While The Handmaid's Tale is filled with upsetting scenes, I think one of the most upsetting ones is the ceremony between the Commander, his wife, and Offred. One of the questions Ms. Majerus asked about this scene was, 'is it rape.' On the one hand, technically Offred has agreed to the act, and she herself claims that it is not rape. But I would argue, and I think many will agree, that the actions that the Commander performs on Offred are absolutely rape. There is certainly, a surface level consent established - Offred knows it is expected of her, and she "agrees" to it without resistance. And yet, this isn't what "consent" really is. Consent must be active, enthusiastic, voluntary, uninhibited, and a whole host of other things that this encounter is not. Sure, she chose it, but she talks about how she chose it only because the alternative was so much worse. So it's not a choice that she has made freely and without pressure. She gave her consent terrified of what would happen if she didn't, and that alone rejects the entire concept of consent. Also, consent is not just a lack of "no;" it is an active and ongoing "yes" which is not present in this situation. She talks about how she can't even look at him and how she can't wait for it to be over. She is not enjoying herself and she does not want it == rape. Another thing to consider is the power dynamics. The Commander has authority over Offred to the extent that she is not really capable of saying no. Again, lack of resistance does not equate consent, and lack of consent is rape.
I think it's interesting that she decides upon the word "fuck." It sounds a lot more animalistic which makes sense hearing about the way it happens. It completely contrasts with the way that Offred talks about her relationship with Luke. When she remembers Luke, sex is something that brings them closer and that is both fun and meaningful for them. In this new society sex is completely mechanical; it's just a job that the Commander has to take care of. It's such a terrifying aspect of the society, and it's so hard to wrap your mind around.
Further, it's not just Offred either - presumably all of the women who give birth in this society do so suffering through the same process. It sheds a whole lot of light onto the concept of "families" and houses that we've seen come up so far. It seems, and maybe I'm wrong, like a family might be defined by the Commander, his wife, and importantly, the women that he "fucks." That to me is just really sickening. If the book wasn't already bleak enough, this knowledge really reinforces the gravity of the situation that Offred and women in this society are in. One thing that I've struggled with is the role of the Commander's wife. Why is it necessary for Serena Joy to be involved in this process? The way it's done, too, is extremely weird. They hold hands, and Offred lies on her pubic bone. It almost seemed like Serena Joy was somehow supposed to be experiencing the sex through Offred -like thery were weirdly connected - and it was so strange. Or, maybe she's just there to keep Offred from resisting. But also, why is she so upset by it, because according to Offred she gets unusually upset following this specific encounter. It's also important that, in this society women are nothing but objects, and that fact is consistent regardless of class. The ceremony is not enjoyable for Serena Joy either, so despite her status in society, she still receives nothing positive from the expeerience. I wonder then, who exactly profits from this system of reproduction?
-Lili
I think it's interesting that she decides upon the word "fuck." It sounds a lot more animalistic which makes sense hearing about the way it happens. It completely contrasts with the way that Offred talks about her relationship with Luke. When she remembers Luke, sex is something that brings them closer and that is both fun and meaningful for them. In this new society sex is completely mechanical; it's just a job that the Commander has to take care of. It's such a terrifying aspect of the society, and it's so hard to wrap your mind around.
Further, it's not just Offred either - presumably all of the women who give birth in this society do so suffering through the same process. It sheds a whole lot of light onto the concept of "families" and houses that we've seen come up so far. It seems, and maybe I'm wrong, like a family might be defined by the Commander, his wife, and importantly, the women that he "fucks." That to me is just really sickening. If the book wasn't already bleak enough, this knowledge really reinforces the gravity of the situation that Offred and women in this society are in. One thing that I've struggled with is the role of the Commander's wife. Why is it necessary for Serena Joy to be involved in this process? The way it's done, too, is extremely weird. They hold hands, and Offred lies on her pubic bone. It almost seemed like Serena Joy was somehow supposed to be experiencing the sex through Offred -like thery were weirdly connected - and it was so strange. Or, maybe she's just there to keep Offred from resisting. But also, why is she so upset by it, because according to Offred she gets unusually upset following this specific encounter. It's also important that, in this society women are nothing but objects, and that fact is consistent regardless of class. The ceremony is not enjoyable for Serena Joy either, so despite her status in society, she still receives nothing positive from the expeerience. I wonder then, who exactly profits from this system of reproduction?
-Lili
I've also wondered a lot what Serena's role as wife is in the "family," and for what reason she gets so upset with the Ceremony. As far as I've understood, their "family" is based on what a family used to be like in America, minus the Handmaid (unless she is essentially a concubine, like other polygamous cultures have/had?). Pure speculation, but perhaps Serena, as the wife, will be the one to take care of the child any of the Commander's Handmaids will have, as the Handmaids are only supposed to bear children - they are not 'fit' to raise them.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I was very uncomfortable while reading the portion about the ceremony because although Offred technically agreed to it, it is definitely not the same thing as consent. I think any type of sexual activity without all of the parties involved being actively for it should not happen at all. I was also confused about the role of the Commander's Wives in this society because the book hasn't really touched on what they do in society. It's also difficult to determine the true "winner" of this society as you mentioned, which I also think is due to the fact that the story is told from the perspective of an oppressed party in this society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, this scene is very uncomfortable to read because it is a rape scene. I too am confused about how the idea of a family works in this society, and maybe there just isn't one? Families are something that are a big part of Offred's memories from before; she remembers her mother and husband and daughter and her loving relationships with them all. In the new society, it seems like there are households rather than families--essentially attempting to remove all the emotional connections and emphasizing the purpose of the arrangement: to have more children.
ReplyDeleteAs I read this scene, I was also quite shocked when she said she didn't consider it rape. However, once I remembered that Offred, like the other handmaids, were conditioned to see it as their role to participate in these ceremonies, I could somewhat understand why Offred might have said that. This made me even more disgusted by their society. The handmaids are not respected as individuals, but rather, they are used like objects for their reproductive functions. They are fearful of what could happen to them if they deny this role and refuse to participate in the ceremony. Since it is this fear that prevents them from resisting the ceremony, I would also argue that it is rape.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the ceremony was upsetting. I think it's rape as well, but I can also see why Offred, in her position, would say it isn't. The definition is murky in the situation. The Commander is the one who has power over her (and Serena Joy), but is he the only perpetrator? He is physically committing the act, but if he refused to take part, would he be punished? This particular act of rape is so engrained in the structure of the society, that it is almost as if the society itself is raping the handmaids. Ugh. And family pretty much seems to be nonexistent. Offred is considered more an object than member of the household, and even Serena Joy and the Commander don’t interact very much. I can’t see who benefits from this besides people in power who enjoy controlling others. Is the purpose of the society really to produce children--because I think they can figure out better ways to do that!--or is it mostly a sick power play at the expense of women?
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea behind the presence of Serena Joy is that she was of a high-enough status in the movement for Gilead before it took over that she gets to be of higher status once it took over completely as well. Because she was always with the movement, she gets to be a 'wife', but since she herself cannot have children, she must (to the society of Gilead, where having children is raised above everything else) have her children born by someone else, in this case Offred. I think this is also why she is so upset by the presence of Offred. She has been conditioned (and it sounds like she conditioned herself, at least in part) to believe that having children is crucial, and so she takes her inability to do so and her 'replacement' as deeply upsetting.
ReplyDelete-Sasha
Reading the scene made me incredibly uncomfortable and when she said she didn't think it was rape, I started to consider what else it might be called but eventually came to the conclusion, as you did, that this is rape. It's so strange that there is a whole entire ceremony for it too, and that Serena Joy hates her so much. I agree with Bridget's point that Offred seems more like an object in this society, so maybe that's why Serena Joy treats her as such.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that the "Ceremony" is rape, because Offred truly has no choice in the matter. Though she is given a choice it is one of a slow death or being raped one a month. I think in that situation, many would "choose" the rape, which definitely doesn't equate to consent as she is only consenting to the fact that she won't get killed immediately if she does this. Regarding your question of who benefits from this system of reproduction, I think in this society only the men benefit from anything that happens. All women are clearly second-class citizens, if not worse than that, where the men largely retain their power from "before" and have all the power in this society.
ReplyDeleteI think that Offred considers the Ceremony a "choice" instead of rape as a mental defense against her situation. Offred has had all of her personal connections and choices stolen from her. She is completely isolated from everyone, even herself. She can't talk or even think about her own opinions. The worst part of her life (in Gilead) is the ceremony. The only way she can mentally protect herself from her situation is by thinking of it as her choice. It's a self-defense mechanism against her horrible situation.
ReplyDelete- Anna Ondrejckova
I agree, the anger Serena Joy expresses towards to Offred is odd, understandable in some aspects, but odd. Serena Joy is more upset with Offred, the woman who would be killed if she disobeyed, than her husband the commander who presumably could get a away with things. It seems Serena Joy should be more mad at the commander than Offred.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this ceremony is definitely rape. I think offred is telling herself that it isn’t, just to help herself get through it. Reading through the ceremony was certainly uncomfortable and I feel really bad for Offred, but I also feel very bad for Serena and the commander.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think this ceremony is rape. She doesn't really want partake in it, but she realistically has no choice. I think it is equally disturbing that Offred doesn't view it as rape. This just shows how messed up this society is. The society has essentially destroyed any freedom women have, and this sort of system only benefits the men.
ReplyDeleteThe ceremony is rape. There was no vocal consent given and even if there was there wasn't much or a choice. She had two options have sex or get murdered. It just feels so slimy to me.
ReplyDeleteI think the point is that the Ceremony isn't enjoyable for anyone. I feel like one of Gilead's main sticking points was that they were "rescuing" people from the sin-filled society of the previous United States, and thus sex should now be solely for the purpose of reproduction rather than something to be enjoyed. So I guess you could say Gilead is benefiting from the Ceremony by having reproduction happen. Also, as everyone else is saying, this is definitely rape.
ReplyDeleteThe question of if it's rape also brings up the question of what consent means in gilead. I'm not sure consent could exist even, considering what we know about the violent tendencies and coercion
ReplyDeleteOffred really had no choice, so even if she does not resist it does not mean she consented. She was obeying the rules and knows that she had no better alternative than submitting to the ceremony. I would consider the ceremony as rape.
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