Investigate the theme of power, as presented in The Handmaid’s Tale

Power. What do we r every start(predicate)y of when we talk close occasion? Perhaps we think of the agency of a country armed to the teeth with weapons of muddle destruction. Perhaps we think of a millionaire, commensurate to buy his way through whatsoeverthing give thanks to the military force of money. We whitethorn even think that we move over some form of index ourselves, such as the power of having bring mortal money or of having through with(p) someone a favour.Nevertheless, while we basis easily think of examples of powerful people, we may deal great difficulty thinking of a case where someone has absolutely no power. Could it be, however, that Offred is one of these isolated cases?To ascertain Offred thoughts properly, it is first necessary to understand the locating she is in. As a Handmaid in the land of Gilead, her sole function is to hold back her commandant children. She is regarded by the state as a thing, not a soul hence her name Of-Fred (Fre d is the name of her Commander). The Commander and his married woman are both professional to Offred in Gileads hierarchy. Below her come all the other members of society.Of course, this does not mechanically dream up that she has power all over all the humble classes. They are responsible to the Commander and his married woman only. Offred herself, of course, is responsible to the Commander, although the Wife also has the power to possess rid of herIf Im caught its up to Serenas kindly mercies Ill be delivered. I could become an Unwoman. however to refuse to see him could be worse. Theres no question about who holds the real power.This passage, of course, refers to Offred break of serve the rules, so in that sense the Wife would have less power over her if she stuck to them.Offred addresses the issue of power in some other extract, to a faultBut remember too that leniency is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greates t. Maybe none of this is about control. Maybe it isnt actually about who usher out own whom, who fuck do what to whom and get away with it, even as remote as death. Maybe its about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it. This is no doubt one of the most important move of the concord.Why would begging for and tolerateing forgiveness be a power? Begging for forgiveness is, I think, not really very much of a power. On the contrary, I flavour that begging for anything is unavoidablenessing, and therefore a weakness. Offred herself saysTo necessitate is to have a weakness.To forgive someone or not, on the other hand, is a power, and a great one at that. This can be simply explained by expanding on the idea that to want is to have a weakness. Weaknesses can be exploited, and if you do this, you have power over the person with the weakness. So if someone is begging for forgiveness, it automatically puts you in a powerful position, whether you grant forgiveness or not. Of course, this power is purely psycho lucid. No physical power is beingness exerted. Yet we must not play down psychological power in any way. In fact, most power is in the minds of those it affects, and is not based on perceptible things.Of course, it may seem to a greater extent logical that the power to get the better of someone is bigger than the one to grant forgiveness. This is not needs so. Death will get us all, sooner or later. The important segment is life itself, and how it is spent. To live with a psychological power will therefore last until both people are dead, out-of-the-way(prenominal) longer than if one were simply to kill the other.The Commander and the Republic of Gilead may have power over Offreds body, but she instantaneously has power over the Commander too. From the effect on where Nick asks her to visit the Commander, she knows that he needs something. If he needs her, for whatever reason, she can control him. The fact that he has also oversteppe d the line means that he too can suffer strike consequences if the relationship were to be exposed, even if by the Commanders Wife.As we read on in the book, we strongly notice how the balance of power is shift key slowly from the Commander and the state to Offred herself. The more people need her (Nick also seems to want something from her) the more power she will have.The Republic of Gilead, of course, tried to remove all power from the Handmaids, but because they occupy such a vital position in society, they automatically have quite a stack of power over the whole of society.This al-Qaida of power changing hands was no doubt one of the main ideas that Margaret Atwood aimed to meander into her story. Personally, however, I feel that it tends to be overshadowed by the many other themes (most notably utopian society and gender politics) so that it really does lose a major stir up of its impact. Indeed, my main criticism of the whole book would be that there are so many things mixed into it that it is impossible to instruct all aspects fully.