The Handmaid's Tale: Obsession with death

Analysis: A predominate theme presented in this book is life juxtaposed to death. This is a society obsessed with procreation. It centers around birth and life, yet a majority of its citizens beg for or are obsessed with death. Offred forces herself to think of Luke and her daughter as dead in order to overcome the pain of knowing they are existing independently of her. Soon her best friend Moira is dead to her(or perhaps is dead in actuality). She herself, to some degree, almost wishes to die, to escape from societal imprisonment. Offred is surrounded by the prospect of death throughout the story. The handmaid before her had hanged herself because of the misery endured in conformity and secrecy. Throughout the novel she is haunted by this girl and the prospect that her future may reach the same dead end(no pun intended...grants?). There are also instances where Offred contemplates stealing a kitchen knife to stab the Commander with; at another point she stuffs a match in her mattress to perhaps set the house on fire. The irony of this society lies in its promotion of creation but subsequent obsession with destruction. Ofglen, perhaps her only identified ally, killed herself, sparing Offred. Offred is thankful that Ofglen killed herself for her sake, but for some reason, instead of lamenting over the death, Offred merely states "I will mourn later." I think while this society pushes for communion between the wives and handmaids and serving Gilead with a prideful sense of duty, the end result really was almost a numbing, a dehumanization. These people become numb to the sight of people hanging from the wall. Offred forces herself to become numb to the idea of Luke's death. They must all forget the past and embrace the future. Mourn later, mourn never. The women become drones, mere vessels for impregnation. Don't think. Don't feel. Have a baby. That's Gilead. I find it ironic that this society pushes for the creation of life so vehemently, yet death is everywhere(most of it orchestrated by the government itself). It is a society that supposedly values the creation of life beyond all else, yet it murders perceived enemies of the Republic in mass, and tortures(Moira and the feet thing) its citizens into submission.

"I stand a moment, emptied of air, as if I've been kicked. So she's dead, and I am safe, after all. She did it before they came. I feel great relief. I feel thankful to her. She has died that I may live. I will mourn later"(286).

In class Mr. Klimas mentioned that here Ofglen represents a Christ figure(dying for the sake of others).I found this passage interesting first of all because of the irony which it portrays that exists in the society, but also because the way Atwood presents Offred's thoughts. "So she's dead, and I am safe after all. She did it before I came. I feel great relief. I feel thankful to her. She has died that I may live. I will mourn later." Ok. This passage contains almost no emotion. The fact that Offred has to state "I feel great relief," instead of saying "I breathed a great sigh of relief. I was going to live!", shows that perhaps she isn't as relieved as she wanted herself to be. Perhaps she almost longed for death, for an end to it all. She is numb. Atwood depicts this numbness by making the sentences short and concise. Her words are almost robotic. I am thankful. I will live. Yay. Most people would react in a more expressive ways a result of the great conflict of emotions; the knowledge that someone has died for your sake isn't something necessarily something easy to cope with. Yet, Offred is almost indifferent, she says what she thinks she should be feeling at this moment, yet she is void of emotion.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I don't think I liked the book as a whole. The premise was interesting, but as many of you know, I'm not a fan of the ending. Atwood's ending is creative, but I felt that she ended it too abruptly; I was just disappointed. I wanted to know definitively what happened to Luke, Offred, and their daughter. I don't want it be left to the reader to determine what happened. I WANT ANSWERS! I mean I think the ending...works and I can see why she chose to end it this way, but I still don't like it. The book was well written and an interesting concept, and of course it is allusion invested, but overall, I was disappointed in the ending and found the book anticlimactic.