The Normalization of Female Subservience in the Handmaid’s Tale: A Critical Study

Srushti Kamble

doi:10.22161/ijllc.5.2.7

Indexing and Abstracting

The Normalization of Female Subservience in the Handmaid’s Tale: A Critical Study

Srushti Kamble

International Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (IJLLC), Vol-5,Issue-2, March - April 2025, Pages 51-54, 10.22161/ijllc.5.2.7

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Article Info: Received: 15 Mar 2025, Received in revised form: 11 Apr 2025, Accepted: 17 Apr 2025, Available online: 22 Apr 2025

Abstract:

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale presents a dystopian world where female subservience is not just enforced through physical oppression but is deeply embedded in societal norms, making resistance nearly impossible. This paper examines how the Republic of Gilead normalises female subjugation through three key mechanisms: language and renaming, religious indoctrination, and social surveillance. The novel demonstrates how erasing personal identities, manipulating faith to justify oppression, and encouraging women to police each other reinforce patriarchal control. Through a close reading of the text and insights from feminist criticism, this study highlights how oppression becomes most dangerous when it is internalised as normal. Atwood’s portrayal of Gilead serves as a stark warning about the power of systemic conditioning, making The Handmaid’s Tale a relevant critique of historical and contemporary gender dynamics.

Keywords:

Female subservience, female subjugation, dystopian fiction, religious indoctrination, social surveillance, feminist criticism, patriarchal control

References:

[1] Aggarwal, Rashika. "Patriarchy and Female Subjugation." Affluent Society, https://www.affluent-society.com/post/patriarchy-and-female-subjugation.
[2] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Kindle ed., Vintage Canada, 1985.
[3] Beauvoir, Simone de. The Ethics of Ambiguity. Translated by Bernard Frechtman, Open Road Media, 2018. eBook.
[4] Bourdieu, Pierre. Language and Symbolic Power. Translated by Gino Raymond and Matthew Adamson, Harvard University Press, 1991.
[5] Glazin, Taylor. Misogyny and Compliance in The Handmaid's Tale. Mindomo, https://www.mindomo.com/mind-maps/misogyny-and-compliance-in-the-handmaids-tale-40a43356d2e648dbb6fc9d65f750849c. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
[6] Henninger-Rener, Sashur. Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology. University of LaVerne and the Los Angeles Community College District, courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-culturalanthropology/chapter/religion/#footnote-331-16.
[7] Marx, Karl. Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. 1844. Oxford University Press, 1970.
[8] Murkett, Kristina. “The Handmaid’s Tale – The Power of Language and The Language of Power.” emagazine, no. 92, Apr. 2021.
[9] Reynolds, Laura P. “Discussion on the Relationship Between Religion and Gender Oppression in The Handmaid’s Tale.” Studies in Social Science & Humanities, vol. 3, no. 6, June 2024, doi:10.56397/SSSH.2024.06.01.
[10] Thomas, Linda, and Shân Wareing. Language, Society and Power: An Introduction. 1st ed., Routledge, 2004, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203426968.

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Indexing and Abstracting

The Normalization of Female Subservience in the Handmaid’s Tale: A Critical Study

Abstract:

Keywords:

References: