Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” is rich in masculine power, authority, and references, however, even extremely minor expressions of femininity are scarce. A rare mention of femininity is found in the reoccurring symbol of various flowers. An array of flowers including Lily of the Valley, tulips, daisies, irises, bleeding hearts, peonies, carnations and daffodils, are all described throughout the novel, each offering a rare opportunity for femininity, as well as suggesting political or social ideas, such as the “honorable” trait of fertility.
Of the floral references frequent to the novel, discussion of the red tulips in Serena Joy’s garden is especially prominent. The red tulips offers both a reference to the ideals of Gilead, as well as a contrast between the beauty we recognize in blossoming flowers, compared to the hideous scene of blood outlining human lips on the Wall of Gilead. The tulip’s blooming bulb is described as a womb-like structure, and the flowers color is also told in great detail, “The tulips are red, a darker crimson towards the stem, as if they have been cut and are beginning to heal there.” As other portions of the novel confirm, red is a color used to represent not only blood, but fertility as well, which coordinates with the Handmaid’s robes of red, representative of their child-bearing duty. This metaphor depicts women as the deep red tulips, which based on the view of society, serve no other function than flowers themselves, which is to reproduce, and be silent and passive in behavior.
Red tulips would typically be interpreted as symbols of both beauty and life. These two qualities are contrasted by the twisted view that is reflected upon the symbol of red tulips, due to Gilead’s severe punishment and fear-tactics of hanging criminals and placing them upon the wall. The lips of an executed person, which represent disgust and death, are contrasted by the red tulips:
I look at the one red smile. The red of the smile is the same as the red of the tulips in Serena Joy’s garden, towards the base of the flowers where they are beginning to heal. The red is the same but there is no connection. The tulips are not tulips of blood, the red smiles are not flowers, and neither thing makes a comment on the other. The tulip is not a reason for disbelief in the hanged man, or vice versa. Each thing is valid and really there (Atwood 33).
The comparison between the tulips and the lips identifies the irony of the scenario, that while Gilead is encouraging life by promoting birth through the handmaids, the leaders of the society are also destructive to life by executing innocent people, including doctors and scientists.
Flowers offer an outlet for femininity, not only in the perfume-like fragrance or colorful significance of flowers, but their distinct feminine shape as well. The handmaid Offred mentally acknowledges the extremity of male-dominance and lack of any female expression when she notes, “and the bleeding hearts, so female in shape it was a surprise they’d not long since been rooted out.” This commentary on the extermination of femininity, extremism, and its influence on gender roles is supported by other events in the novel, including the overall idea of Serena Joy’s garden as a small place in society where a female has maintained control.
Finally, an allusion to the significance of female freedom through the application of flowers as symbols is recognizable in the store “Lilies of the Field.” Prior to increased censorship and limitation of women’s rights, women of Gilead could read the sign’s store, however, the sign was repainted, and the words replaced with an image of a golden lily, to avoid complications of literate women. The store had a pastime as a movie theater, which Offred recalls, and describes entertainment programs that featured female ability and choice, concerning makeup, clothing, and even suggested the word “undone.” By drawing a connection between the enticing opportunities once available through sources of movies or a mere sign to read, and the selection of the store’s new name, “Lilies of the Field,” the author highlights gender roles and femininity, through the floral symbols.
In conclusion, Atwood developed numerous purposes and representations for breeds of flowers, concerning gender roles, contrasting life to death, and identifying the significance of color, odor, and shape in reference to female figures of the novel, such as Offred and Serena Joy. These developed metaphors illustrated social commentary and satire, regarding extremism and gender struggles.
Beautiful Writing. <3
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