Examine Atwood's presentation of power dynamics in 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Atwood’s Gilead is undeniably an oppressive regime that employs a warped version of biblical moral instruction in order to propagate a perverse ideological structure. The most prevelant example of power dynamics within the novel is that of the relationship between men and women in a society where women are brutally subjugated. The Commanders epitomise the new establishment of patriarchal power and could be seen as being responsible for shaping the power dynamics throughout the story. The Commanders, holding high status roles, have been ‘issued a woman’ after ‘gain[ing] enough power and liv[ing] to be old enough’ to be ‘allotted a Handmaid of their own.’ Atwood employs a lexicon of defamiliarization as she uses commercial, business-like terms to describe men and women. The words ‘issued’ and ‘allotted’ have direct connotations of bargaining and rewards; in light of the initial quotation, this choice of language presents the ‘oppression against women’ in Gilead and how their only status is in relation to men. One sees how these warped power dynamics become internalised even by the oppressed as Offred describes herself as having 'the power of a dog bone, passive but there'. Atwood suggests that it is the narrator’s acute self-evaluation of a ‘passive’ ‘dog bone’ that depicts her true subjugation despite the 'power' that she ostensibly feels. The lexical choice of ‘dog bone’ reminds the reader that women are a reward in this society, a treat for men to enjoy. The description of the ‘bone’ and ‘dog’ gives the idea an aggressive image as the bone, representing the female form, can be consumed and the dog, presenting the man, gives an animalistic and wild presentation. This ‘passive’ position that she holds mirrors Laura Mulvey’s concept of ‘The Male Gaze’. We see Offred become the object of titillation as she becomes aware of her objectification within the patriarchy.