The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel by Margaret Atwood. The novel is set in a dystopian society where women are oppressed and forced into subservient roles. The story follows the handmaid Offred as she tries to survive in this repressive society.
The novel has been adapted into a television series, which has been critically acclaimed. The series stars Elisabeth Moss as Offred and Joseph Fiennes as Commander Fred Waterford. The show is available to stream on Hulu.
If you are a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale, then you will love these flowers. The flowers are red, which is the color of the handmaids in the novel and television series. The flowers are also in the shape of a tulip, which is the symbol of hope in the novel.
Much imagery is utilized in The Handmaid’s Tale to allow the reader to create a more detailed mental picture of the novels action and also to increase emotive language. Flowers and plants are used by Atwood in several images. Offred describes flowers as follows: These should not be dismissed, implying that they offer a significant meaning.
The flowers also give the reader an insight into the characters in The Handmaids Tale; their thoughts, feelings and experiences. For example, the first flower that is mentioned in the novel is the tulip. The tulip is significant as it is a symbol of hope; something which Offred very much needs. The second flower to be mentioned is the rose; this has many different meanings but mainly symbolises love, passion and admiration. This is significant as it shows that even though Offred is living in a world where she cannot show her love or passion, she still feels it inside her.
The final flower to be discussed is the lily; this generally symbolises purity and innocence. However, in The Handmaids Tale, the lily takes on a more negative connotation as it is used to describe the dead bodies of the Handmaids who have been killed. The flowers in The Handmaids Tale therefore provide the reader with a greater understanding of both the characters and the events that take place.
The idea of anything developing may be compared to a child growing. Many pictures hang in the Commanders house, which are visual depictions and as such flowers are still permissible. Later, while Serena is snipping off the seed pods with a pair of shears aiming, positioning the blades against The fruiting body, it appears that all life is being destroyed, even that of the flowers. The color of the blooms is also significant. When Offred initially enters the Commander and his wife’s home, she notices a stained-glass fanlight: red and blue flowers.
The blue is for the Virgin Mary and the red flowers are for menstrual blood. The flowers, growing in their pots on the sill, are a sign that there is still life and hope, even in this dark world where women are oppressed. The flowers also represent fertility and new life, which is something that the handmaids long for. Margaret Atwood uses the flowers as a symbol of hope and fertility in The Handmaid’s Tale.
In the Republic of Gilead, Handmaids wear red and Wives wear blue, which are colors that represent the personality of the person wanting them. The blue irises on Offred’s wall allude to her status as a black sheep within the family. In Serenas garden, Offred describes many of the flowers. There are light blue irises, light mauve irises, and darker ones with a velvet shadow and purple indigo hue; and Bleeding Hearts, whose female form was such that they had not just recently been dug up.
The roses too were red, white and pink. The flowers hidden messages in The Handmaids Tale are mainly about womens place in society and their lack of agency. The blue irises represent Offreds true self, which is hidden behind the persona she must adopt as a Handmaid. The Bleeding Hearts are a reminder of the suffering of women at the hands of men, while the roses represent hope for a better future.
The distinction between the two colors is significant; Offred recognizes that this garden has a subversive aspect to it. Whatever is silenced will clamour to be heard, although silently. A lot of attention is paid to tulips; when Offred sees the hanging bodies at the Wall, the blood on the white cloth shines with the same intensity as that on the red tulips This comparison might be made to Plaths poem Tulips, which was written while she was in hospital. The tulips are already too bright; they cause me pain.
Even through the cloth of my skirts I can feel them, burning The tulips are redder than ever The vase is big as a basketball hoop, and tipped dangerously, but she doesn’t want to look Away from its red The flowers absorb her vision; it is all she can see. The world has shrunk to this vase and these tulips The flowers have taken over reality; they have become more important than anything else. This can be seen as a microcosm for the way in which the Republic of Gilead has taken over Offreds life, dictating everything she does, what she wears, who she speaks to.
The flowers represent the stifling oppression that Offred feels. The bright colours also contrast sharply with the drabness of the rest of her life. The world of the Handmaids is one where natural beauty has been replaced by a sterile, artificial environment.
The flowers in the garden are all incredibly carefullybred specimens, designed to be as colourful and visually striking as possible. This is in stark contrast to the wildflowers that grow in the fields outside the city, which are seen as dangerous and subversive. The flowers in the garden are also used to control the handmaid specific; they are given tasks to perform, such as deadheading or weeding, and they are not allowed to pick any of the flowers.
The flowers therefore represent the strict rules and regulations that the handmaids have to follow. The fact that they are not allowed to pick any of the flowers also highlights the lack of freedom that they have. The flowers in the garden are also a symbol of fertility. The handmaids are chosen for their fertility, and the garden is a reminder of their purpose in Gilead.
The flowers therefore represent the way in which the handmaids are seen as nothing more than baby-making machines. The final symbolic meaning of the flowers is that they represent hope. The fact that Offred is still drawn to the beauty of the flowers, despite everything that has happened to her, shows that she has not lost hope.