Motifs 

- Sexual violence, flowers, waiting, religious terms and color

Sexual violence

A reoccurring concept in The Handmaid’s Tale is the sexual violence against women. The Aunts learn the handmaid’s how the women that are raped, provoke the act by their own behavior. Janine is a girl at the centre that was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion. “Her fault, her fault, we chant in unison.

Who led them on? She did. She did.

Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen?

Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson,” p.82   

 The handmaid’s to be mean every part of their chanting which is exactly the point that the Aunts want to make. They even convince the handmaid’s of how their roles are so much better than the ones of women before the Gilead society. “Sometimes the movie she shows would be an old porno film, from the seventies or eighties. Women kneeling, sucking penises or guns, women tied up or chained or with dog collars around their necks (…),” p.128. The films shown at the centre underscore the horror of women like that and makes the handmaid’s a better advocate of Gilead’s regime. Nonetheless, Gilead’s regime claims to restrain sexual violence, the handmaid’s ceremonies forces them to have sex and the regime even consists of its own state-sanctioned brothels for use of the Commanders.

Flowers

Throughout the novel flowers are used as a reference to women in general. Offred recurrently describes them in terms of color and variety. Later in the novel she admits that the flowers are one of the “good things” she has tried to put in her story. Therefore the flowers are everywhere to be found in the novel. “On the wall above the chair, a picture, framed but with no glass: a print of flowers, blue irises, watercolor. Flowers are still allowed,” p.17 This quote underscores how flowers are to be treasured as a sign of hope as they are something from the past, yet allowed. “It’s papered in small blue flowers, forget-me-nots,” p.72

Ironically, Offred even compares blood stains with flowers: “I look at the one red smile. The red of the smile is the same as the red of the tulips in Serena Joy’s garden, towards the base of the flowers where they are beginning to heal,” p.43

However flowers are specifically known as a symbol of fertility which is an important aspect of the novel. “We hear Serena coming, (…) along the edges of the veil: flowers and fretwork. Even at her age she still feels the urge to wreathe herself in flowers. No use for you, I think at her, my face unmoving, you can’t use them anymore, you’re withered. They’re the genital organs of plants,” p.91

Whereas Offred sees no use in Serena Joy wearing a veil with flowers while she is not able to produce offspring, Serena takes pleasure in mutilating flowers. “She was aiming, positioning the blades of the shears, then cutting with a convulsive jerk of the hands. (…) some kamikaze, committed on the swelling genitalia of the flowers? The fruiting body,” p. 161.

At one point Offred even tries stealing a withered daffodil from the dried arrangement: “I find the daffodils, crisp at the edges where they’ve dried, limp towards the stems, use my fingers to pinch,” p.109

Waiting

Waiting is a recurring concept in the novel. “I walk to the corner and wait. I used to be bad at waiting. They also serve who only stand and wait, said Aunt Lydia. I used to be bad at waiting,” p.28

Most importantly, everybody is waiting for babies. Wives are hoping to get babies and if not they wait for the handmaids to bear one for them. Serena Joy is very desperate in the situation that she is in. She wants her husband back, not having to share him anymore. She is waiting for the humiliating ceremonies to be over and to get the family back that she once had.

On the other hand the handmaids are waiting to. Offred is waiting for the day of freedom and to be reunited with her long lost husband and daughter.

Waiting is very unpleasant, especially when you wish to be in another situation. I think Atwood chose such a motif to emphasize on the hopelessness of being captured in your own society. Gilead’s regime won’t stop, but still everyone secretly treasures hope. Hope to rise against the power system and to go back to the old days. As part of the feminism present in the novel, especially the women wait all the time.

Often when Offred needs to wait, to be washed for example, she thinks about how life was before. The thoughts wander through her hand when she’s waiting for Luke to return from the pass check. This shows her despair. Also after Serena Joy confronts Offred with evidence of her trip to Jezebel’s the only thing Offred can do is wait. She knows that there is nothing else she can do and there has never been. 


Religious terms
Throughout the novel several religious terms are used. Gilead's religious values and norms are to be lived up to by all people . The state therefore provides multiple biblical references:
- Martha derives from a biblical figure called Martha that rather served Jesus than listening to his teachings. This underscores the Martha's compliant nature and obedient skills.
- The local police is are called "Guardians of the Faith" , the soldiers are Angels, and the offical term for the Commanders is "Commanders of the Faithful"
- Also the shops have biblical names: Loaves and Fishes, All Flesh and Milk and Honey.  

All that religious terminology constantly reminds the people that the Gilead's regime is right since they act on the authority of the Bible. 

Color

Color is a very important motif in The Handmaid’s Tale. In the totalitarian society of Gilead, most characters are defined by the colour that they are forced to wear.

Wives are supposed to wear blue dresses. Blue is the color of the earth, sky and sea and symbolizes purity. In addition, Virgin Mary is known for wearing a blue mantle and this reference is presumably the reason that the wives wear blue.

In Gilead the children of the ruling class are named daughters which wear white. White is the color of purity, kindness and in many countries brides wear white because it symbolizes virginity.

Econowives are the lower class women that have married a man with a low status. They wear red, blue and green stripes because they have to fulfill multiple roles. They have to keep up the household, bear children and be a wife to their husband.

The central women in the novel are the handmaids. The red color costumes concealing their shape of the handmaids symbolizes fertility.  Also red literally suggest the blood of the menstrual cycle and childbirth. Even though the position of the handmaids is justified through the Bible, red might mean how sinful they are having sex with married men. PAGE 18.

The older infertile women that are of obedient nature and consist of domestic skills are called Marthas. They wear green which amongst others is the color of wellbeing and balance. The Commander’s household always need to be able to count on the Martha and therefore that symbolism underscores their compliant nature and obedient skills.

The infertile and unmarried women that train the Handmaid’s are called Aunts.

The Aunts wear brown costumes and brown is known for being a “safe” color signifying intelligence and trust. This is exactly the message that the Aunts should spread.

Jezebels prostitute at state-sanctioned brothels that were unable to adjust to handmaid status. They were sexualizing costumes from the time before the Regime to excite their visitors.

 “… they are dresses in all kinds of bright festive gear. (…) feathers and glister, cut high up the thighs, low over the breasts. Some are in olden-days lingerie, shortie nightgowns, baby-doll pyjamas, the occasional see-through negligée. Some are in bathing suits, one-piece or bikini; one, I see, is wearing a crotcheted affair, with big scallop shells covering the tits. Some are in jogging shorts and sun halters, some in exercise costumes like the ones they used to show on television, body-tight, with knitted pastel leg warmers. There are even a few in cheerleaders’ outfits, little pleated skirts, outsized letters across the chest. (…) All wear makeup,” p.246  

Guardians wear green and do practical chores around the house.