PLAYLIST: Inside Of Offred’s Mind

1) Eyes Without A Face - Billy Idol

    On the surface, this 1980s pop song may seem unrelated to the grim novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” but I noticed some thematic parallels that connect the two. Similarities revolve around the concepts of control, identity, and the objectification of women. 
    “Eyes without a face, got no human grace…” This part of the song suggests someone who appears to be human but lacks the emotional depth or identity like the handmaids in the story. 
    Handmaids are stripped of their identities and named after their commanders. Real names are forbidden and individuality is erased. They are reduced to their reproduction function and given no liberty for absolutely anything. This doesn’t only apply to their bodies, but also any form of expression – emotionally and physically. Their clothing consists of long red conservative dresses, their hair is hidden by a white bonnet that also has, “wings,” to restrict their vision and forbid them from seeing others. Chapter 2, page 8, their clothing is described as, “The white wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen. I never looked good in red, it’s not my color.” No woman is able to express themselves in any way, making them bodies without identities, just like the song, “Eyes without a face.”

2) Every Breath You Take - The Police

     The song Every Breath You Take by The police fosters a connection with the story of The Handmaid’s Tale by depicting the themes of surveillance, control, and loss of freedom. The song’s central hook of, “I’ll be watching you,” directly relates to the obsessive and inescapable surveillance of Gilead. A specific example of this would be the eyes that serve as spies for The Handmaids. “Every step you take, every move you make, I’ll be watching you,” can refer to the secret police that are constantly watching for disobedience and they are everywhere. The Handmaids are often on high alert, conscious of every move they make in fear that they will be accused of not following the rules. On page 18, Moira is afraid of doing something as simple as making eye contact with another man because she’s distressed that he may be an eye, “Perhaps it was a test, to see what I would do. Perhaps he is an Eye.” Handmaids like Offred are constantly being monitored by the government, and even by other women. Someone is always watching Gilead.
     Another repeated phrase in this song is:
     “You belong to me.”
    Handmaids and women in the setting of the Handmaid’s Tale are seen as property, and under the authority of their commander. They quite literally belong to their commander and their existence is seen as possession, not a life. 

3) Pretty Hurts - Beyonce

     This song relates to the story of the Handmaid’s Tale by speaking up about female oppression, and the pressure to conform to societal expectations, and the pain of being reduced to appearance, or in this case, reproductive function. 
    “Perfection is a disease of a nation.”
    This song criticizes how society pressures women into acting and looking a certain way to appear as acceptable to the “standard,” eye. This pressure often causes physical or emotional pain as many women feel forced to abide by these standards, on page 63, Moira expresses the disdain she feels about her own body, “My nakedness is strange to me already… I don’t want to look at something that determines me so quickly.” The corrupt system of Gilead puts their own bodies into a determining factor of their worth, putting their own identity against them which deteriorates their dignity. 
    In The Handmaid's Tale, women are often forced into rigid roles, The Handmaids, Wives, Marthas, Unwomen, based on various uncontrollable factors such as fertility, age, or how they act. All these things determine their "usefulness.” The Handmaids in particular are valued only for their ability to bear children for commanders. They are not valued or seen for who they are as people.  

4) Dollhouse - The Weeknd, Lily - Rose

    The song Dollhouse frames a relationship in which one party is trapped, (The Handmaids, or women in general) manipulated, and made to look perfect externally, however they suffer from rotting and are stuck in misery internally. This mirrors how Gilead forces women into roles and appearances that erase their autonomy and mask their pain.  
    For example, there is one scene in the story that displays how The Handmaids were out on a walk, and were stopped by foreign tourists. They attempted to ask The Handmaids questions about their exotic and conservative looking appearance. The Handmaids, afraid of consequence for interacting with others or being seen, hid behind the wings of their bonnets and refused to initiate or further any conversation. One of the tourists asked, “Are you happy?” However, The Handmaids averted their questions, replying with only, “‘Yes, we are very happy,’ I murmur. I have to say something. What else can I say?” (29) knowing they truly aren’t.
    The tension between the desire to be “seen” and the pressure to conform to Gilead’s inflexible and harsh laws relates directly to this song. The narrator longs for a life without invisible chains, 

“Somewhere In some other lifetime I roam free Strutting down my own lane, my way, no kings, no slaves But right now You got me in a chokehold, headlock, blindfold…” There is a common yearning for liberty and individuality.

5) David - Lorde

    This song reflects on a relationship in which the speaker feels used and dominated. 
    “I made you God 'cause it was all
    That I knew how to do
    But I don't belong to anyone.”
    In both the song and the story, women are often used and have no other choice but to see men as “Gods,” because truthfully they possess all the power. However, Handmaid Offred has a quiet mindset that goes against those values, and protests in her own small ways, trying to keep her sanity while also trying to adapt to the environment of Gilead. 
    Lorde insists, “I don’t belong to anyone,” and Offred is usually in her head swimming in her own thoughts reminiscing on how her life was before she was captured into this society. She often thinks about times when she  “didn’t belong to anyone,” as a form of escape.