The Testaments: The Religion and the Female

Abstract

Margaret Atwood\'s novel The Testaments is a great novel to discuss women\'s issues. This novel does not merely talk about a dystopian society which collapses women but also represents women as a whole. Atwood had perfectly captured the sufferings caused for women by male society and by religion. This paper discusses the immoral activities done against women through various examples from within the text and outside. It has a detailed analysis of The Testaments. The analysis extends to the treatment of women and religion in the novel.

Introduction

The essay explores how Margaret Atwood’s novel The Testaments critiques the oppression of women through religion and patriarchal power, particularly in the fictional regime of Gilead. Atwood portrays a theocratic society where women are stripped of rights, objectified, and controlled under the guise of religious authority.

Key Themes and Points:

1. Religion as a Tool for Oppression:

• Atwood illustrates how organized religion is manipulated to justify gender-based oppression.

• Historical examples (e.g., women being barred from religious spaces) parallel Gilead’s practices.

• In Gilead, women are denied basic rights like reading, writing, and bodily autonomy, reinforcing their subservient role.

2. Power Dynamics and Gender:

• Power in Gilead is exclusive to men, with women like the Aunts holding limited, subordinate authority—mainly over other women.

• The Aunts, especially Aunt Lydia, act as enablers of male power, enforcing rules on dress, marriage readiness, and behavior.

• Even powerful women serve the patriarchal system rather than oppose it.

3. Resistance and Escapism:

• Female characters resist oppression through secret acts of defiance, such as:

  • Agnes’s and Becka’s quiet rebellion through embroidery and self-harm.

  • Daisy (Baby Nicole) symbolizes hope and freedom for Gilead’s women.

• Escapism (both physical and psychological) is a major survival strategy, particularly migration to Canada.

4. Sexual Exploitation and Control:

• Women are reduced to reproductive tools, especially the Handmaids, who are forced to bear children for elite men.

• Incidents like Agnes’s sexual assault by Dr. Grove and the death of a Handmaid during childbirth underscore systemic abuse.

• Men like Commander Judd are depicted as serial abusers, discarding women at will.

5. Distorted Religious Narratives:

• Gilead twists Biblical stories to serve male dominance, using fear and manipulation to control women (e.g., the concubine story).

• Women are not permitted to read scripture; religious education is weaponized.

6. Uncertainty and Fear:

• Women live in constant fear, unsure of their future.

• Even Aunt Lydia, though outwardly powerful, fears discovery of her secret writings.

• Characters like Daisy’s parents are also cautious, reflecting the pervasive threat of Gilead’s surveillance.

7. Female Collaboration and the Fall of Gilead:

• Despite oppression, female solidarity emerges as a force for change.

• Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Daisy collaborate to smuggle critical documents exposing Gilead’s secrets.

• Their success in getting the documents to Canadian media leads to Gilead’s downfall.

Conclusion

The systems and way of oppression may differ from place to place and country to country, but they never ceased to use religion and its concepts in order to take away the rights of women. For centuries, these were ttwh situations of the women in various societies. Atwood\'s The Testaments clearly telecasts the cruelty of the world which is against the women community. She has perfectly portrayed the sufferings which the women undergo through the actions taking place in a dystopian society. As the Devadasi system was there to destroy poor women in India, the \'Sons of Jacob\' use Biblical principles to justify the cruel sufferings which they offer the women in Gilead. Both the West and the East target only the women and girls from poor backgrounds. Wherever, the poor become men\'s prey. Though Atwood\'s The Testaments is a dystopian story, the plot and the actions taking place are not new or fancy to the world. It is what the world countries practice even till date.

References

[1] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. Vintage 2020 [2] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid\'s Tale. “The plot overview” https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/handmaid/summary/ [3] Erdrich, Louise. “Fooling God” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=37478 [4] “Louise Erdrich” Poetry Foundation https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/louise-erdrich [5] “fooling god – louise erdrich” edStuff http://etechne.blogspot.com/2012/04/fooling-god-louise-erdrich.html?m=1 [6] “Religion, women, poetry” Alexandria https://womenintheology-org.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/womenintheology.org/2019/09/22/ [7] “The Testaments” Sparknotes [8] https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/testaments/ [9] “The Testaments: Is Margaret Atwood\'s Booker Prize winner anti-Christian” Primier Christianity https://www.premierchristianity.com/home/the-testaments-is-margaret-atwoods-booker-prize-winner-anti-christian/3154.article [10] “Margaret Atwood” Britannica https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Atwood

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 D. Bernardshaw. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.