Theocratic Government In The Handmaid's Tale

Regina Carla L. Silva 2015-01293
The Handmaid’s Tale
The novel is set in the Republic of Gilead which is formerly the United States of America. The name comes from a place from the Bible. It is a totalitarian, theocratic government. First, it is totalitarian which means that the government had control over every aspect in its citizens’ lives. This is why the government could dictate even the private lives of the people. It dictated how the handmaids spent their time, and how people interacted with each other, and also what goes on during the Ceremony. If the people did not follow, they could be reprimanded, or even worse, hung on the wall for everyone to see. Nothing was too personal for them not to delve into, and everything was under their

They Aunts make the women believe that they are to be used by the Commanders to produce babies. This objectifies women and makes sex seem like a service or product. An example of that in the Philippines is the prostitution industry. In Angeles City and Olongapo City, prostitution is rampant where young women are products sold to men for sex. Also, the Commander’s household is comparable to the Philippine household. The man is in charge of the house, and he is to be followed at all the times. The women are assigned to more menial jobs like sewing, gardening, cooking, and shopping. Women were very limited with how they could spend their days. The Filipino families are dependent on the father to be the bread winner. The mother is usually expected to stay at home and take care of the children even at the expense of her career. The traditional gender roles are noticeable in the novel because the women were either in the homes or in the Red Center. The men could have different kinds of jobs and even rise to a higher social status. Women were to remain the same all through their

The people who established the Republic of Gilead were religious extremists. They believed in their religion much that they felt the need to enforce it on everyone in the United States. They took the rules written in the scriptures literally which then makes them very strict because the rules are exact. Additionally, they have doctrines and beliefs that they teach to the people of the new society, and make them take is as the only truth. Religion in the Philippines works in the same fashion. Since the country is dominantly Roman Catholic, the laws made have some kind of religious perspective put into them. An example of this is the RH Law. The law covers multiple topics such as teaching sexual education in school, availability of contraceptives, the importance of family planning, and others. Although the law could be very beneficial for the development of the country, the Church is against many of these because of its beliefs about sex and marriage. It believes in values such as chastity, modesty, and purity. Having the RH Law would mean that people could be “unchaste” in their perspective without having to worry about the responsibility that comes with parenthood. In addition to that, there is no divorce in the