THE HANDMAID'S TALE - ANALYSIS OF THE SYMBOLS OF COLORS
Though the book lacks complex descriptions, Margaret Atwood seems to always describe the apparel of the characters with their colors. "There are several umbrellas in it: black, for the Commander, blue, for the Commander's Wife, and the one assigned to me, which is red." (Atwood 9). Red is often used, as well as blue, white and black. Each color, however, symbolizes the rank of the certain person. The handmaids always dress in red; it symbolizes their fertility, their ability to reproduce. Blue is worn by the Wives. This may be a stretch, but because this society thrives off of religious beliefs, blue is a representation of the Virgin Mary, as the wives are pure, untouched. White is worn by the daughters; a simple symbolization, where it represents their innocence; it is unknown whether or not they are fertile, if they will become unwomen, so they wear white to symbolize the clean slate. And black seems to be a common color for men, though it does not seem as important as the women's colors.
16 years ago
Your post helped me realize something I noticed a while back while reading. Offred said something about the colors red and black--which you just told me mean the handmaids and then black is the Commander/men. Yay! I found the page:
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"I'm a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping. Inside it is a space, huge as the sky at night and dark and curved like that, though black-red rather than black."
Black-red = A BABY!?
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I love how Atwood uses different colors to distinguish between the different social classes. Color helps me visually get a sense of who those people are because every color has a meaning. By the way, I don't think your whole the blue color of the Wives has to do with religion and symbolizes the Virgin Mary thing is too out there. I can definitely see how the color blue might mean that. Good analysis!
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