Fruit of Offred's Womb?

"I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will . . . Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping."
In this passage from Chapter 13, Offred sits in the bath tub, and reflects on her body, and how her perception of it has changed from when she was a young girl to now. Offred states: “I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will…” Atwood’s use of the word instrument to describe how Offred used to see her body makes me think of a musical instrument, that’s purpose is to bring pleasure to all through music! Means of transportation strikes me as something purposeful, and functional, even continuing on to say that her body was there to accomplish HER will. Not the will of other people. Then, she transitions into the more bleak, and current, opinions she has regarding her body. The way she says her “flesh arranges itself differently” gives the feeling that her flesh has a mind of its own, or at the very least, that it is separate from her.

She then makes a cloud reference, and it becomes clear that Offred feels detached from her body. Or maybe that, as she has grown, she has separated her mind from her body. Referencing the shape of a pear, which is considered one of the common body types, she describes the pear as “hard and more real” than she. In the Bible, we hear Jesus described as “the fruit of [Mary’s] womb,” making me think that Offred now feels like her body isn’t her own, and that her only purpose is to produce “fruit,” whether that’s pears or otherwise. This reference to fruit builds on the presence of Biblical references Atwood makes throughout the text. In addition, a woman’s ability to have babies is often referenced by her fertility, continuing to build upon the idea that Offred has that her only purpose is to have babies, placing all her value in her fertility and her ability to utilize her “natural resource,” or her uterus.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 1, 2017 at 11:33 AM

    I didn't think about how when you say that "she has separated her mind from her body" and how she is objectifying herself as a pear. It reminds me of the psychological concept of disassociation, which is a self-defense mechanism against stressors which totally makes sense in her position of being stressed to have a baby when she has no control over her uterus.

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  2. Cassie MckenzieNovember 3, 2017 at 11:53 AM

    I thought your blogpost was pretty interesting, especially because it is an interesting perspective to take and apply to girls our age and in our society. Many girls are extremely insecure of their physical attraction and seem to complain about it a bunch, but then you have a situation like Offred's, where her body is not even hers, really. Yes, it is attached to her head, and she seems to move around in it, but it is used as a vessel for other couples.

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  3. Leah EricksonNovember 5, 2017 at 8:35 AM

    I also found this portion of "The Handmaid's Tale" to be extremely interesting. I cannot even imagine that distraught and disassociation that Offred is dealing with. Having your body being used solely for reproductive purposes must do a number on her psyche. Offred also must be going through a difficult transition since she previously had a passionate, romantic relationship with Luke. Going from having sex for love and then having sex for reproduction would have been so hard to grasp. I think that Atwood does a terrific job discussing what the role of women actually is versus what the role of women is sometimes portrayed to be.

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