The Ceremony
One discussion we had in class which I found really interesting was whether it was accurate to refer to what took place during the ceremony as rape. I think that we are inclined to respond a certain way to this scene because of the values of our society. However, looking at the context of this ceremony and the way it reflects the values of the Republic of Gildead, the situation becomes a bit more grey.
As I was reading this chapter, my immediate reaction was to refer to the ceremony as rape. Offred does not seem to be enjoying herself, and she does not seem to truly consent to what is being done to her body. While she does mention that she willingly put herself in this position, I think it is more complicated than that. Offred does technically choose to be a handmaid, but I do not think there is any other option for her in the world of Gilead. Trying to pursue another path or voicing her discomfort with the ceremony could have fatal consequences for her. It makes the most sense to simply go along with the role and disregard her own personal comfort or her feelings. So, while Offred did "choose" to be a handmaid, the circumstances made it so that it really was not a choice at all. I think that she believes that she chose to partake in the ceremony due to the way that her role as a handmaid has influenced her. As we see in an earlier scene, with the handmaid who was gang-raped at fourteen and made to believe that it was her own fault, Offred is surrounded by messages telling her that any unwanted sexual activity is a result of her own actions. While we see the ceremony as rape, she has been conditioned to tell herself that it must simply be a result of her own choices.
Aside from the ideas of consent in the Republic of Gilead, I think the idea of sex itself is also very different from the way we think of it. We often consider sex a more intimate, enjoyable act. However, the ceremony shows that Gilead does not view sex in that same way. For them, sex seems to be more of a duty, an act to simply allow for the continuation of the human population. There is no emotion involved, no pleasure. It is simply something that happens with the hope of producing a child. I think that part of the reason Offred does not see the ceremony as an act of rape is because she also does not really see it as "sex." She sees sex as something from her past life, like her husband Luke and her daughter. She sees it as something that she had to leave behind just like everything else when she became a handmaid. Now, she does not want to call the ceremony an act of sex or an act of rape because sex would imply full consent, and rape would imply a lack thereof. Since she became a handmaid, all of these things have already been taken away from her. Her body is no longer her own, and the people of Gilead seem to only view her as a potential source of fertility, not as a whole person. Because of that, Offred thinks of the ceremony almost like it is her job, rather than an act of sex or rape.
The ceremony was certainly a loaded scene, and one which I initially found to be a rape scene. However, I can see why Offred chose not to describe the actions of the ceremony in such a way when considering her situation and the way that life in the Republic of Gilead may have influenced her ideas of sex and consent.
- Faizah Rauther
As I was reading this chapter, my immediate reaction was to refer to the ceremony as rape. Offred does not seem to be enjoying herself, and she does not seem to truly consent to what is being done to her body. While she does mention that she willingly put herself in this position, I think it is more complicated than that. Offred does technically choose to be a handmaid, but I do not think there is any other option for her in the world of Gilead. Trying to pursue another path or voicing her discomfort with the ceremony could have fatal consequences for her. It makes the most sense to simply go along with the role and disregard her own personal comfort or her feelings. So, while Offred did "choose" to be a handmaid, the circumstances made it so that it really was not a choice at all. I think that she believes that she chose to partake in the ceremony due to the way that her role as a handmaid has influenced her. As we see in an earlier scene, with the handmaid who was gang-raped at fourteen and made to believe that it was her own fault, Offred is surrounded by messages telling her that any unwanted sexual activity is a result of her own actions. While we see the ceremony as rape, she has been conditioned to tell herself that it must simply be a result of her own choices.
Aside from the ideas of consent in the Republic of Gilead, I think the idea of sex itself is also very different from the way we think of it. We often consider sex a more intimate, enjoyable act. However, the ceremony shows that Gilead does not view sex in that same way. For them, sex seems to be more of a duty, an act to simply allow for the continuation of the human population. There is no emotion involved, no pleasure. It is simply something that happens with the hope of producing a child. I think that part of the reason Offred does not see the ceremony as an act of rape is because she also does not really see it as "sex." She sees sex as something from her past life, like her husband Luke and her daughter. She sees it as something that she had to leave behind just like everything else when she became a handmaid. Now, she does not want to call the ceremony an act of sex or an act of rape because sex would imply full consent, and rape would imply a lack thereof. Since she became a handmaid, all of these things have already been taken away from her. Her body is no longer her own, and the people of Gilead seem to only view her as a potential source of fertility, not as a whole person. Because of that, Offred thinks of the ceremony almost like it is her job, rather than an act of sex or rape.
The ceremony was certainly a loaded scene, and one which I initially found to be a rape scene. However, I can see why Offred chose not to describe the actions of the ceremony in such a way when considering her situation and the way that life in the Republic of Gilead may have influenced her ideas of sex and consent.
- Faizah Rauther
I think you mention a good point. Offred may be steering away from thinking of the act of insemination as rape because that would make her the victim, and she would feel less in control of her life than she already is. Although many of us would undoubtedly label the act as rape, Offred's avoidance of the term may be a way she copes with her role as a handmaid.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think she uses avoidance of the term to cope. Offred’s life is miserable and if she admits that she is being raped on a regular basis it will be even worse
DeleteYeah, rape doesn't have to be violent, but Offred probably won't let herself consider that. I think it's also hard for her to call it rape because, well, who exactly is raping her? It's not like this was The Commander's idea--the society puts him in a position of power, but I don't think he's enjoying this either. Offred says at one point that her feelings towards him are complicated. She wants to blame him, she wants to blame Serena Joy, but she also kind of realizes that they're not the ones making the decisions.
ReplyDeleteAnnette, to answer your question, I think that the republic of Gilead is raping her because you bring up the point that the ceremony isn't exactly the Commander's idea. However, if the Republic is in charge of the ceremony, and not the Commander, couldn't the argument be made that the commander is also being raped because he doesn't want to be part of the ceremony too? Faizah, I really liked how you redefined sex in Gilead because women are no longer seen as human but as a walking uterus.
DeleteI think this is an interesting topic that shows how the idea of consent seems to not be an important aspect in this novel or in BNW. I like your point about how she doesn't view what happens during the Ceremony as sex because she associates that with happier times with her husband and daughter. While consent can be a complicated concept today with some gray area, it's not an issue in the Republic of Gilead because girls are conditioned with the idea that it is their fault. While many of us today would view this act as rape, I wonder how people 50 years ago would have viewed it.
ReplyDeleteI like how you make a distinction between Offred's definition of sex and how it ties to the past world, and how the new world has changed that definition. Now it's more of a chore, not pleasurable, it's strictly business. Reading this scene was powerful because Offred had conditioned herself to be ok with it, and the way she detached herself from the situation showed the reader just how painful it is to be a Handmaid in this society. Good post!
ReplyDeleteI think your point that the Ceremony is neither sex nor rape because Offred truly does not own her body anymore and therefore can't even consent or not consent to something is really interesting. I think this is how Offred sees it as well. She clearly hasn't given her consent, but that's because she can't not give consent because she has no more say about anything that happens to her, especially regarding her body because her body's only use in Gilead is to have children.
ReplyDeleteI still tend to think of the scene as a rape scene, however I don't think Offred is the only suffering. From the chapter, it seems as if both the wife and the commander were pretty disinterested in it, and the wife especially didn't want to be there. The ceremony is a custom forced upon them by the government, so I suppose one could say that the government is 'raping' its civilians by forcing them to engage in sex to reproduce. I agree it is a grey area, and this seems to be a regular occurrence, so it might have been normalized to the point where no one cares anymore.
ReplyDeleteI had a very similar reaction to this scene as well. My immediate response was to think that this is rape. However, as I continued to read the chapter and understood Offred's perspective a bit better, I started to understand why she didn't think of it as rape, and why she might've even not wanted to think of it as rape. I think that the idea of rape itself is more an idea from the time before Gilead. Any sexual activity in this society is for the purpose of population growth, therefore the associations we make with sexual activity in our society including consent, pleasure, respect, etc., don't necessarily apply here.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your reasoning for why Offred does not see the ceremony as rape. Although she technically always has an option to not do something she is told to, that option is death and that doesn't count. Giving "consent" purely based on fear of repercussions does not count.
ReplyDeleteI think Offred probably refrains from referring to the ceremony as rape because it makes her feel even more uncomfortable than she already is. Even if she has some other options, they aren’t options that would be better than a hand maid.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting interpretation of Offred's beliefs and how they relate to the ceremony, and it makes a lot of sense. I think the possibility that Offred's understanding of sex and rape, and what those terms mean, have been so radically altered by her time in Gilead is deeply disturbing and worrying. If it is true, then how many of the Handmaids will have bought into Gilead completely? How long will it be until no one is left who thinks of the way the world used to be ?
ReplyDelete-Sasha
From the start, the ceremony was very wierd. Offred never fully consented, Serena Joy did not approve, nor did she want to be there, and the commander was droning about completely disinterested. None of them really enjoyed it, but had to do it as it was an important part of their society. However, how things have progressed after this scene have been interesting. As you said, sex is something we consider intimate and enjoyable, and while the commander and offred have been a part of Gilead for a while, they both got to experience the real world. Because of this, I feel as if the twisted ideals of Gilead in combination with his prior experiences have made the commander want to get to know offred better leading to their secret meetings. It is almost as if he is trying to nurture a connection between them in order to make the act somewhat enjoyable for him, no matter how wrong it may be.
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