Traditional Misogyny Through Art
In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood introduces the reader to Offred’s life through the aesthetics that have been imposed on her.
The present of the text starts in the second chapter, with Offred’s description of the room that she wakes up to each day. Offred’s room is almost entirely plain and she glances over the appearance of each item without a second thought until she reaches the rug. The rug is made from braided rags and Offred describes it as “the kind of touch [believers] like: folk art, archaic, made by women, in their spare time, from things that have no further use. A return to traditional values.” (page 7)
“Folk art” as a category diverges greatly from any other form of art in the way it survives. Art that exists outside of the label of “folk” does so by at some point becoming contemporary, part of a specific moment or movement. Genres of art tend to burst into the zeitgeist with frenetic, cultural energy and largely fade within a century, stymied by competition with other genres. For art to be a part of the “zeitgeist” (time ghost in English) is to be mortal in a strange way. That art can still be an inspiration for others, so it isn’t lost to the future entirely, but an undeniable part of its spirit is trapped in a specific time. Folk art can exist outside of the zeitgeist and thereby last because it keeps a steady and simple ambition: tradition. To be traditional means to plow forward through time, adapting to the changing world, while still maintaining a strong identity.
The inertia of tradition succeeds in keeping folk art alive because it becomes embedded within the values of the people creating the art. Outside of its role as an informer of culture, art is self expression. As a form of expression art can be a way for people to proudly display the things that they believe in. Traditional art declares allegiance to the past, inheriting values from the past and perpetuating a stagnation of cultural development. American folk art is by no means restricted to any one group of people or inherently conservative, but it is certainly a useful tool for some who seek to foster a conservative culture. Within American culture, the values that are prioritized for conservation are mostly centered on patriarchy.
Delia’s Gone - Johnny Cash
This song is exemplary of the type of song known as a murder ballad. This type of song focuses on a murder, often the murder of a woman by her significant other who perceives her as having some sort of immoral behavior that warrants her death. In “Delia’s Gone” Cash sings that he shot Delia because she was “low down and triflin’”.
Beer For My Horses - Willie Nelson, Toby Keith
This song displays the way that much art focused on tradition has an idyllic view of the past even if it is extremely violent. The song contains the lyrics “back in my day, son A man had to answer for the wicked that he done … Find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys Hang them high in the street for all the people to see that”, referring to lynchings.
The society of Gilead uses folk art as a tool for maintaining gender hierarchy. In Gilead, having a patriarchy is a struggle for power that is reliant on the belief that men were created by God to be more responsible and therefore superior to women. The illusion that power is held ultimately by God, and not men is reinforced by placing some limitations on men as well as women. But, God’s only action comes after death, so in the dynamics of Gilead control is actually exerted by men. Aesthetics are an important part of the mythology that upholds patriarchy, so any art is limited to fit the value of subservience in women.
You’re Going to Miss This - Trace Adkins
Adkins’ song gives an example of the type of restrictive gender roles that have been put on women in North American history. The song is centered around the life a woman wants to have and the full course of her life from turning 18 is focused on raising children and serving her husband.
Red Solo Cup - Toby Keith
Keith’s dong also exemplifies the harmful gender roles of country music, but this time it focuses on the limitations put on men to avoid any sense of femininity. “And you, sir, do not have a pair of testicles If you prefer drinking from glass”
As a piece of folk art, Offred’s rug represents the “traditional values” that strip Offred of her autonomy and grant power over her life to men. These values are placed in her room without her having any say in it. Art is used here to underpin the ways that the patriarchy in Gilead has removed control from Offred’s life. On page 139 the commander refers to Offred’s room as her house and that is essentially how it functions. In America a house serves as a person’s domain, ownership of a space allows a person to exercise their freedom to express themselves as they please. That freedom has been taken from Offred because even in the space where she has some semblance of privacy, she is not allowed to express herself, all expression is taken care of for her by a rug in a blank room she describes as “government issue” (page 7).
