Prose (The Handmaid’s Tale and Frankenstein) : Men and Masculinity
Explore the ways in which Men and Masculinity is presented in The Handmaid’s Tale and Frankenstein.
Sections (Men Analysis (A02/A03/A04)
and
Masculinity)
Introduction Within both Frankenstein and The Handmaid’s Tale, we essentially have explorations of society – one of the
scientific predicament of an upper-class Genovese who in his treatment of women is perhaps a perfect example of
the entitlement of men within a patriarchy, while the other details the effects of a theocratic and patriarchal
society where women are ultimately subjugated to the point of being considered possessions by their male
oppressors. Not only in their subject matter, but also in their context, are these texts concerned with patriarchy.
Both writers are women, and both live in deeply patriarchal societies, although in different times. Mary Shelley,
living in 1800s England, was surrounded by a society that valued men implicitly above women – before the 1857
Matrimonial Causes Act, at the time of Shelley’s writing, divorce was open only to men, and had to be granted by
an Act of Parliament, which was hugely expensive, and so only open to the rich.
As well as this, although she had a father who gave her a brilliant and varied education under conversation with
politicians of the time such as Aaron Burr, regardless of her gender, she wasn’t treated brilliantly by other entitled
men within her personal relationships: her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, abandoned his first wife to elope with
Mary, cheated on Mary multiple times, and did not seem to have much of an emotional reaction, according to
Mary’s diaries, to the subsequent suicide of his first wife while pregnant with their child.
Margaret Atwood, however, witnessed the poisonous effects of patriarchy and male entitlement (and assumed
superiority) through the rise of the New Right in America, watching speakers such as Phyllis Schlafly speak about
the sanctity of the home and the necessity for women to remain at home from the sidelines in Canada.
As well as this, previous to writing The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood travelled in Iraq and wrote of the oppressive
nature of the chador, a full-body covering for women used by the Taliban, and she also witnessed much other
subjugation of women by men in regimes at the time – for example, Ceausescu’s Romania, where women were
prevented from having abortions no matter what and often resorted to back-alley illegal ones that ultimately
resulted in death – and characters such as these come to light in the Commander and the rest of the Gilead regime.
In this, both authors have experienced the poisonous effects of patriarchy and the negatives of male supremacy,
and in this, this is certainly a common theme to both novels.
Male Power In both texts, male power seems to be dependent upon the subjugation of women. This perhaps comes from the
Dependent fact that both texts reduce their women to objects in order to ensure ultimate power over them.
Upon In Frankenstein, Victor asserts his superiority over Elizabeth through his tactic of reducing her to an object in
Subjugation how he views her. This primarily begins through the presentation of Elizabeth by Caroline, his mother, a
of Women patriarchal enabler and arguably the one who allows Victor to continue seeing Elizabeth through the lens of a
patriarch.
‘I have a pretty present for my Victor.’ (Chapter 1 – Page 29)
‘Mine to protect, love, and cherish.’ (Chapter 1 – Page 29)
This objectification is perhaps indicative of the concept of the Angel-Whore dichotomy, a concept where, through
the male gaze, women are either presented as complete angels or complete whores. As well as this, when Elizabeth
makes a very eloquent speech to the all-male court, she is almost entirely ignored. It is as if they appreciate the
aesthetic of her interfering, but they do not think that she is worthy to be listened to.
‘A murmur of approbation followed Elizabeth’s simple and powerful appeal but it was excited by her
generous interference, and now it turned with renewed violence.’ (Chapter 8 – Page 66)
Similarly to this technique of preserving male power in Frankenstein, we also see it as virtually the same in The
Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopia where men have ultimately destroyed and objectified women to such an extent that
, they are the only ones who hold real power in Gileadean society. The Commander gets his power, as do all the men
in Gilead, by systematically objectifying and itemising women.
This is seen in the very fabric of Gileadean society, where women are split into groups depending on their status
and biology in order for men to use them for specific functions – for example, those who have proven to be fertile
before Gilead are Handmaids, dressed in red, while those who were married to those who created Gilead are Wives,
dressed in blue. This reduction and removal of autonomy here allows men to take ultimate power over the women
in their society, and we can see how much this reduction has permeated, as Offred herself describes herself in the
terms of the theocracy that controls her life.
‘walking wombs’
‘I am a cloud congealed around a central object the shape of a pear.’ (Chapter 13 – Page 74)
‘ambulatory chalices’
Because of this simple subjugation of these women, men are allowed to retain their power within Gilead. We are
told during the Jezebel’s scene that various women who are now prostitutes for the men in Gilead were previously
lawyers and doctors, and so this again shows the extent of this subjugation – women who were previously strong
and independent have been completely reduced by these men, and the contrast between what they previously used
to do emphasises the extent of it.
‘Well, we have quite a collection. That one there, the one in green, she’s a sociologist. Or was.’ (Chapter
37 – Page 239)
Overall, it is obvious that within both novels, male power is ultimately dependent upon women being made
powerless; however, in Frankenstein, this is presented more as the way things are, while in The Handmaid’s Tale,
there is a clear contrast made between the past and what is happening now that Gilead has taken over.
Male Science Another interesting way to explore the themes of men and masculinity within both novels is that of considering
and Female the metaphor made explicit in Frankenstein, where science is male, and nature is female.
Nature In Frankenstein, Victor comes to embody the theme of science – he is an over-reaching scientist who relentlessly
pushes forward, trying to penetrate the recesses of Nature (consistently described as a woman) against both God
and Nature itself. Because of this wish to break through the established barriers and to get to the very core of
nature, Shelley turns this idea into a rape metaphor, violation in its highest sense – and that is exactly what she
may have thought of the science at the time.
Shelley visited shows such as Monsieur Garnerin’s in London with her husband, where the concept of Galvanism
(the reanimation of dead matter through the use of electricity) was explored, and this is essentially, as she
describes, ‘monstrous, for monstrous would be any attempt to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of
the world’.
‘I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of
nature.’ (Chapter 2 – Page 32)
And it is not just Victor who presents this fervent longing to delve into Nature’s secrets – his teacher, Waldman,
speaks of the brilliance of natural scientists and what these men can control, and this fully explores the rape
metaphor.
‘They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding places. […] They have
acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the
earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.’
‘A new species would bless me as its creator and source.’
Thus, in Frankenstein, we see an interesting idea that men consistently seek to push past their boundaries and
penetrate into things that they cannot understand, and we also see their disrespect of God, Nature and women
through the rape metaphor.
We see similar obsession over power by men in Frankenstein, and a remarkable similarity to the rape metaphor,
in Atwood’s novel, where Gileadean society and the men who control it seek to push themselves and their agendas
into every area as yet unexplored and in which they are not perhaps welcome. Within The Handmaid’s Tale, there
isn’t much real science at all, aside from the doctor scene where Offred takes her regular appointment to get her
fertility checked.
, However, within this science, we certainly see some aspect of the male doctor using his science in order to hold
power over Offred, and essentially using his experience with fertility to have sex with her. It is heavily suggested
that he has done this same thing with other Handmaids, and so here we see the use of science by men for sexual
gain and for power.
‘He could fake the tests, report me for cancer, for infertility, have me shipped off to the Colonies, with the
Unwomen. None of this has been said, but the knowledge of his power hangs nevertheless in the air as he
pats my thigh.’ (Chapter 11 - Page 61)
As mentioned in the previous quote, there is also the threat of the Colonies for the Handmaids and other women
should they not do exactly what the regime says they must. The Colonies are wastelands where the nuclear waste
has gotten too much, and women are sent there to work until they die; they are an emblem of science gone wrong,
and they are what kills the women who disobey most of the time – and so here we have women actually being
killed by male science.
‘your nose falls off […] your skin peels off like rubber gloves’ (Chapter 38 – Page 250)
Finally, there is also science as male (and a re-emergence of the rape metaphor seen in Frankenstein) in how the
Commander describes himself. When speaking to Offred alone, he describes himself as ‘sort of scientist’.
‘sort of scientist’
The Commander, if we take his description of himself, regularly rapes Offred once a month in a state-sanctioned
‘Ceremony’, and so here we see even more the idea of male science subjugating and raping female Nature; Offred
is an emblem of Nature, a fertile woman in a society that supposedly values Nature, while the Commander is the
sterile outside force, desperate to tear her apart.
In this, we see the idea of female Nature and male science in both Frankenstein and The Handmaid’s Tale, but in
Shelley’s novel, the idea remains more implicit and metaphorical, while in Atwood’s novel, it is laid out stark and
bare.
Fear of Finally, another interesting aspect of men and masculinity to explore in both texts would be what seems to be an
Women by implicit fear of women – or more specifically, female agency and female sexuality. In both texts, the dominant men
Men (Female seek to control both of these things about the women, and this arguably stems from a fear of the idea that women
Agency and would not be completely subservient to the other sex should they be given control over their own bodies.
Sexuality)
In Frankenstein, the first way that we can see a fear of female agency and sexuality comes from Victor’s reaction
to the female Creature. He begins to create her, and then seems to have visions of what she will go on to do with
the Creature – create new life, and thus populate the world with more of Victor’s creations.
‘propagate a race of devils upon the earth’ (Chapter 20 – Page 127)
In this description of unbridled sexual ability, we can see a clear fear of the free female, and the idea that the
female Creature will be out of Victor’s control (and will provide a vehicle for the male Creature to threaten Victor
and his society – although the Creature was very clear in that, if Victor provided him with a mate, he would leave
society with her).
We can further explore Victor’s fear of female agency through his idolisation of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the ideal of
the patriarchy in which Victor lives – she plays the part of the perfect child, and her beauty is the only reason, we
are told, that she is rescued from poverty by Victor’s mother.
‘Her hair was the brightest living gold, and despite the poverty of her clothing, seemed to set a crown of
distinction on her head. […] of a distinct species, a being heaven-sent, and bearing a celestial stamp in all
her features.’ (Chapter 1 – Page 28)
As well as this, throughout the novel, Elizabeth’s autonomy is destroyed through her reduction into various roles
relative to her adopted family. She never quite seems to be a person in her own right, but simply an extension of
the men in her life.
‘my more than sister’
‘You must supply my place to my young children.’ (Chapter 3 – Page 34)
, Through this, she is essentially not allowed to have her own voice or own opinions, not really allowed to do anything
should it not benefit the rest of the society. She is not given any agency or sexuality, and instead pedestalised as
above such matters. When she does speak out and take matters into her own hands at Justine’s trial, she is entirely
ignored – and so this shows a fear all-around of female agency.
In this, we can see that there seems to be a widespread fear of feminine progress and conventional sexuality when
it comes to the men within Frankenstein. The best women must be reduced of their sexuality and instead confined
to the roles that are moulded for them in order to suit the lives of men. There is similar fear of female agency and
sexuality in Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, but this is primarily shown in the fact that it is controlled to such a
great extent by the creators of Gilead. Also, we see this fear from the female point of view, because of Offred’s
narrative, and so we see the effect of the control of men.
We can see the fear of female agency and sexuality in The Handmaid’s Tale through the complete removal of it by
the male Commanders in Gilead. Women are stripped of their individuality through the use of colour-coded
uniforms to designate their different functions (removing all of their individuality) and the state-sanctioned rape
that takes place every month (removing any individuality again as it emphasises the Handmaids’ function as
wombs, and removing any sense of bonds between women, as it is the Wives who literally hold them down).
‘Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines us.’ (Chapter 2 –
Page 18)
‘Below it the Commander is fucking. I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing.
Copulating too would be inaccurate, because it would imply two people and only one is involved. Nor does
rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for. There wasn’t a lot of choice but there
was some, and this is what I chose.’ (Chapter 16 – Page 94)
‘walking wombs’
‘ambulatory chalices’
In both texts, we can see a clear fear of female independence and activity by the men, and thus an attempt to
control every aspect of it.
Conclusion Overall, both texts explore the negativity of male dominion over women and the perceived superiority of men in
patriarchal society.
Explore the ways in which Men and Masculinity is presented in The Handmaid’s Tale and Frankenstein.
Sections (Men Analysis (A02/A03/A04)
and
Masculinity)
Introduction Within both Frankenstein and The Handmaid’s Tale, we essentially have explorations of society – one of the
scientific predicament of an upper-class Genovese who in his treatment of women is perhaps a perfect example of
the entitlement of men within a patriarchy, while the other details the effects of a theocratic and patriarchal
society where women are ultimately subjugated to the point of being considered possessions by their male
oppressors. Not only in their subject matter, but also in their context, are these texts concerned with patriarchy.
Both writers are women, and both live in deeply patriarchal societies, although in different times. Mary Shelley,
living in 1800s England, was surrounded by a society that valued men implicitly above women – before the 1857
Matrimonial Causes Act, at the time of Shelley’s writing, divorce was open only to men, and had to be granted by
an Act of Parliament, which was hugely expensive, and so only open to the rich.
As well as this, although she had a father who gave her a brilliant and varied education under conversation with
politicians of the time such as Aaron Burr, regardless of her gender, she wasn’t treated brilliantly by other entitled
men within her personal relationships: her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, abandoned his first wife to elope with
Mary, cheated on Mary multiple times, and did not seem to have much of an emotional reaction, according to
Mary’s diaries, to the subsequent suicide of his first wife while pregnant with their child.
Margaret Atwood, however, witnessed the poisonous effects of patriarchy and male entitlement (and assumed
superiority) through the rise of the New Right in America, watching speakers such as Phyllis Schlafly speak about
the sanctity of the home and the necessity for women to remain at home from the sidelines in Canada.
As well as this, previous to writing The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood travelled in Iraq and wrote of the oppressive
nature of the chador, a full-body covering for women used by the Taliban, and she also witnessed much other
subjugation of women by men in regimes at the time – for example, Ceausescu’s Romania, where women were
prevented from having abortions no matter what and often resorted to back-alley illegal ones that ultimately
resulted in death – and characters such as these come to light in the Commander and the rest of the Gilead regime.
In this, both authors have experienced the poisonous effects of patriarchy and the negatives of male supremacy,
and in this, this is certainly a common theme to both novels.
Male Power In both texts, male power seems to be dependent upon the subjugation of women. This perhaps comes from the
Dependent fact that both texts reduce their women to objects in order to ensure ultimate power over them.
Upon In Frankenstein, Victor asserts his superiority over Elizabeth through his tactic of reducing her to an object in
Subjugation how he views her. This primarily begins through the presentation of Elizabeth by Caroline, his mother, a
of Women patriarchal enabler and arguably the one who allows Victor to continue seeing Elizabeth through the lens of a
patriarch.
‘I have a pretty present for my Victor.’ (Chapter 1 – Page 29)
‘Mine to protect, love, and cherish.’ (Chapter 1 – Page 29)
This objectification is perhaps indicative of the concept of the Angel-Whore dichotomy, a concept where, through
the male gaze, women are either presented as complete angels or complete whores. As well as this, when Elizabeth
makes a very eloquent speech to the all-male court, she is almost entirely ignored. It is as if they appreciate the
aesthetic of her interfering, but they do not think that she is worthy to be listened to.
‘A murmur of approbation followed Elizabeth’s simple and powerful appeal but it was excited by her
generous interference, and now it turned with renewed violence.’ (Chapter 8 – Page 66)
Similarly to this technique of preserving male power in Frankenstein, we also see it as virtually the same in The
Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopia where men have ultimately destroyed and objectified women to such an extent that
, they are the only ones who hold real power in Gileadean society. The Commander gets his power, as do all the men
in Gilead, by systematically objectifying and itemising women.
This is seen in the very fabric of Gileadean society, where women are split into groups depending on their status
and biology in order for men to use them for specific functions – for example, those who have proven to be fertile
before Gilead are Handmaids, dressed in red, while those who were married to those who created Gilead are Wives,
dressed in blue. This reduction and removal of autonomy here allows men to take ultimate power over the women
in their society, and we can see how much this reduction has permeated, as Offred herself describes herself in the
terms of the theocracy that controls her life.
‘walking wombs’
‘I am a cloud congealed around a central object the shape of a pear.’ (Chapter 13 – Page 74)
‘ambulatory chalices’
Because of this simple subjugation of these women, men are allowed to retain their power within Gilead. We are
told during the Jezebel’s scene that various women who are now prostitutes for the men in Gilead were previously
lawyers and doctors, and so this again shows the extent of this subjugation – women who were previously strong
and independent have been completely reduced by these men, and the contrast between what they previously used
to do emphasises the extent of it.
‘Well, we have quite a collection. That one there, the one in green, she’s a sociologist. Or was.’ (Chapter
37 – Page 239)
Overall, it is obvious that within both novels, male power is ultimately dependent upon women being made
powerless; however, in Frankenstein, this is presented more as the way things are, while in The Handmaid’s Tale,
there is a clear contrast made between the past and what is happening now that Gilead has taken over.
Male Science Another interesting way to explore the themes of men and masculinity within both novels is that of considering
and Female the metaphor made explicit in Frankenstein, where science is male, and nature is female.
Nature In Frankenstein, Victor comes to embody the theme of science – he is an over-reaching scientist who relentlessly
pushes forward, trying to penetrate the recesses of Nature (consistently described as a woman) against both God
and Nature itself. Because of this wish to break through the established barriers and to get to the very core of
nature, Shelley turns this idea into a rape metaphor, violation in its highest sense – and that is exactly what she
may have thought of the science at the time.
Shelley visited shows such as Monsieur Garnerin’s in London with her husband, where the concept of Galvanism
(the reanimation of dead matter through the use of electricity) was explored, and this is essentially, as she
describes, ‘monstrous, for monstrous would be any attempt to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of
the world’.
‘I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of
nature.’ (Chapter 2 – Page 32)
And it is not just Victor who presents this fervent longing to delve into Nature’s secrets – his teacher, Waldman,
speaks of the brilliance of natural scientists and what these men can control, and this fully explores the rape
metaphor.
‘They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding places. […] They have
acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the
earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.’
‘A new species would bless me as its creator and source.’
Thus, in Frankenstein, we see an interesting idea that men consistently seek to push past their boundaries and
penetrate into things that they cannot understand, and we also see their disrespect of God, Nature and women
through the rape metaphor.
We see similar obsession over power by men in Frankenstein, and a remarkable similarity to the rape metaphor,
in Atwood’s novel, where Gileadean society and the men who control it seek to push themselves and their agendas
into every area as yet unexplored and in which they are not perhaps welcome. Within The Handmaid’s Tale, there
isn’t much real science at all, aside from the doctor scene where Offred takes her regular appointment to get her
fertility checked.
, However, within this science, we certainly see some aspect of the male doctor using his science in order to hold
power over Offred, and essentially using his experience with fertility to have sex with her. It is heavily suggested
that he has done this same thing with other Handmaids, and so here we see the use of science by men for sexual
gain and for power.
‘He could fake the tests, report me for cancer, for infertility, have me shipped off to the Colonies, with the
Unwomen. None of this has been said, but the knowledge of his power hangs nevertheless in the air as he
pats my thigh.’ (Chapter 11 - Page 61)
As mentioned in the previous quote, there is also the threat of the Colonies for the Handmaids and other women
should they not do exactly what the regime says they must. The Colonies are wastelands where the nuclear waste
has gotten too much, and women are sent there to work until they die; they are an emblem of science gone wrong,
and they are what kills the women who disobey most of the time – and so here we have women actually being
killed by male science.
‘your nose falls off […] your skin peels off like rubber gloves’ (Chapter 38 – Page 250)
Finally, there is also science as male (and a re-emergence of the rape metaphor seen in Frankenstein) in how the
Commander describes himself. When speaking to Offred alone, he describes himself as ‘sort of scientist’.
‘sort of scientist’
The Commander, if we take his description of himself, regularly rapes Offred once a month in a state-sanctioned
‘Ceremony’, and so here we see even more the idea of male science subjugating and raping female Nature; Offred
is an emblem of Nature, a fertile woman in a society that supposedly values Nature, while the Commander is the
sterile outside force, desperate to tear her apart.
In this, we see the idea of female Nature and male science in both Frankenstein and The Handmaid’s Tale, but in
Shelley’s novel, the idea remains more implicit and metaphorical, while in Atwood’s novel, it is laid out stark and
bare.
Fear of Finally, another interesting aspect of men and masculinity to explore in both texts would be what seems to be an
Women by implicit fear of women – or more specifically, female agency and female sexuality. In both texts, the dominant men
Men (Female seek to control both of these things about the women, and this arguably stems from a fear of the idea that women
Agency and would not be completely subservient to the other sex should they be given control over their own bodies.
Sexuality)
In Frankenstein, the first way that we can see a fear of female agency and sexuality comes from Victor’s reaction
to the female Creature. He begins to create her, and then seems to have visions of what she will go on to do with
the Creature – create new life, and thus populate the world with more of Victor’s creations.
‘propagate a race of devils upon the earth’ (Chapter 20 – Page 127)
In this description of unbridled sexual ability, we can see a clear fear of the free female, and the idea that the
female Creature will be out of Victor’s control (and will provide a vehicle for the male Creature to threaten Victor
and his society – although the Creature was very clear in that, if Victor provided him with a mate, he would leave
society with her).
We can further explore Victor’s fear of female agency through his idolisation of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the ideal of
the patriarchy in which Victor lives – she plays the part of the perfect child, and her beauty is the only reason, we
are told, that she is rescued from poverty by Victor’s mother.
‘Her hair was the brightest living gold, and despite the poverty of her clothing, seemed to set a crown of
distinction on her head. […] of a distinct species, a being heaven-sent, and bearing a celestial stamp in all
her features.’ (Chapter 1 – Page 28)
As well as this, throughout the novel, Elizabeth’s autonomy is destroyed through her reduction into various roles
relative to her adopted family. She never quite seems to be a person in her own right, but simply an extension of
the men in her life.
‘my more than sister’
‘You must supply my place to my young children.’ (Chapter 3 – Page 34)
, Through this, she is essentially not allowed to have her own voice or own opinions, not really allowed to do anything
should it not benefit the rest of the society. She is not given any agency or sexuality, and instead pedestalised as
above such matters. When she does speak out and take matters into her own hands at Justine’s trial, she is entirely
ignored – and so this shows a fear all-around of female agency.
In this, we can see that there seems to be a widespread fear of feminine progress and conventional sexuality when
it comes to the men within Frankenstein. The best women must be reduced of their sexuality and instead confined
to the roles that are moulded for them in order to suit the lives of men. There is similar fear of female agency and
sexuality in Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, but this is primarily shown in the fact that it is controlled to such a
great extent by the creators of Gilead. Also, we see this fear from the female point of view, because of Offred’s
narrative, and so we see the effect of the control of men.
We can see the fear of female agency and sexuality in The Handmaid’s Tale through the complete removal of it by
the male Commanders in Gilead. Women are stripped of their individuality through the use of colour-coded
uniforms to designate their different functions (removing all of their individuality) and the state-sanctioned rape
that takes place every month (removing any individuality again as it emphasises the Handmaids’ function as
wombs, and removing any sense of bonds between women, as it is the Wives who literally hold them down).
‘Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines us.’ (Chapter 2 –
Page 18)
‘Below it the Commander is fucking. I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing.
Copulating too would be inaccurate, because it would imply two people and only one is involved. Nor does
rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for. There wasn’t a lot of choice but there
was some, and this is what I chose.’ (Chapter 16 – Page 94)
‘walking wombs’
‘ambulatory chalices’
In both texts, we can see a clear fear of female independence and activity by the men, and thus an attempt to
control every aspect of it.
Conclusion Overall, both texts explore the negativity of male dominion over women and the perceived superiority of men in
patriarchal society.
