Pressed

My artwork is about the scene with Offred and her doctor in chapter 11. This drawing is from the perspective of Offred when she is lying down on the examining table. The title “Pressed” is referring to how Offred is being physically pressured, with him literally pressing her body with his hand, and the eyes mentally putting pressure onto Offred. I used three references for my drawing. The first reference is for the first person perspective. It was from a photo of a patient point of view lying on a medical bed. The patient in the picture was wearing pants with stripes and I had originally drawn the picture with the stripes on Offred’s pants. I later on removed the stripes and pants because Offred was completely naked in this scene. The bottom of the artwork is black because she is naked and I can’t draw anything. I also had to remove the sleeve the patient had in the photo. The second reference I used was of a doctor with a mask. The picture worked really well as a reference because of how similar the characteristics of the doctor in the photo and the doctor in “The Handmaid’s Tale” were. The doctors both had a white mask on and had brown hair. Although I didn’t use color in my drawing, it was still easier for me to draw because of this. I didn’t use color in my drawing for any particular reason. The third reference I used was a frame from a scene of “Demon Slayer”. The hand was of a demon and it was the shot I felt was what would come across as creepy. The hand of a demon was also supposed to have it represent how the doctor’s actions are inhumane. The doctor is pretending to come across as friendly but is also doing this purely for his own pleasure. The demon from the show is narcissistic in the same way as the doctor. I wasn’t able to have the hand turn out exactly as I wanted but I still think it comes across as a creepy grasp. I didn’t draw anything past a small part of the doctor’s chest because I didn’t have any more room but I still think that the floating hand of the doctor comes across as intended. The eyes all around are representing Offred’s feeling of worry. Offred worries about if someone can see them. On page 61, Offred says “What are the odds, is the room bugged, who’s waiting just outside the door?” The fear of being caught by people who are eyes is also meant to be shown through the eyes around the room. Offred in this scene is the one who is being violated and yet she is in a situation in which she would be punished if someone saw. She is the victim but there is no help. A person with higher power is taking advantage of her situation for his own personal pleasure. The feeling of being pressured and helpless. The feeling of no one being on your side. The feeling of wrongfully being in the wrong as the victim. These feelings that Offred had to endure are what I wanted to express through this drawing. The terrifying perspective of a woman in Gilead and to remember how people feel this way in our world today.