Choice in Our Lives

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood speculates about what a world without choice would look like. Nobody within the world of Gilead has any choice for anything in their lives. The narrator states on page 24 that the reason for this control is that before Gilead, “Women were not protected.” In Offred’s flashbacks about what life was like before, there are many experiences that lots of women in The United States can relate to, like catcalling or someone’s appearance. The fact that Offred is still thinking about all of this shows that none of it is really gone. The main difference between Gilead and society now is that nobody has any choice. They don’t have a choice about their names, their clothes, their diet and other aspects of their day to day life.

The idea of choice is very prominent in The United States right now. Politicians have been debating about it. The media is reporting on it. Ever since states have been granted the power to decide the legality of abortion by The Supreme Court, everyone is hearing the word choice used in this context. It seems like everyone is being put into two categories, are you pro-choice or not? The case Roe V Wade was decided under the right to privacy and the reason given to overturn it was that there was an abuse to judicial authority. However, many are asking whether the government should take away the ability to choose to have an abortion. According to NPR and a poll from Gallup, the majority of adults in the country identify as pro choice, but that is not what policies reflect. The many conversations being had and arguments being thrown out does not change the fact that a major choice to take control of their own life has been taken away from so many people.

Amy Coney Barrett is one of the justices that was for the decision regarding abortion made by The Supreme Court, and because of this opinion, many have speculated about how religious ideals have incorporated themselves into American politics. There is a “tight-knit faith community” based in The United States called The People of Praise. Barrett has never publicly spoken about being part of this group, but some have come out to say she is a member. While according to The New York Times, they are falsely accused of inspiring The Handmaid’s Tale, there are still some connections that can be made about this religious group and Gilead. For example, they agree with traditional gender roles. In Atwood’s novel, women in the house are expected to split up the household jobs. While in The Handmaid’s Tale choice has been completely taken from everyone, members of The People of Praise have a choice to make. Whether they want to marry, or stay single and celibate. Single members often live in houses with other families and help with chores.

Another example of how religion has creeped into other aspects of daily life comes from Dr. Wang, who is a member of The People of Praise. He talked to one of the heads of the community about whether he should prescribe contraceptives to his patients even though it goes against religious teachings, and after this conversation, he decided to not prescribe them since they are against his own personal beliefs. Finally, The People of Praise do not support the LGBTQ+ community, like many others around the world. While it is not specifically said in the book, it is implied that this is also the view of leaders in Gilead. When the main character vividly describes the scene where people are hanged for their crime, she says that some were punished for “Gender Treachery,” on page 43. This term hints at open sexuality or gender identity, which is the opposite of their message.

While this religious group is not doing the same extreme work as the fictitious religious group in Atwood’s speculative fiction novel, they are one example of a publicly talked about topic, when it comes to the idea of choice in society and in American politics. Choice has not been absolutely taken away from all citizens in this country. Everyone can still decide what to do day to day. While some might not think so, small decisions matter, and that is displayed in The Handmaid’s Tale, through many examples, such as not being able to even use their real names. The Handmaid’s Tale shows what society could become if these decisions were taken too far. There is comfort in the fact that the world has not reached that level yet, and leaders in Gilead thought that too because as Offred says on page 25, “We were a society dying… of too much choice.”