In Gilead, women are robbed of their former lives and roughly divided into hierarchical groups of Aunts, Wives, Handmaids, and Marthas. Being a victim to such inherent misogyny in a patriarchal culture, the women are left with nothing other than the feeling of being objectified and silenced. However, the women also become victims of one another and the line between victim and perpetrator starts to blur. This thesis aims at exploring women as oppressed victims and the perpetrating force of oppression at the same time. Furthermore, it will analyze the Panoptic surveillance system in order to explain the internalized sexism. Unlike most literary critics who have only considered The Handmaid's Tale in their critique, the present thesis also includes Atwood's latest novel The Testaments.
This thesis introduces power, authority, and Panopticism (Foucault, Gramsci) as a concept to understand the root of the political structures in Gilead. With the concept of panoptic power, the chapter of women as victims is properly introduced in order to analyze the various ways in which women are subjugated and controlled everywhere they go. For the chapter on women as victims, this paper will consider sociological and historical aspects of misogyny and sexism, feminist literature, and linguistic phenomena that can be linked to power (or a lack thereof) to analyze women’s situation from a victim’s perspective. Furthermore, it is sectioned into three instances of institutionalized, interpersonal and internalized sexism. In contrast to that, the next chapter evaluates how women in Gilead are the active perpetrators who watch, discipline and subjugate other women. As internalized sexism is a key theme with women actively competing and mistreating each other, the background of that will be explored with feminist and sociological theories.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Understanding Power and Authority
2.1 Definition and Understanding of Power and Authority (Gramsci & Foucault)
2.2 Panopticism
3 Women as Victims
3.1 Institutionalized Sexism
3.2 Interpersonal Sexism
3.3 Internalized Sexism
4 Women as Perpetrators
5 Women in Gilead: Victims or Perpetrators?
6 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis investigates the complex role of women within the dystopian society of Gilead, specifically examining how they function simultaneously as victims of a theocratic regime and as perpetrators of oppression against one another. The central research question explores how institutionalized sexism fosters internalized sexism, leading women to enforce patriarchal control.
- Theoretical analysis of power, authority, and panopticism in a political context.
- Examination of institutionalized, interpersonal, and internalized sexism as forms of female subjugation.
- Evaluation of the "victim vs. perpetrator" dichotomy for women in Margaret Atwood's literature.
- Critical study of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments.
- Analysis of the role of "Aunts" and "Wives" in the maintenance of oppressive structures.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Institutionalized Sexism
Firstly, I shall differentiate between misogyny and sexism, as the two terms relate to the same phenomenon (male superior over female) and should not be confused. The main difference is, according to Kate Manne, in their intention: misogyny is the “law enforcement branch of patriarchal order [by] policing and enforcing its governing norms and expectations”, the executing force; sexism is the “justificatory branch of patriarchal orders” which consists of “ideology that has the overall function of rationalizing and justifying patriarchal social relations” (Manne 78/79). Therefore, as misogyny derives from sexism, I will mainly use the term sexist to refer to Gilead’s treatment of women.
To the readers of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, it is immediately conspicuous how women are not in the slightest way equal to men, as indicated before in the chapter on Panopticism: “Institutional sexism occurs when sexism is woven into political, social, and economic institutions. Laws that limit women’s rights, or media that portrays women primarily as sex objects, are examples of institutionalized sexism” (Bearman and Amrhein 192). Consequently, the State of Gilead is a sexist regime that calls itself a theocracy, which is a “government ruled by or subject to religious authority” (Tennant viii), as its whole educational system and social norms are to the disadvantage of women. In fact, sexism is the “naturaliz[ing of] sex differences to justify patriarchal social arrangements” (Manne 79) and Gilead uses the pretense of “divine power” to make the sexist ideology seem inevitable and absolutely necessary, but “relies heavily on human control” while doing so (Freibert 281). The Sons of Jacob, as the founders of Gilead call themselves, seem to have “misread the bible in defense of their own self-serving stance”, as they only use those Bible passages that support their agenda: men are powerful leaders and women are to be controlled and subjugated and serving of a man (Tennant viii).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter introduces the theoretical focus, the research objectives, and the primary literature (The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments) used to examine women's roles in Gilead.
2 Understanding Power and Authority: This chapter establishes foundational definitions of power, hegemony, and panopticism based on Foucault and Gramsci to explain the political landscape of Gilead.
2.1 Definition and Understanding of Power and Authority (Gramsci & Foucault): This section explores how power is legitimized, maintained through ideological influence, and inherently linked to constant social struggle.
2.2 Panopticism: This section details how total surveillance and "invisibility" of control mechanisms create a state where subjects monitor themselves and each other.
3 Women as Victims: This chapter categorizes the multifaceted mistreatment of women, arguing that Gilead’s society intentionally leaves women vulnerable through sexism.
3.1 Institutionalized Sexism: This section analyzes how laws, religious dogma, and education are weaponized to systematically subjugate women.
3.2 Interpersonal Sexism: This section investigates how individuals within the regime express and act out sexist stereotypes in daily interactions, such as the required monthly "ceremony."
3.3 Internalized Sexism: This section focuses on how women adopt the regime's oppressive view of themselves and their peers, internalizing feelings of inferiority.
4 Women as Perpetrators: This chapter analyzes how women, particularly Aunts and Wives, act as agents of the state, maintaining the hierarchy and enforcing compliance.
5 Women in Gilead: Victims or Perpetrators?: This chapter synthesizes the evidence, concluding that while women participate in their own oppression, they remain fundamentally the victims of a system designed to divide them.
6 Conclusion: This chapter summarizes the main findings, emphasizing that women possess limited agency and that holding them accountable for their survival-based complicity ignores the broader structural design of the regime.
Keywords
Gilead, Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, Internalized Sexism, Institutionalized Sexism, Interpersonal Sexism, Panopticism, Hegemony, Patriarchy, Power, Authority, Dystopia, Misogyny, Female Agency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The thesis examines the dual position of women in Gilead as both victims of systemic oppression and participants in upholding that same system through internalizing sexist ideology.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
Key themes include the structural roots of patriarchal power (Foucault and Gramsci), the impact of panoptic surveillance, the erosion of female solidarity, and the psychological impact of sexual trauma in dystopian settings.
What is the primary research question?
It questions whether women in Gilead should be viewed as perpetrators of their own subjugation or as manipulated victims, ultimately arguing that the latter is more accurate.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The author uses discourse analysis, critical feminist theory, sociological theories of power, and an intertextual comparison between Atwood’s two major novels set in Gilead.
What is addressed in the main part of the thesis?
The main part covers the theoretical framework of power, the classification of institutional, interpersonal, and internalized sexism, and the specific functional roles that women fulfill to sustain the regime.
Which keywords best characterize this academic work?
Important keywords include internalized sexism, panopticism, power dynamics, patriarchal ideology, and Gilead, reflecting the study's focus on structural and psychological oppression.
Why is Aunt Lydia’s perspective considered significant?
Lydia represents the complexity of "the perpetrator as a victim"; she enforces the regime’s rules but does so as a calculated survival strategy to mitigate the brutal consequences that women otherwise face.
How does the author interpret the role of the "Wives" in Gilead?
Wives act as perpetrators by occupying a higher social tier; they enforce the regime's boundaries and view other women—specifically Handmaids—as rivals for limited social and domestic resources.
- Citar trabajo
- Emily Meyer (Autor), 2022, Women in Margeret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale". Victims or Perpetrators?, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1272476
