Analyse the effects of the writing in consideration of Atwood’s narrative methods and concerns.
Atwood’s narrative methods in the following passage are driven by perspective and are dense in detail. She uses the human psyche as a tool to unravel her story, either through contrasting elements, the rote use of certain language or the diorama-like description of Gilead and its people. Once pieced together, her methods subtly mimic the very tone of a totalitarian society. Atwood maintains such a voice throughout the passage, allowing for her methods to successfully permeate right into the start of the narrative and remain consistent in later chapters.
The first-person perspective is prevalent in Atwood's narration. Atwood chooses to write the novel in the first person, so we can only know and experience what Offred knows, experiences and remembers. And since Offred cannot record her ideas and experiences as she has them - because writing is forbidden in Gilead - we cannot assume that her memories are meant to be accurate. Letting the reader suppose that Offred tells us only what comes into her mind at any particular time allows Atwood to increase suspense, by delaying the telling of crucial facts. “Lilies used to be a movie theatre, before. Students went there a lot; every spring they had a Humphrey Bogart festival, with Lauren Bacall or Katharine Hepburn, women on their own, making up their minds.” such recollections feature convincing detail to be deemed honest, yet aren't universal memories in Gilead and are exclusive to Offred. Suggesting to readers that even mere observation is subjective and heavily influenced by one’s memories rather than just impersonal “recall”. Another handmaid wouldn't have even recognised lilies to be anything but a dress store; Offred’s fractured memories of the past introduce another crucial dimension to the passage (the degree of transformation this society has gone through, is developed through this unique dimension) while reinforcing the significance of first-person perspective in fiction particularly. Both the first-person narrator and the use of the present tense help to create a sense of confinement.
The passage also features contrasting timelines and character foils. “The Republic of Gilead, said Aunt Lydia, knows no bounds. Gilead is within you”. Offred’s civilian attitude is contrasted with the militarian mindset the aunts preach, revealing to us that Gilead is designed around totalitarian ideals, and often uses religion as an explanation for its design. Putting the foil and Offred in close proximity helps draw readers' attention to Aunt Lydia's attributes. Timelines are also placed parallel to one another, “You don’t see the Commanders’ Wives on the sidewalks. Only in cars.” with “it was something to talk about, a game for Sundays. Such freedom now seems almost weightless.” Offred was no longer hopeful, her idle joy of future-planning seems unattainable- such a recollection is accommodated amidst her description of this calculated, marginalized society, revealing to us that Offred holds on to her better past. “The sidewalks here are cement. Like a child, I avoid stepping on the cracks. I’m remembering my feet on these sidewalks, in the time before, and what I used to wear on them.” Atwood now goes completely visual in her descriptions, using the very land that’s remained the same, but rather moved into a new colder context; the land is her mouthpiece for transition. This method only emphasises Gilead’s bleakness.
Another noticeable factor is the dense narrative structure and the repeating of certain words. “the rules, rule”, repeating words helps one memorize. The words when read has the same repetitive boredom that Gilead’s regime has on its people; the kind of boredom that’s stripping of any individuality, leaving its citizens suffocated. The word “Don’t” has been repeated around 4 times, each in the form of a different ‘rule’. A restricting feeling has been created as ‘don’t’ is an antonym for freedom. Gilead’s description here is also interesting, it reads like a bird's eye view of a dollhouse, well organized and constructed for control. Atwood includes every detail- unimportant or not. This tells us that Offred's mind has been ploughed off imagination or daydreaming so much so that she’s a spectator to her own life, desperately absorbing everything around her because she’s empty herself.
Personally, I appreciate the parallel weaving of timelines as I noticed myself developing a certain thought process while reading the novel, one that compares details at a more intuitive level.
In conclusion, the writing effects have the most critical role in bringing complexity and character into the narrative. At the same time, developing the story in a unique parallel format that sounds more like a surveillance record instead of a tale. Atwood has used perspective, detail and time as tools to develop her methods in the novel.
