The Blood of the Sisters

In a world crafted from silence, an art piece can speak louder than any voice. This piece serves as a depiction of the underlying themes in The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. This piece explores a society where life and death, submission and rebellion, are woven into a single piece. It speaks for a story that requires depiction,attention to detail, and analysis. The focal point of the image lies in a small window, directly from Handmaid Offred’s Room. While inside the small window, it is filled with the color red. It’s devoted as a constant reminder of the color red throughout the story. The recurrence is less of a coincidence and more of an underlying theme. It represents the fertility, sacrifice, and violence endured by the people of Gilead. The women’s menstrual cycles don’t just play a significant role in their stories, but actually are the sole purpose of their existence. Their cycles can be seen as a sign of failure from the previous month, or a celebration of success at the sign of no blood. Similarly, it can be seen as the blood from childbirth, as it is the goal and terror of the life of a woman in Gilead. Likewise, readers may see the blood as a notion of public executions, intended to spread fear and threat. It may seem like a mure color, but it is intended by the author to be used as a constant reminder of the suffering of the people from Gilead, and what the women in particular have endured. It embodies the trauma held in the story within a single image. As for the window, it can be interpreted as a metaphor for containment. Filled with red inside, revealing the handmaids trapped within their system. The red handprints embody the countless number of women being dehumanized throughout the system. They are a sign of silent protest from the victims of Gilead, a sign of protest after years of silence, a break for escape.
Surrounding the window lay bouquets. They intend to show the unfufilled potential of the handmaids and wives. What they could be if their society gave them water and sunlight. They suggest hope in a world that feels hopeless, a sign of light, in a world full of darkness. They serve as a reminder that even in a world determined to oppress humanity and beauty, something will always push past its barriers and grow. For the window itself, it was the Handmaid, Offred’s only true connection to the outside world. It can be seen as a potential sign of escape, or just a sign for a future outside our field. The unidentified handprints illustrate the stripped identity of each woman, how they are visible, yet stripped of their names and stories, their identities being dulled down to a single purpose.
Ultimately, the art synthesizes the core depictions within The Handmaid’s Tale into a single image. It forces the reader to empathize with the lack of control the people of Gilead have. It embodies the oppression, fear, and trauma humans develop when they’re forced into a world of hatred.