The Power of Thought and Imagination

Atwood explores the depths of thought and imagination to escape the present. Those in charge fear the possibilities of escape through imagination, not the physical act of running away: “It isn’t running away they’re afraid of. We wouldn’t get far. It’s those other escapes, the ones you can open in yourself, given a cutting edge” (8). While the reader may initiating interpret the “cutting edge” as referring to ending one’s life, Atwood likely uses the imagery of the “cutting edge” to express how people expand the possibilities through escaping to the realms of thought and imagination. The narrator describes how avoiding thought helps pass time. Beyond thought and imagination, what other catalysts will enable people to escape their present lives and bring themselves back to the past or into a better future?
A power struggle exists between what the characters want to do and what falls within “acceptable” behavior. The narrator “tempts” the guardian by purposefully accentuating her body and originally feels regretful towards the act: “Then I find I’m not ashamed after all. I enjoy the power; power of a dog bone, passive but there” (22). While she knows her limits, she acts out in resistance to inequities within society and to express her own individuality. The narrator wants to separate herself from the norms and expectations that constrain her. Atwood focuses on the physicality of a woman’s body as a means of expression: “Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us. The skirt is ankle-length, full, gathered to a flat yoke that extends over the breasts, the sleeves are full” (8). While red defines much of their lives, underneath this facade, the Handmaids have their own feelings and opinions and many have a desire to express them. The color and covered up nature of their appearance may be an attempt to shield them from the “bad” within society, however, no one can truly escape the darkness without acknowledging it. People will begin to press buttons to see how far they can go in the hopes of escaping the complacency of the present and to move on into the future.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 31, 2017 at 8:28 AM

    I never thought about the implications of escaping through imagination from the first quote you used. I always thought of the escape as only suicide but I really like how you drew it into that escape of imagination. Sometimes, this book reminds me of "The Diary of Anne Frank", how it seems like she is trapped and the only form of self expression is a narrative on what is happening in her life.

    It is also interesting to me how Atwood uses so much description drawing from women's bodies. I wonder if it is a way to show the frustration of the handmaids; since their only value comes from their bodies and yet they are forced to hide them under their robes and wings.

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