Publication Date
Spring 2024
Degree Level
B.A.
Program
English
First Advisor
Doty, Josh
Second Advisor
Langston, Camille
Document Type
Thesis
Medium
LCSH subject
Point of view (Literature); Psychic trauma; Abused women in literature
Abstract
Despite not being solely about trauma, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale's (1985) is written through the voice of a traumatized narrator. Offred's narration in this novel is unreliable, shifting between past and present and sharing multiple possibilities of events. This narrative voice accentuates the uncertainty and tension within this story. Offred's unreliable narration reveals her inner psychological state. Through readings of medical-humanity and cognitive literary theory, this thesis examines how trauma alters Offred’s narrative voice in The Handmaid’s Tale. I argue that Offred’s narration is a trauma response to her oppressive environment and is motivated by an attempt to reclaim her lost agency. Offred's suffered through constant dehumanization and sexual violence for much of the novel, traumatizing her deeply. In order to cope with the trauma, Offred has modified the narrative regarding her time as a Handmaid. She confronts the traumatic events she has endured through evasion and half-lies because it is more manageable than the alternative: acknowledging what is truly happening to her. Offred creates her own "self-story", which allows her to find her voice once more. Despite the pain of revisiting her story, Offred needs to share her story in order to prove that she is a human being with her own autonomy.
Recommended Citation
Ramos, Bianca. "Through the Lens of Trauma: Analyzing Narrative Voice in The Handmaid's Tale", St. Mary's University, 2024. Digital Commons
Creative Commons License
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