Symbolism of Clothing in “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Garments are not just elements of fashion but they carry a deep and inherent psychology. The mind construction of the person is reflected through the type of Garment he or she adores. Every colour has a meaning and so does every pattern. Analysis of the raiment that a person wear can give a brief about the mentality of him or her (Kodžoman). ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a novel by Margaret Atwood which bespeaks a dystopic society where garments are the symbols of hierarchy. Women in this novel are nothing but impugn pieces of sexual abuse by men. Clothing and attire form an important device of conveying the thematic settings. Clothing is used as a symbol of patriarchal oppression in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and that is conveyed through types of clothes specified for women, the colors, that are used in the story as a theme for propagating a definite political propaganda and patterns of clothing that also promulgates physical oppression as commodification of women in hands of men in society. This essay shall try to enumerate the above mentioned points with references from the text.
Clothing is used as a perpetrator of patriarchal power in the novel. As the women are nothing but mere commodities of the commanders in the story, they have definite and defined set of costumes. The story says that handmaids must wear cloaks and loose deep red costumes with bonnets to hide their faces (Atwood). The pattern of clothing symbolises the immense pressure and oppression by men on women.
This argument can be supported by evidences all around the world. Throughout the world clothing of women have been mentioned by religions. Be it for Jews, Christians, Muslims or Hindus, a woman is always recognized by the clothes that she wear (Grossnickle-Batterton). The autocratic state described in the story is no exception. The dictation of men and exercise of men’s utilitarian power is absoluted by the attire women wear. The colors also serve as a tool of oppression in this novel.
Color is a tool of political propaganda in the novel. In the novel, colour has definite meaning and implication like the colour of handmaid’s dresses is red (Atwood).
Red is the colour of violence and a strong promulgator of power (McLeod). The use of red in the colour of the Handmaid’s dress is thus a political symbolism used by Atwood to perpetrate the vivacity of patriarchy on women. Similarly the use of other colour as blue, black and green exercise their own political propaganda on women. The costume, through patterns and color are tools for patriarchal oppression.
The patterns of costumes in the novel promulgate physical oppression as commodification of women in hands of men in society. The protagonist complains about the constant physical oppression of the clothes. Shakespeare had mentioned that “loosely-fitting-robes” epitomise the mental constraint of Macbeth (Burnett). In the novel, the clothes are uncomforting and highly draping. The body of the woman is covered to an extent that she is unrecognizable.
Does this system of styling not prove the fiscal entity a woman is made in a patriarchal society? She is draped as if to hide her from others. She is deemed as nothing but an object of control. Dress is the epitome of that hideous epoch. Dress is the symbol through which the writer plays her own psychology.
Thus this essay can be concluded with a reflection that costumes bear the mind construction of a person. Art and literature have been using the dress of different characters to depict many themes. “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood uses dress as a symbol to depict oppression of the patriarchy over women through styles, colors and patterns.
Works cited
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. SF Film, 2018, https://escribecine.com.mx/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/The_Handmaids_Tale_2x01_-_June.pdf. Accessed 28 Nov 2020.
Burnett, Mark Thornton. “Local Macbeth / Global Shakespeare”. Shakespeare And Scotland, 2018. Manchester University Press, doi:10.7765/9781526135100.00017. Accessed 28 Nov 2020.
Grossnickle-Batterton, Stephanie Ann. ““Ye Shall Know Them By Their Clothes””. The University Of Iowa, doi:10.17077/etd.di7v-gn10. Accessed 28 Nov 2020.
Kodžoman, Duje. “The Psychology Of Clothing”. Textile & Leather Review, vol 2, no. 2, 2019, pp. 90-103. Seniko Studio Ltd, doi:10.31881/tlr.2019.22. Accessed 28 Nov 2020.
McLeod, June. Colours Psychology Today. O Books, 2016.
