Essay \"The Handmaids\' Tale and Cognitive Estrangement\" PDF

Preview

Summary

The Handmaids' Tale and Cognitive Estrangement...

Description

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement in The Handmaid’s Tale EGL230: Essay 2* Eva McFarland 32645068

Brett Jenkins Friday 11:00-12:30 Murdoch University Due: Friday 6th November

*Feedback would be greatly appreciated* 1

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement in The Handmaid’s Tale

Canadian author Margaret Atwood is renowned for many of her works, and in some ways was controversial with some of her writings as they addressed subjects that were delicate when viewed in the historical context in which they were published. Some of these issues include feminism, the backlash to feminism in the 1980’s, and the corruption of the environment and the natural world, such as through the first born test-tube babies in the years of her writings. From these reactionary idea, Atwood extrapolates the themes and places them in an unfamiliar environment, such as the future, to render them cognitively estranged. This allows a reader to view socio-political issues more objectively, and the extrapolation of said ideas renders this speculative fiction an allegorical caution of what the future could hold. For a feminist text, it is interesting that the author has chosen to set the speculative fiction in a patriarchal, rather than matriarchal society. Rather than presenting a utopia, Atwood has chosen to present a dystopia, far more powerful in some aspects because of the cautionary allegory it holds, rather than the ideal ‘if only’ world that an utopia would present. The dystopian speculative fiction The Handmaids’ Tale by Margaret Atwood (1986) contributes to a readers’ understanding of the historical context of the author herself at the time the novel was written, as well as commenting on the American culture and where it could lead in the future. For this reason, Atwood has constructed a cautionary allegory, warning that the Western culture could lead to political extremism and religious fanaticism, ending in a totalitarian monotheocracy.

Cognitive estrangement can be defined as the process of taking something familiar of known, and rendering it unfamiliar by setting it in a new context, or treating it in a new way. 2

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement

This process allows a reader to see familiar aspects of their own experience or society, as if they were new and unfamiliar, thus allowing them to question these aspects [ CITATION McG98 \l 3081 ]. According to Spiegel (2008), estrangement, in German, translates to Verfremdungs, meaning ‘defamiliarisation’, not dissimilar to Bertolt Brechts’ coined verfremdungseffekt, or theatre of the alienation. In much the same way as Brechts’ alienation affect in his epic theatre, cognitive estrangement aims to present issues from present society in an exaggerated manner and foreign setting, in the hope that a reader may view these issues in an unbiased manner in relation to their own society, and perhaps even incite social and political change (Askew, 2003). In the words of Brecht himself, “Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it” (Askew, 2003), and the aim of socio-political thought and change is conducive across both Suvins’ theory of cognitive estrangement in science fiction, and Brechts’ avant-garde ideologies pertaining to epic theatre.

By creating a new monolithic state and indeed a new culture for her book, whereby men are higher in rank and more intelligent than women by law, and where women are second class citizens, Atwood extrapolates and cognitively estranges issues from her historical context in order to make a socio-political statement about her own society, and the culture of marginalisation and suppression of women. “There is no such thing as a sterile man” (Atwood, 1986) in Gilead by law, however women are not only deemed sterile, but are also punished for their infertility, being sent to forced labour camps where they are sentenced to clean toxic waste until their death. This status, sterile, earns these women the derogatory and sub-human term “Unwomen” (Atwood, 1986), and their grey dresses, according to Von Goethes’ theory of colours (1970), could symbolise a non-descript shade of death too come, suffering, and a mourning not quite worthy of the shade black. This appalling mistreatment and marginalisation is constructed by Atwood in the hope of communicating an extrapolated 3

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement

and cognitively estranged microcosm for the marginalisation of women in her own society, which provides a reader with an understanding of the history and culture of suppression which Atwood is making a socio-political statement about. Furthermore, it is through the construction of the despised class of women, necessary for the functioning of the new totalitarian state, the Handmaids, and in particular the protagonist Offred, which the author presents the cognitively estranged microcosm of the socio-political issues dominant in her historical context, namely the suppression of women, feminist movements and the backlash to feminism in the eighties[ CITATION Ste96 \l 3081 ]. The patrionymic, “Offred”, is the only temporary and impersonal name a reader is given for the protagonist [ CITATION Twond \l 3081 ]. The fact that this is made up of the name of her Commander, Fred, and the word ‘of’, as she is now ‘of’ the Commander, can be seen both as a cruel twist on the marriage vows whereby the woman takes on the mans’ last name, and almost as derogatory enough to be deemed animalistic (Twohig, n.d.). However, it is Offreds’ passive resistance through-out the dystopia, which comments on feminism and her suppression, and the effects of such (Stein, 1996). By adopting an existential apologia, the protagonist affectively retains her sanity in an otherwise maddening situation, but this also provides a reader with a message, however exaggerated: women are, and can be seriously affected by mistreatment and suppression [ CITATION Spi08 \l 3081 ]. This then forces a reader to reflect on their own culture and history, whereby it was acceptable and indeed expected for women to be subservient, submissive, and second-class citizens compared to men. Perhaps Atwoods’ socio-political statement could almost stretch to comment on the history of domestic violence women suffered in western cultures, drawing a link between this violence, and the mistreatment of the body and torture of the mind which can be seen in The Handmaids’ Tale (Atwood, 1986). It is through the extrapolation and cognitive estrangement

4

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement

of these socio-political issues, which Atwood comments on her own society, and presents an allegorical caution for a reader to also reflect on their own.

Moreover, the construction of the Commander as a symbol for power and corruption in Atwoods’ didactic speculative fiction, presents an extrapolated and cognitively estranged view of power and totalitarian corruption in a readers’ own society. Through the construction of the Commander, a reader is positioned to view not only the monotheocratic state as being politically and religiously extremist, but takes note that, despite the extremely harsh rules, corruption still exists, often within the elite. It is ironic here that the most corrupt character a reader has direct dealings with, is also the very Commander who helped to establish the regime. “The fact is that I’m his mistress. Men at the top have always had mistresses, why should things be any different now?” (Atwood, 1986). Despite that all sexuality is extremely regulated in this futuristic society, the fact that the Jezabels hotel and girls not only exist, but are frequented by many political elites, such as the Commander, displays the extent to which corruption can pervade society [ CITATION AHend \l 3081 ]. In extrapolating and cognitively estranging said power and corruption, Atwood hopes to communicate her sociopolitical statement to a reader through her allegorical caution; that corruption comes with power, no matter what society or culture.

Similarly, Atwoods’ construction of Professor Pixioto in the ‘Historical Notes’ highlights the phallocentric, chauvinistic nature of men in a patriarchal society, through the extrapolation and cognitive estrangement. The Professor belittles Offreds’ story, stating that “had she the instincts of a spy” [ CITATION Atw86 \l 3081 ], she may have provided them with far more insight into the monolithic Gileadean regime, rather than the “crumbs”

5

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement

(Atwood, 1986) of knowledge she has provided. Coupled with the manner in which he refute Offreds’ story and the way in which he speaks to gain applause, Atwood not only backs up Offreds’ statement, that the Handmaids “will be invisible”(Atwood, 1986) but ‘takes-a-stabat’ male academia. Through this construction, the author extrapolates and cognitively estranges the soci-political issue pertaining to chauvinistic values and patriarchal hierarchy in a contemporary society and western culture.

Margaret Atwoods’ The Handmaids’ Tale (Atwood, 1986) constructs and communicates complex socio-political statements about culture and society through the presentation of cognitively estranged and extrapolated ideologies and issues relevant to a contemporary society and western culture. Through the construction of the Commander as a symbol for power and corruption, Atwood cognitively estranges issues of corruption and power from her own society, in order to present a reader with an allegorical caution pertinent to their own historical context. Furthermore, the author contributes to a readers’ understanding of religion, politics and power, and the suppression of women evident in their own postmodern western society, through the construction of this cautionary allegory, and the exploration of the extrapolated and cognitively estranged themes of feminism, and the backlash to feminism in the authors’ own context, and suppression and mistreatment of women. The construction of Offreds’ culture in this dystopian novel, a totalitarian, extremist monotheocracy whereby men are superior to women by law, provides an allegorical caution for a reader, while presenting an extrapolated and cognitively estranged view of the sociopolitical beliefs, values and ideologies present in the authors’ historical context. Finally, the construction of Professor Pixioto, and the phallocentric, chauvinistic values he stands for in a male-dominated society, present a cognitively estranged socio-political statement on the belief in male-superiority in a patriarchal society. 6

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement

References

Askew. (2003). As Plato Duly Warned: Music, Politics, and Social Change in Coastal East Africa. Anthropology Quarterly, 76, 4, 609-637. Atwood, M. (1986). The Handmaid's Tale. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. McGuire, A. (1998). The Handmaid's Tale (1986). The English/English Literature Conference. Perth: Curtin University of Technology. Spiegel. (2008). Things Made Strange: On the concept of "Estrangement" in science fiction theory. Science Fiction Studies, 35, 3, 369-385. Stein. (1996). Margaret Atwood's Modest Proposal: The Handmaid's Tale. Canadian Literature, 148, 57-72. Tanyan. (n.d.). A Heteropian Novel: Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Pamukkale University, 253-259. Twohig, G. (n.d.). The Politics of Language: A Device of Creativity and Power in Margaret Atwoods' Novel The Handmaid's Tale. Linguistik-Server Essen, 3-33. Von Goethe, J. W. (1970). Theory of Colours. (3).

7

Socio-Political Cognitive Estrangement

8...