RED

A common theme running through the novel, The Handmaid's Tale, is color. There is a lot of symbolism in this novel but color is especially prevalent.

Color is a symbol of rank in Gilead. "The Commanders of the Faithful in their long black murmurous cars, or their blue Wives and white-veiled daughters...or their dumpy green Marthas...or their red Handmaids"(31). Each color is specifically assigned to people and their prospective roles. Black, the color of Commanders, is symbolic for power, mystery, fear, and evil. The mystery of Offred's Commander and his power over her exemplifies this. Blue, the Wives' color, is representative of the Virgin Mary; purity, life, femininity. Not being able to bear children, they are looked on as pure but they also fill the role of the wife, which exemplifies femininity. White, for the daughters, is the color of purity, cleanliness, and is a sacred and pure color. Green, the color the Marthas wear, represents the environment, nature, vigor, envy and misfortune. Jealousy that they cannot bear children and instead must work in the kitchen relates to the color green. And red, the color of the Handmaids, generally represents strong emotions. It also represents many other things from blood, to lust, to strength and to a vitalizing life-force into human beings. Their role as child bearers is strength that brings life, but the Ceremony the handmaids are forced to preform represents adultery and lust, also symbolized by the color red. The color red and its use in this novel is especially intriguing to me.

In Hollywood, red carpets are used for "important" people to walk on. In this case, red is a symbol of importance or power. Red symbolizes lust, sensuality, love, and adultery. The Japanese flag is red with a white circle in the middle. In the flag, red represents the sun; energy, strength, and danger. Red also represents blood. When dressing, Offred describes her outfit: "everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us"(18). Going on in the next paragraph she describes how she sees herself in a mirror, " and myself in it like a distorted shadow, a parody of something, some fairytale figure in a red cloak, descending towards a moment of carelessness that is the same as danger. A Sister, dipped in blood."(19)

This week, I was discussing with a friend, who is from Jerusalem, about how many things the color red symbolizes. He told me that in Jerusalem they believe the color red is evil. He said that something they do in Jerusalem is wear red bracelets to fight off evil with evil. That reminded me of an experience I had of a man in a market place in Jerusalem putting a red bracelet on my wrist, asking me for money. Now I understand the popularity of these bracelets that I saw all of the market place in Jerusalem. It is supposedly a protection against evil. Evil being yet another thing symbolized by the color red.

It is certainly not an accident that the Handmaids are forced to wear red. There is much more to red than being just a color.