THT - Serena Joy AO1+AO2

THESIS - Is Serena Joy evil?

• FOR: Serena Joy exemplifies the hypocrisy of women who utilise their power to oppress other women; despite advocating for traditional values, the Gilead she lives under deprives her of the freedom she longs for, and thus she exploits Offred for self-gain. Her and the Commander convey similar notions, the abuse of power, but unlike the Commander, whose characterisation coaxes readers to sympathise, Serena Joy is routinely antagonistic.

• AGAINST: However, Atwood could also mean that we, as a society, tend to judge women harsher than men, even when they're equally at fault. Moments of sympathy elicited for Serena, particularly regarding her inability to conceive and the Commander's disloyalty; her status as Wife renders her prisoner and the injustices she faces forces readers to view her as a woman victimised by the patriarchy: the Gilead she envisioned and the one she lives under are two separate entities.

• REINFORCE: Nevertheless, Atwood emphasises the importance of women such as Serena in sustaining Gilead; despite her knowing of the Commander's disloyalty, she proceeds to vilify the Handmaids.

• Atwood critiques the patriarchy; male sexual dominance results in acrimonious sorrel dynamics?

How can we view Serena's incessant devotion to the Commander?

Serena seems to be conscious of the Commander's disloyalty yet proceeds to vilify the Handmaids. This shows how she is willing to ignore the oppression of other women to fit her narrative and uphold patriarchal ideals (VILLAIN). However it could also present her as somewhat desperate and pathetic (VICTIM).

MAIN VICTIM CHAPTERS

• Chapters 8/14/15/25 (desperation to conceive); Handmaids have equivocal power; could link to her moments of evil, can we deem her apparent villainy an extension of her desperation to conceive? does this detract from her villainy?

• Chapters 23/25/26/29/36 (Offred's relations with Commander); contrast to her unswerving loyalty in ch 45/46, desperate and humiliating.

MAIN VILLAIN CHAPTERS

• Chapters 8/14/16 (physical hierarchy to subdue Offred's equivocal power); Serena's hypocrisy- she is unhappy because she's powerless; she knows that Offred is not to blame, but her resentment helps to sustain the patriarchy; Serena's willingness to oppress Offred is crucial to ensuring Gilead's success; she is willing to ignore the oppression of other women to fit her narrative and uphold patriarchal ideals.

• Chapters 31/35 (exploiting Offred's loss for self-gain); she proceeds despite the risk it poses.

• "she then was a woman who might bend the rules"

• "I want to see as little of you as possible"

• "business transaction"

• "I'm a reproach to her and a necessity"

ch 3

• Atwood establishes Serena as extremely callous. Instead of being empathetic, Serena resents Offred for her role, even though Offred doesn't have a choice. So, whilst Serena may be victimised herself, Atwood emphasises the importance of women such as Serena in sustaining Gilead.

• Note also the final quote; Serena depends on Offred, yet resents her.

• "Her speeches were about the sanctity of the home, about how women should stay home. Serena Joy didn't do this herself, she made speeches instead"

• "She has become speechless. She stays in her home, but it doesn't seem to agree with her"

• "they are defeated women"

• "try to feel for them" "pity them"

ch 8

• By advocating traditional gender roles but refusing to follow her own advice, Serena Joy is a hypocrite; by saying that her hypocrisy is a "sacrifice" she is able to make herself into a martyr for the cause.

• Serena advocated for traditional values, but the Gilead she envisioned and the Gilead she inhabits are two separate entities.

• Essentially, Serena is unhappy because she's powerless. She's limited herself to the house, to a domestic life, where she serves her husband and has no autonomy or power of her own; this impedes sympathy.

• However, Lydia's ensuing comments begin to coax sympathy from the readers; she emphasises the weakness of the wives, and thus we start to see the equivocal power that the Handmaids have over the wives, leading us to consider Serena as more victim than villain.

• "to enthrone herself"

• "as if I'm a piece of furniture"

• "she's done it before"

• "even at her age, she still feels the urge to wreathe herself with flowers. No use for you, I think at her, my face unmoving, you can't use them anymore, you're withered"

ch 14

• Serena Joy resents Offred for her role as Handmaid; she views her as the villain, and is punishing her, despite the fact her husband helped to create this society. Any sympathy we had for Serena is gone in this scene. Stripped of her power, she takes her anger out on Offred.

• This shows how the most oppressed people are often targets for other people's anger and violence. In other words, Serena should be angry at Gilead, or even herself, for the situation; instead, she takes it out on Offred, who has no choice.

• By creating an environment where the two women consider each other as adversaries, Gilead is able to maintain its patriarchy.

• As critic Callaway notes, "The patriarchy of Gilead isolates women and then relegates them to the domestic periphery."

• Note, also, how Offred seems to acknowledge Serena's victimisation in the matter; her relative compassion serves as sharp contrast with Serena's callousness.

• So, whilst Serena may be victimised herself, Atwood emphasises the importance of women such as Serena in sustaining Gilead.

• “Serena has begun to cry"

• "She always does this, the night of the Ceremony"

• "She's trying not to make a noise"

• "The Commander notices, frowns, ceases to notice"

• Moments of sympathy for Serena; although she did advocate for traditional values, the Gilead she lives under subjects her to injustice.

• She is the oppressed as well as the oppressor.

• Note also the Commander's disinterest; he notices her cry and does not comfort her. Gilead has not only restricted her freedom, but it has also severed her marriage.

• "the rings of her left hand cut into my fingers"

• "it may or may not be revenge"

• "Serena Joy grips my hands"

• "There is loathing in her voice, as if the touch of my flesh sickens and contaminates her"

• "Which of us is it worse for, her or me?"

ch 16

• Atwood reinforces the acrimonious dynamic between Serena and Offred.

• The physical hierarchy imitates the social hierarchy.

• Sympathy elicited in the final line: Offred draws on Serena Joy's inability to conceive, teasing her in her head.

• "light blue, light mauve, and the darker ones, velvet and purple"

• "the swelling genitalia of the flowers? The fruiting body"

• "ripening fruit like a "melon on a stem"

• "metamorphosis run wild. Goddesses are possible now"

• This garden is represented as a feminised emblem of sexual desire, which seems ironic considering Serena cannot conceive.

• Her attempts to control the naturally flourishing flowers is euphemistic for her attempts to assume control over Offred's sexual relations with the Commander.

• We see her desperate measures; although she helped to create Gilead, it is difficult not to pity her desperation.

• "Maybe he can't"

• "Women do it frequently"

• “It's a risk,' I say. 'More than that'. It's my life on the line"

• "A picture"

• "She's known all along"

ch 31

• Serena firstly rebels in that she acknowledges it might be the Commander who is infertile, thus highlighting the flaws within Gilead.

• Note also that 'women do it frequently': Gilead is corrupt; everyone rebels.

• We see how easily Serena utilises Offred for self-gain.

• Serena is content to exploit Offred despite knowing the risks it poses to her.

• By using her daughter as a tool to get what she wants, Serena is essentially exploiting Offred's loss of a child in order to get a child of her own.

• She exhibits no semblance of sympathy.

• "I have to return it, before they know it's missing"

• "to have been erased like that"

ch 35

• While Serena's 'low and conspiratorial voice' seems to indicate that she has gone out of her way and put herself in danger to achieve this for Offred, so suggesting she believes she is doing Offred a favour, this act was extremely cruel.

• Not only does it break Offred's heart, it shows that Serena knew Offred's daughter was alive and chose to withhold that information until she could use it to her benefit.

• While it is possible Serena meant this as a kind gesture, she deliberately exploited Offred's daughter - and the pain of losing a child - as a way to get a child of her own.

• "it's something he can't do with his wife"

• "the difficulty is the wife"

• "on the nights when Serena is due to be out"

• "I also felt guilty about her"

• "I was taking something away from her, although she didn't know it"

• "Serena found out"

• "I recognise it as Serena Joy's"

ch 23/25/26/29/36

• Offred's relations with the Commander exemplify Serena's victimisation.

• The Commander utilises Offred as an instrument to experience the emotional connection he cannot experience with his wife.

• Note how the Commander has the audacity to use Serena's belongings whilst being disloyal.

• "slithering down over the step like snakeskin"

• "Just like the other one. A slut. You'll end up the same."

• "Bitch...After all he did for you"

ch 45/46

• Serena Joy confronts her, holding the cloak and lingerie that she wore to Jezebel's.

• Through using a simile to compare the lingerie to snakeskin, Atwood alludes to the Biblical story of Genesis, where the snake tempts Eve to eat the Forbidden Fruit. In this case, she implies that Serena views Offred as the temptress who damns all of mankind.

• As the reader, we know that Offred didn't have a choice in accompanying the Commander to Jezebel's, and it's likely that Serena Joy also knows this, especially given her consciousness of the previous Handmaids.

• However, she views Offred's actions as more treacherous than her husband's and is determined to vilify her.

• This shows how she is willing to ignore the oppression of other women to fit her narrative and uphold patriarchal ideals.

• COUNTER: to some extent, this renders her quite pathetic and desperate, coaxing sympathy from readers.