المستخلص: |
For a long distinguished period of time, identity has been the concern of human beings. Following this fashion, the concept is shaped and constructed according to the individual, his or her environment and its prevailing ideology and jurisdiction. Precisely, female identity, has witnessed shaking moments due to numerous impetuses among the concerns the consideration of woman as inferior to man. Hence, it has been a tendency that females came to be defined from the males’ perspective. Within this context, violence and sexual slavery, to mention but few, have constituted most of the aspects of oppression which was effectuated against woman resulting in the surfacing of a female identity crisis. In light of this contemplation, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, seems to provide a realistic demonstration of such identity crisis set in New England. Following the swirling core of information, the woman of Gilead is transformed into a pregnancy machine to rescue the growth of population due to the decline of fertility. As soon as a new regime dominates the sphere, the conversion of woman to a "thing" void of rights ranging from losing their proper names to the limitation of language use is put into motion and ushering, therefore, in the vanishing of the life of an independent woman. The totalitarian regime that advocates power to spread in a hierarchical structure leads not solely to men’s dominance but also women’s preeminence over other women. At this level, misogyny found its way to serve the master’s power, the Commander, Fred Waterford. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to inspect identity crisis of the female protagonist, Offred, considering Michel Foucault’s theory of power relation as an impulse that constructs an identity crisis personified in resistance. The use of a descriptive and an analytical approach can finalize the point with the fact that Offred around all the varied power was exposed to identity damage leading her to embark on a resistance of her own way.
|