Although just having begun The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, I have already been captivated by the book. I find it incredibly intriguing, and very interesting. But perhaps what interested me the most was the religious or Biblical context of the book. Initially, I did not expect to see lines drawn to religion and the roles of women in religion, but I did spot the connection early on. The first mentioning of religion is in the line, "They can hit us, there's Scriptural precedent" (Atwood, 26). Later, on the same page, the narrator mentions gospel choirs and Sunday School. And then I came across the line "when the sect wars first began" (Atwood, 53). Immediately I associated this religious context with Christianity, Christian denominations. I, being a Christian, recognized the common words like Scripture (for those of you who may not know, that is the common name for the Bible), and have attended many a Sunday school.
As I read on into the story, I came across direct quotes from the Bible. Aunt Lydia, one of the leaders at the Red School, says, "Not all of you will make it through. Some of you will fall on dry ground or thorns. Some of you are shallow-rooted" (Atwood 28). From what I can recall, this quote comes from one of the parables that Jesus told his disciples about being seeds for Christ, and becoming rooted and grounded in faith. However, in this book, it relates to the roles of women. "Making it through" means successfully carrying out their duties as Handmaids and bearing the children of the Commanders. Falling on "dry ground or thorns" translates to unsuccessfully bearing children, or, ironically, being barren. When a woman is "dry" she cannot have children. If a woman is "fruitful" she will bear several healthy children. There are also mentions of being "real believers" and "defenders of the Faith." Out of the context of the book specifically, these parables apply to all of mankind. In the story, they were used at the Red Center in order to preach to the girls. It seems to me that the leaders of the Red Center take these verses out of context and twist them so that it seems that their actions are Biblical and righteous. Later in the
It is a common belief that women are strangled in religion, and by religion, Atwood describes the habits that the women are forced to wear to the unbelievable restrictions put upon them, and one cannot help but wonder back to the Puritan times and the various other similar time periods. Although we are now in the 21st century, and obviously much has changed between now and then, I still firmly say that I have never felt that my religion has debilitated me as a woman, or any of my female friends and family members of the same religion. I would like to call myself a non-denominational Christian. Having grown up moving around from place to place, we were changing churches just as often as schools and homes. I have attended Baptist churches, Elim Pentecostal, Anglican, Alliance, Church of England, and even an underground church in a missionary community. Thankfully, I never felt limited by my gender in any of these. In fact, I feel that women are most encouraged to step out in the name of religion. Women are more outspoken about their faith. I would even venture to say that sometimes I feel that men are ashamed to submit to religion or faith for fear of appearing weak. I found it quite interesting that I have yet to hear a man in the book speak of religion or of a Higher Power, yet it is in almost every line spoken by a woman. Tying to the two together, I wonder if the woman's association with religion is out of a perceived weakness or fragility on their own, and if a man's lack of religious ties relates to them wanting to seem as if they do not need anything or anyone, not even God.
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