sf publication submission

7/23/2019 SF Publication Submission

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The Female Man and The Handmaids Tale: A Refection o the Womans

Experience


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Abstract

This paper analyzes the connection between eminist speclati!e "ction and

the real world# ocsin$ on two no!els# The Female Manby %oanna Rss and

The Handmaids Taleby &ar$aret Atwood' As (im )tanley Robinson says#

*)cience "ction trns ot to be the realism o or time#+ and both o these

no!els all nder the science "ction sbcate$ory o speclati!e "ction# which

is a literary $enre that encompasses science "ction# ma$ical realism# and

antasy# amon$ others' To pro!e that eminist speclati!e "ction can refect

reality despite# or perhaps becase o# its de"nition as "ctional# this research

loo,s at themes and e!ents in each no!el that re!eal aspects o the real

world sin$ spport rom Rita -els,i# .rsla /e0in# &arina &ac(ay# &era

&a,inen# ebra )haw# and others' 3ecase both no!els are eminist# this

paper primarily considers the depictions and conditions o women in the

no!els to see how heterosexist norms# which place men and women in

speci"c $ender roles# are e!ident in these "ctional worlds and in ors'

)peci"c and clear parallels can be drawn between reality and these "ctional

stories# showin$ that the no!els intend to criti4e and comment on or world

by distancin$ themsel!es thro$h the $enre o speclati!e "ction' 5n addition

to identiyin$ and analyzin$ the realist trths in the no!els# this paper

considers the athors eminist $oals in writin$ these no!els# concldin$ that

they want to raise awareness abot these patriarchal isses as well as spr

action to start chan$in$ or society'


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Keywords: eminism# realism# speclati!e "ction# science "ction#

&ar$aret Atwood# %oanna Rss# dystopia

Introduction

)cholars ha!e shown that speclati!e "ction can refect reality and

that eminist literatre can be sed as a means to e7ect chan$e# bt ew

ha!e drawn connections between the conditions o women in or world and

the conditions o women in speclati!e "ction worlds' There is little research

abot the ways that eminist speclati!e "ction ser!es as an exploration and

refection o womens experiences by showin$ the ne$ati!e e7ects o $ender

roles and the patriarchy' This paper will analyze two speclati!e "ction 8)-9

no!els thro$h a eminist lens to in!esti$ate and nderstand the critical

commentary on the reality o or worlds ne4al treatment o $enders'

The relationship between "ction and trth is a debatable topic and

scholars rom !arios "elds ha!e di7erent nderstandin$s o it' &any

philosophical scholars ar$e that "ction cannot possibly contain trth

becase "ction# by de"nition# centers arond ma,ebelie!e stories'1

;owe!er# many scholars ar$e that these *alse+ stories actally contain

inormation abot the trths o or world' This paper a$rees that "ction has

certain de$rees o realism and realworld refection that prompt connections

1 )ee /amar4e and


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and nderstandin$s by and or the reader' As ebra 3enita )haw says,the

best way to read "ctional texts is to see *the !ery real conditions or which

they are metaphors+ 81>?9' Realism# e!en i it is only present in small

portions# is why "ction is important and why it can chan$e how readers !iew

the world 8&ac(ay 1=9'

-iction $i!es eminist writers a way to discss and analyze the

ramewor, srrondin$ a womans lie by applyin$ $eneral themes and

experiences aced by all women to a "ctional world# intendin$ to hi$hli$ht

certain aspects that the writer wants to discss with the reader and the

lar$er discorse srrondin$ the sin$le text' Writers tryin$ to raise

awareness abot eminism and infence others with a text wold natrally

$ra!itate toward ormats that can reach a wider adience: one option is

$enre "ction# which possesses a wide and !aried readership and can inclde

)- as a sbcate$ory 8@ranny-rancis 29' 3y natre# )- is a widely debated

topic with no clear consenss or a de"nition 8@ana!an and Ward 269' )- is

an mbrella term that can inclde a !ariety o other sb$enres that are more

commonly ,nown# li,e antasy# science "ction# and ma$ical realism' Berhaps

the easiest# yet potentially !a$est# de"nition is that )- is "ction that

speclates and cases speclation'

)peclation abot whatC )ome may ar$e that )- speclates pon the tre

and other worlds and is thereore nrealistic# bt many ar$e that )- actally

speclates pon reality because it ima$ines the tre and thin$s that cold

potentially happen' )- writers are not tryin$ to tell the reader what the tre


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mi$ht be instead# all they can tell the reader is what they ,now and what

they ha!e seen by obser!in$ reality 8/e0in x!9' 5n her no!el The Left Hand

of Darkness# .rsla /e0in echoes )haw when she explains that *all "ction is

metaphor' )cience "ction is metaphor+ 8x!iii9' These texts se elaborate#

antastical stories to tell trths that cannot be said clearly and accrately

withot metaphor' E!en tho$h these stories are !ery di7erent rom the

reality we see arond s# they allow the reader to step bac, rom# *and ths

o7er a critical perspecti!e on# her present+ 8)haw 29' This critical perspecti!e

*can ha!e a social or political+ prpose 8)haw 29# which becomes e!en

stron$er and clearer when eminism is bro$ht into the no!el' &era &a,inen

explains that )- has *re!oltionary potential becase o its strctral

premise to 4estion thin$sastheyare+ 816?9# and is the perect !ehicle or

eminist discorse to show the ine4alities that women ace' Women choose

to write )- tales becase )- o7ers reedom: reedom to discss# reedom to

criticize# and reedom to reima$ine' )- as a $enre o7ers women a *lan$a$e

FthatG enables the expression o radical and eminist ideas+ that they cannot

otherwise con!ey 8&a,inen 1=D9# a lan$a$e that ma,es se o antastical

metaphors and stories to tell trths' Writers are able to 4estion the norms

o patriarchal society and pro!ide critical commentary on the ways that

women ha!e to li!e' Readers mst as, themsel!es what they can learn rom

readin$ eminist )- no!els in relation to or world# its trths# and its

possibilities'


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Case Studies

To show how eminist speclati!e "ction refects on or world by

discssin$ other worlds# this paper will loo, at two di7erent texts as case

stdies' Altho$h these texts were written thirty to orty years a$o# their

examinations o societal strctres and norms srrondin$ $ender are still

rele!ant today' 3y speclatin$ on the here and now# ima$inin$ *tre

conse4ences#+ and proectin$ seemin$ly nconnected tre realities that

cold lo$ically ollow i or world remains as is 8@ranny-rancis H9# these

texts present a commentary and criti4e on the patriarchal strctres o or

world and the ine4alities they case'

Joanna RusssThe -emale &an

The Female Manis dri!en by what &a,inen describes as %oanna Rsss

desire to *en$a$e the reader in a consideration o patriarchy and the

dama$e it does on women+ more than a desire to st tell a story 81DD9'

&any passa$es and e!ents are paired with Rsss *textal a$$ression

towards patriarchy+ as a way to rther the storyline# and Rss *ses

caricatre and in!ecti!e to delineate the normal midWestern relationships

between men and women+ in the 1?>Is# which are still common today and

easily reco$nizable 8&a,inen 1D=9' )ome may note that the no!el is

otdated# bt Rsss no!el still holds rele!ance or emale readers becase

many thin$s abot societys rles or women ha!e not chan$ed as mch as

readers mi$ht expect'


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The no!el ollows or women: %eannine and %oanna# who li!e in !arios

!ersions o 1?>D %anet# who li!es in a world withot men and %ael# who is

rom a world where the split between $enders led to warare and became

$eo$raphical' Their li!es con!er$e and o!erlap# leadin$ to interactions that

hi$hli$ht $ender ine4ality' Each character embodies di7erent aspects o

womens li!es and can draw the readers attention to Rsss criti4es'

%eannine essentially symbolizes the ideal woman in the eyes o the

patriarchy' )he is ocsed on "ndin$ a man# settlin$ down with him# startin$

a amily# and li!in$ as a dtil wie' %eannine ends p depressed rom a lac,

o ability to l"ll this typical emale role instead# she pines away or men'

Thro$h %eannines character# readers can see the epitome o patriarchal

expectations or women and how this a7ects women' When %eannine !isits

her amily# the narrator tells her# *Jo dont want to be a driedp old

spinster at orty bt thats what yo will be i yo $o on li,e this' Jore

twentynine' Jore $ettin$ old' Jo o$ht to marry someone who can ta,e

care o yo# %eannineK5ts all ri$ht to do that yore a $irl+ 8Rss 11=9'

%eannine is spposed to end p married and be spported by a man becase

she is a *$irl+ and needs a man to ta,e care o her' Alternately# %eannines

brother is *a "rm# steady man who ma,es a $ood li!in$ or his wie and

children#+ and his wie is a woman who *wants nothin$ more in the world

than her hsband and her little boy and $irl+ 8Rss 1169' This cople

demonstrates exactly what each $ender is spposed to do and what

%eannines tre shold loo, li,e' These two 4otes also scold %eannine# who


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,nows she is not l"llin$ her role in society and becomes pset at her

ailre' )he spends mch o her time lyin$ arond# bemoanin$ her ate# and

alto$ether not enoyin$ lie'

%eannines beha!ior also refects how a woman shold act: *)heK

pases# catchin$ si$ht o hersel in the wall mirror: fshed# eyes spar,lin$#

her hair swept bac, as i by some tmltos storm# her whole ace $lowin$'

The lines o her "$re are perect# bt who is to se all this lo!eliness# who is

to reco$nize itKC+ 8Rss 1I?9' %eannine tries to achie!e the ideal eminine

beaty and loo, the way men want her to loo,' ;er $oal is to attract a man#

ths centerin$ e!erythin$ in her lie arond men and e!ental marria$e'

%oanna# pre!iosly ensnared in the same patriarchal trap as %eannine# recalls:

*5 spent my whole day combin$ my hair and pttin$ on ma,ep'''all 5 did

was dress or The &an# smile or The &an# tal, wittily to The &an#

sympathize with The &an# fatter The &an# nderstand The &an# deer to The

&an# entertain The &an# ,eep The &an# li!e or The &an+ 8Rss 2?9'

%eannine# or the maority o the no!el# spends her time doin$ exactly these

thin$s'

When %eannine is with her boyriend# she eels nable to discss thin$s

becase *hell say shes natterin$ a$ain worse still# it wold sond pretty

silly yo cant expect a man to listen to e!erythin$ 8as e!erybodys &other

said9+ 8Rss 1I9# de$radin$ her own !oice and ele!atin$ a mans attention

abo!e the topics and ideas that she wishes to share' )he attribtes this

,nowled$e to her own mother# showin$ that women are raised to thin, o


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men as sperior' Another character# /ara# discsses the constrction o

$ender roles and $ender speriority rom childhood# !entin$ her rstration

abot bein$ denied her $oals and dreams becase they were not eminine

eno$h' )he sarcastically explains: *!eryone knowsthat mch as women

want to be scientists and en$ineers# they want oremost to be womanly

companions to men 8whatC9 and careta,ers o childhood+ 8Rss HI9' This is#

spposedly# an inherent trth# a role that women are spposed to embrace'

As her therapist says# *&en ma,e the decisions and women ma,e the

dinners+ 8Rss H>9# dele$atin$ each person to their speci"c role that they

ha!e been ta$ht since childhood' Lo de!iation is allowed yet still# /ara

and %eannine want to be more than st a woman'

%oanna tries to achie!e the transcendence o *woman#+ becomin$ what

she calls *the emale man'+ )he aims to do exactly what /ara was always

ta$ht not to do: inherit male roles and achie!e the sccesses that only men

are allowed to achie!e' &a,inen notes that %oannas choice o identiyin$ as

a *emale man+ allows her to *assmFeG the nominal title o Mman FandGK

inhabit all the positi!e binary constrctions within the cltre+ 81DD9' 5n her

description o her transormation# %oanna explains that she became a man by

"rst becomin$ completely emale and learnin$ what it means to be emale'


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the two# %oanna then embraces traditionally nonemale roles to become a

emale man and inhabit the world o men as a woman'

Existin$ as a woman in the wor,place meant that %oanna had *been

neter# not a woman at all bt


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*sch a baby+ and "nds it pathetic that *when he does it FsexG# yo ,now#

sometimes he cries' 5 ne!er heard o a man doin$ thatK+ 8Rss 69' When he

crosses the $ender line by cryin$# %eannine is dis$sted and concerned' 5 he

does not beha!e li,e a man# then there mst be somethin$ wron$ with him'

)he e!en notes that *sometimes he li,es to $et dressed pK5s that what

they call trans!estismC+ 8Rss 69' 3eha!in$ li,e or wantin$ to loo, li,e a

woman is completely wron$ or men in or society a man tryin$ to mo!e

across the $ender binary is nacceptable' This doble standard o $ender

fidity is a side e7ect o the patriarchy becase it paints women as wea,

and pathetic# and when a spposedly stron$ man demonstrates those

4alities# he is ridicled# especially by other men' A woman li,e %oanna

mo!in$ into a more manli,e state is at least acceptable in the sense that

she can still nction in the wor,place and achie!e reco$nition and sccess#

while %eannines boyriend wold ne!er recei!e respect or his womanly

beha!ior'

%ael# the orth maor character# exists amon$ men and sometimes as

man# bt in an entirely di7erent way than %oanna' 5n her world# men and

women occpy separate sides o the planet# the clmination o ne4al

$ender roles and expectations trned into warare' The &anlanders and

Womanlanders# as they are called# hardly see each other de to their

separation' The &anlanders# withot women# cannot ha!e children' 5nstead#

they *by inants rom the Womanlanders and brin$ them p in batches#

sa!e or the rich ew who can order children made rom their !ery own


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semen+ 8Rss 1H>9' All o the prchased inants are male# and i they $row p

decidin$ that they do not want to be a man# they can become *chan$ed+ by

body modi"cations or *halchan$ed+ i they decide too late in lie or

modi"cations' These chan$ed and halchan$ed nction as women in the

society# sed or sex and domestic acti!ities' The narrator notes sarcastically

*that the halchan$ed are wea, and cant protect themsel!es what do yo

thin, emininity is all abotC+ 8Rss 1>29# remindin$ the reader and the

characters that the patriarchy places women and nonmen in a !ery speci"c

role and that bein$ li,e a woman is bad' Withot women arond them# the

&anlanders ha!e allen e!en rther into de$radin$ women'

%ael is an assassin who tar$ets hi$hran, &anlanders# bt she also

specializes in portrayin$ men and occpyin$ their roles as a spy or in"ltrator'

)he has a hi$h stats within the Womanlanders and is ths $ranted airly

ree mo!ement amon$ enemy troops and hi$herps# none o whom ,now

that she is sally amon$ them as an assassin' %ael describes her sitation:

*5 come and $o as 5 please' 5 do only what 5 want' 5 ha!e wrestled mysel

thro$h to an independence o mindK 5n short# 5 am a $rown woman+ 8Rss

1>9' The reedom she has is the reedom that men are a7orded in or

world a $rown woman here wold rarely describe hersel in sch a manner'

%ael is able to inhabit a traditionally male role# showin$ the $ap between

what women can achie!e and what men can achie!e'

5n addition to bein$ able to mo!e arond with the reedom o a man#

she re!els in her ability to destroy men and maintain her power o!er them#


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almost re!ersin$ patriarchal standards by placin$ hersel as the oppressor in

her extreme hatred o men' Ater one o the other characters as,s her i it

was necessary to ,ill a male leader in her si$natre !iolent manner# she

says# *5 dont $i!e a damn whether it was necessary or notK5 li,ed it+ 8Rss

1=9# and as a narrator explains that *theres no doin$ bsiness with FmenG

yo ha!e to ,ill them anyway# mi$ht as well ha!e n+ 8Rss 129' ;er

attitde toward the lie o &anlanders exa$$eratedly mirrors the disdain and

disrespect men ha!e or women' Rss presents this as a poor alternati!e to

the patriarchy N it is still dan$eros and ne4al# and %aels allconsmin$

ra$e and sti"cations or her actions are neither healthy nor prodcti!e'

5nstead# her sitation and planet pro!e the need or e4ality rather than a

re!ersal o the patriarchy that wold place women at the top' &a,inen

addresses this in her analysis: *The narrati!e Fo %aelOs role re!ersal o the

male world leaderG# aided by F%eannine# %anet# and %oannasG horror#

problematizes the isses o role re!ersal as an e7ecti!e eminist strate$y#

whilst bitterly explainin$ the attraction o sch a corse+ 81D69'

.nli,e e!eryone elses worlds# %anets world# Whileaway# has no men at

all' Their technolo$y is ad!anced eno$h that women do not need men to

reprodce# and society has been mo!in$ smoothly or the centries withot

men: *there ha!e been no men on Whileaway or at least ei$ht centries N 5

dont mean no hman bein$s# o corse# bt no men+ 8Rss ?9' The oPcial

reason is that a disease ,illed all o the men on the planet# altho$h %ael

ar$es that %anets people eliminated all men themsel!es# possibly as a


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conclsion to the warare in her own world' %anets world brin$s p an

entirely new !iew o patriarchy and other problems with $ender and

sexality' %anet is allowed to do all o the thin$s that men traditionally do

becase there are no men there to occpy those roles or tell her that she

cannot do them' Women ha!e choices and reedom# which brin$s the reader

to realize that there are not as many choices and reedoms in or world'

%anet can be both mascline and eminine and both are expected and

acceptable in or world# the $enders are di!ided and crossin$ that bondary

brin$s ridicle'


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that samesex lo!e is normal and how the heteronormati!e# patriarchal state

o or society harms those who do not "t becase they lo!e the same sex'

.pon her entry into or world# %anet cannot become ac4ainted with

the rles and re$lations that women ace' 5nteractin$ with men and

assmin$ the role o *woman+ do not come natrally to her' The !oice and

a$ency she has on her planet do not belon$ to her here' When a man $rabs

her and she says# */et me $o#+ %oanna tells her to *say it lod' )omebody will

come resce yo'+ %anet replies# *@ant 5 resce myselC+ %oanna says# *Lo'+

%anet ar$es# *Why notC+ 8Rss =D9'


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cased a shorta$e o healthy babies and mothers' Each ;andmaid is

assi$ned to a hi$hstats man# a @ommander# whose Wie cannot reprodce'

)he acts as a sort o srro$ate mother# and the Wie owns the child' This

world# called 0ilead# is a proected tre o or world


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3ecase o this#


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ors 8in terms o eminism9 and 0ilead# loo,s at the worth o women in

completely di7erent ways' 0ileads ar$ment or !alin$ women is rther

destroyed when the reader realizes that only healthy and childbearin$

women are important: women n"t or birthin$ children or or bein$ trophy

wi!es to prominent men are cast aside into desi$nated places called the

@olonies# where they are orced to do hard manal labor# sometimes

cleanin$ p dead bodies or radioacti!e spills# with an increased chance o

death' The @olonies are the dmpster or seless women' A ;andmaids

reward or bearin$ a healthy child is that *)hell ne!er be sent to the

@olonies# shell ne!er be declared .nwoman+ 8Atwood 1H69' 0ilead trly only

!ales reprodction# not women'

The ;andmaids are rther obecti"ed and de!aled when their

@ommanders ta,e them to an nder$rond# secret clb called %ezebel' ;ere#

the men parade women arond as trophies to pro!e their masclinity and

power'


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leadin$ to her bein$ named


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with the @ommander and his Wie in which the @ommander has sex with the

;andmaid# who lies on the Wie' These positions are strict and re4ired# and

no physical contact besides what is necessary is permitted' As


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char$e o the hose as well# a Wie or each @ommander# and the

@ommander himsel# who rns the hose and contribtes directly to society'

Atwood is reestablishin$ the *traditional+ roles o women as another acet o

their oppression in this society: homema,ers# mothers# and trophies' 5nstead

o allowin$ them to do thin$s otside o their $ender role# enorcin$ the

traditional $ender roles stic,s them more "rmly in their boxes' They mst

play the part o a tre woman and that means actin$ li,e a woman' There is

no room or de!iance and e!eryone does what they are expected to do no

one can ris, actin$ otside o their $ender roles' The men are constrained

too# and it is important to remember that they are a7ected by the oppression

o women as well' @ommanders are spposed to be respectl# ollow the

rles# and rn the hosehold perectly# bt -red brea,s rles by chan$in$

some scripted roles# li,e the @eremony where he is not spposed to ha!e any

emotional or sexal connection with the ;andmaid# in an attempt to ha!e

control o his sitation instead o bein$ controlled by society'

;is decision to brin$ her to %ezebel is another way he tries to "$ht

society' ;owe!er# %ezebel is st another example o the perormance o

$ender roles altho$h e!eryone eels li,e they ha!e $ained a$ency by

brea,in$ rles and bein$ promiscos# they are essentially mo!in$ into

di7erent assi$ned roles' The women who wor, there are perormin$ their role

o prostittes' The men# the @ommanders# are perormin$ their role as a

powerl# mascline# incontrol "$re' The ;andmaids are perormin$ their

role as obects to be paraded arond the clb' The societys emphasis on


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perormance and roles contines to separate $enders and encora$e the

oppression o women# e!en when people try to brea, ree'

Atwood also ma,es se o lan$a$e to show the oppression o women'

Women in 0ilead are not allowed to read or write# and certain words and

phrases are banned while others are re4ired in sitations' /an$a$e is sed

to control tho$ht and shape perceptions abot the world' &a,inen obser!es

that *eminist )- has tried to challen$e patriarchal lan$a$e strctres+

81=>9# and Atwood is no exception'


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women cold be ndone or not' They seemed to be able to choose+ 8Atwood

669# considerin$ how clothin$ refects choice and how women in 0ilead are

no lon$er able to ma,e choices' When she says $oodbye to her shoppin$

partner ;andmaid# the ;andmaid replies# *.nder ;is Eye#+ which


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as an indicator o power and ,nowled$e# is no lon$er associated with women#

ths demotin$ them to a lower and less respectable position' When she

holds the pen# she says# *The pen between my "n$ers is sensos# ali!e

almost# 5 can eel its power# the power o the words it contains+ 8Atwood

2=19' )he realizes the power and control that the pen $i!es her o!er

lan$a$e# commnication# and meanin$' Readin$ is a lxry not a7orded to

women# either the entirety o literacy is not theirs to claim' Women are

incapable o learnin$ thro$h words at all de to the barriers on spo,en

lan$a$e# writin$# and readin$' When


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semblance o power and a$ency# she mst sa!or it'


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-eminist )- writers are not writin$ into a !acm readers can ta,e what

they learn rom these texts and apply it to the real world# insti$atin$ chan$e'

As &arina &ac(ay explains# these texts *act pon s all+ and *potentially

chan$e the world in the act o describin$ it+ 81=9' 3y chan$in$ or

perspecti!e o or world# eminist )- can chan$e the way we act in or

world: *when we Meel ri$ht# we act ri$htly+ 8&ac(ay 1=9'


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Atwood# &ar$aret' The Handmaids TaleLew Jor,# 3allantine 3oo,s: 1?H'

Brint'

3arr# &arleen )' Lost in )%ace- .robin' Feminist )cience Fiction and /eyond

@hapel ;ill# The .ni!ersity o Lorth @arolina Bress: 1??6' Brint'

@ana!an# 0erry# and Briscilla Ward' SBreace'S$merican Literature6'2

82I119: 26>2=?'$cademic )earch .remier' Web' 11

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