Rebellion: The Irony of The Republic of Gilead

"There is something powerful in the whispering of obscenities, about those in power. There's something delightful about it, something naughty, secretive, forbidden, thrilling. It's like a spell, of sorts. It deflates them, reduces them to the common denominator where they can be dealt with."
       
Obscenity: The character or quality of being obscene; indecency; lewdness.


         In context with the entire story of The Handmaids Tale, this quote summarizes the flaws of Gilead. Part of what makes the society a dystopia is dehuminization and the lack of privacy that is justified by the term "security", but there are a number of moments that "secretive" and "forbidden" items and words seep through the cracks of this tale's government.

           Up to this point, Offred has taken account of the methods by which the Handmaids share their names, secrets, and gossip similar to the type that is passed between Moira and Offred in the bathroom stall. Without direct eye contact and awareness of every sound, they each get away with passing through the rules. They even purloin items like butter, small flowers, and condiment packets to gain some power in their submissive roles as vessels. These furtive actions give the Handmaids "a spell" over the Aunts, the Commanders, the Wives, and other officials.

           From the Offred's point of view in the story, there are even a select few that has the upper hand through secretive and casual means. Ofglen, for instance, seems to be the only Handmaid that has ties to the rebel group that hides among the other Handmaids and brings the officials down to the "common denominator" by feeding bits of information to Offred. Moira "deflates" the officials (particularly Aunt Lydia in context with this chapter and quote) through her gossip. Even Janice has some power by gaining favor of the Wives and Aunts through complete compliance.

            Despite the lengths to which the Aunts and Eyes guard the Handmaids from obscenities, the methods are useless. Often, the Handmaids are generators of the obscenities, be it through petty thievery or gossip, because they want the power over the authoritative figures of the society. In other words, Gilead's governmental mandates engenders the obscenities they try to prevent.

Definition of obscenity courtesy of Dictionary.com
Image courtesy of The Guardian: January 2013 article "The Handmaid's Tale In Pictures"