is used to justify the horrible brutality which takes place at these gatherings. It seems Gileadeans believe they are saving the traitor by beating him, mostly because the name is related to salvation. The act of spying on citizens of Gilead is another Gilead ean custom which is justified in the Bible. It says, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to know himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him" (II Chronicles 16: 9).

This is read at the Ceremony, so that every time it is read, citizens will be reminded that the use of Eyes is justified, and they will not feel violated because it happened in the Bible. The creators of Gilead knew that the society they were creating was drastically different than that which the people were used to, so they made a reason behind everything they did. They did not want to be criticized for their society either, so they made it deeply biblical. Everything in Gilead is based on the Bible, so it gives the citizens something to hold on to if they think that they are being mistreated. They can never think that they are being treated too badly, because whatever is happening to them happened to others in the Bible, therefore they cannot complain. The Bible is the basis for all customs and events in Gilead.

Bibliography

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Anchor Books, 1998.
Breuer, Henry. "Biblical influences on The Handmaid's Tale in class: a lesson plan for a double period". 7 Sept. 1997.
web Online. Google search engine. 9 Jan. 2002.
Brians, Paul. "A study guide to Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale". 27 Mar. 1996.
The Holy Bible (New International Version). Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1978.
Lawson, Janet K. "Margaret Atwood's Testaments: Resisting the Gilead Within". Christian Century 20 May 1987.
Religion Online. Google search engine. 17 Feb. 2002.
Young, Frederick. "The Handmaid's Tale: critical approaches". 11 Apr. 1998.