A Handmaid’s Tale and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Within both texts 'A Handmaid's Tale' and 'oranges are not the only fruit' the regulation of sexuality is presented through both protagonists. Offred's relationship with the commander is forbidden although it is the commander, the authority figure, the initiates this taboo affair. This exposes how both sides of the spectrum has a lack of a type of relationship. Within their secret meetings they play Scrabble and since reading is prohibited it makes the circumstances all the more illicit.

The description of the glossy counters with their smooth edges highlights how, although she shouldn't be in the position she is, she feels relaxed as the sibilance of glossy and smooth create a soothing sound that puts the reader in a sense of calmness. Atwood Also creates a semantic field of food that Offred won't be able to have access to, humbugs, candies, peppermint, lime, creating a nostalgic tone in the narrative, showing the reader Offred still has memories of the luxury item that have been taken from her this can also link to the loss of identity throughout the novel.

The fact that she's comparing Scrabble pieces to the sweets that are also prohibited like literature is, mirrors how romantic relationships, like the one attempted to be developed by the commander, are also prohibited. Furthermore, the person that's organising the secret meetings is in a position of power reflecting how people in positions of power can easily exploit the person of a lower status due to fear factors. Language and literature being prohibited to stunt womens knowledge of the wider world and the world before Gilead, reflects how the people that are in charge of Gilead want to stunt women's personal growth into independent individuals with romantic relationships.

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This would go against their teachings of how sex should not be used as a device for personal pleasure but as a device of reproduction. Gilead being politically motivated movement that restricts women's rights and sexuality is probably derived from the time that The Handmaid's Tale was written, a time of political unrest as the Western world had a sudden influx of religious Conservatives that came with the re-establishment of the Conservative party's. He's religious figures in a position of authority show their Disapproval of the sexual Revolution which started the fear of the political and social gains women had made was going to be undone and reverted back to how they used to be.

Similarly, Oranges Are Not the only Fruit also shows how religious conservatives created a bad environment for women that wanted to express their sexuality. Jeanette grew up in a household that only believed in devoting their life to God. The devotion to God was not the problem for someone like Jeanette but the regulation of someone's love to another person that God would apparently not approve of. This incredible devotion to God creates a unwelcoming environment for Jeanette when her relationships with the same sex is brought forward into the community of the church.

The relationships Jeanette have are constantly ended due to the Church and their disapproval of them, Jeanettes own mother compares her to the devil saying 'The devil looks after his own'. Coming from the person Jeanette values the most in terms of acceptance exposes how the church has demonised homosexuality so much that a mother cannot see their daughter in the same way due to their sexuality. There's a constant demonisation of homosexuality in the text as the pastor reiterates that 'satan's voice' is in Jeanette and how she's 'fallen under satan's spell'.

In the bible the first thing we see of Satan is when he persuades Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, like Jeanette has in the Churches eyes, but through a feminist lens we can see that maybe the only reason Eve ate the fruit was because Adam didn't tell her it was forbidden in the first place as God only told Adam. Eve was always the one to be blamed for giving into Satan but maybe the fault lied with Adam for not intervening when Satan was pushing Eve in the wrong way.

In the same way the church is demonising Jeanette for something that isn't caused by the devil as it is something she cannot change about herself. The church and her mother also treating Jeanettes sexuality as an illness also links to how in The Handmaid's Tale the people that are homosexual are 'hung by hooks' off 'the Wall'. This is also true for doctors that will perform abortions as it goes again the sacredness of reproduction.

There is a vast amount of intertextuality from the Bible in both a handmaid's tale and oranges are not the only fruit. In a Handmaid's tale the name of the society, Gilead is a reference from the bible. Gilead in the bible is a fertile and peaceful place in Palestine, this shows how the people in the position of power wants to reflect what their society stands for and how they are as people. This is heavily juxtaposed when we see how the people that go against the expectations of Gilead are treated such as the events called 'salvaging'

The act of censorship is prevalent in both 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'Oranges are not the Only Fruit'. Jeanette faces the censorship from her overbearing mother as she is only allowed to read literature that has been inspired by, or is, the bible. 'My mother taught me to read from the book of Deuteronomy', her mother being the one to limit her in youth with literature, mirrors how in later life she ties to fit and mould Jeanette into something she isn't.

Jeanette's mother also censors opportunities for learning about sexuality, 'they're fornicating!'cried my mother, rushing to put her hands over my ears' this act of physical suppression of Jeanette shows how far her mother will go to stop anything being detrimental to her daughters life but in the process pushes her further away.

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