The Songs of The Handmaid's Tale

Bad Religion - Frank Ocean - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMpypbtrcCg

In Frank Ocean’s 2012 song “Bad Religion”, Ocean uses the song to express anguish and pain from an unrequited love. Ocean uses the theme of religion, as well as societal pressures of the time, as a metaphor for chains stopping him from loving the man that he wants to. This relates to “The Handmaid’s Tale” because, just like in Ocean’s song, Offred faces a system that stops her from loving who she wants to love. In the song, Oceans sings, “Ooh-hoo, this unrequited love To me, it’s nothin’ but a one-man cult.” When Ocean says this, he emphasizes how he isn’t able to love because of this system put in place. In “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Offred isn’t able to love who she wants or even be able to have relationships with any man who is not the Commander.

Snow White - Laufey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeG3jPeeMec

Laufey’s single from 2025 titled “Snow White” is a song about the struggles of being a woman in our modern world. With lyrics like “A woman’s best currency is her body, not her brain”, Laufey highlights the objectification of women in society. They are often not seen as actual people, with men often reducing them to symbols of sex or pleasure. This connects to The Handmaid’s Tale’s overall theme and setting of the oppression and objectification of women. Offred, along with most other women in the book, is not seen as a person anymore but instead, objects, means of fertility, or, in the case of unwomen, trash.

Sign of the Times - Harry Styles - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN4ooNx77u0

The hit single from 2017, “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles, is understood to be inspired by two different things: a mother passing shortly after childbirth and the political and economic state of the world at the time. In Styles’ song, he says in the chorus “we’ve never learn, we’ve been here before”, which talks about how humans have not learned from the past, repeating mistakes from before. This relates to The Handmaid’s Tale because, as seen in the book, mistakes of the past have been repeated and expanded upon. The oppression of women, as in the past, is expanded upon in the worst way possible in the book.

A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4

“A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke is one of the biggest songs of the 20th century to carry a message about social change and provide commentary on society at the time. While the song talks about societal reform in a more racial sense, it still applies to any and all groups being oppressed, no matter the reason. I believe this song in particular connects to Offred and her society. Offred is depicted very heavily to be a resilient Handmaid. Although she reluctantly follows her duties as a Handmaid, she stands firm in the belief that one day, she will see her family again and society will change. She states multiple times in the book that the thought of seeing her daughter again is often the only thing keeping her going. Offred’s mindset throughout the book is often an embodiment of this song.

What Was I Made For? - Billie Eilish - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW8VLC9nnTo

In Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For,” she explores themes of self-exploration, questioning one’s identity, finding her place in the world, and being objectified. Eilish says, “Takin’ a drive, I was an ideal. Looked so alive, turns out I’m not real, just something you paid for. What was I made for?” This song alludes to the larger meaning of feeling not as a person, but as a doll. This relates to how almost, if not all, the women in “The Handmaid’s Tale” feel. Offred often says how she feels like less than a person, just something to be used to make babies. She’s been stripped of her freedom and her self-autonomy.