The Prostitute in Margaret Atwood’s the Handmaid’s Tale and the Testaments

Abstract

The purpose of this study, titled The Prostitute in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, is to identify and analyze who among the characters in both novels possesses the characteristics of a Prostitute and Hetaeras, as classified by Simone de Beauvoir in her theory on the Other. The Prostitute, according to the concept, is the absolute Other, the object. However, she is also the exploiter. She is a prostitute for money and the men's recognition of her Otherness. According to the analysis, all of the Handmaids in the novels fit the classification, with their roles as two-legged wombs engaged in ceremonial monthly intercourse with high-ranking men. Moira, Paula, and Shunammite all exhibit characteristics of a prostitute, with Moira being the most obvious because she is a Jezebel, both a prisoner and a sex slave of Gilead's supposedly pure men and a prostitute for foreign tourists The study also looked at the significance and implications of the role of the prostitute in today's patriarchal society. The Prostitute's role teaches us that when male oppression occurs within societies, it is frequently justified by reference to culture, religion, politics, economy, and the established standards of social norms. Recognizing women as the subjects of their own lives and accepting women's rights as fundamental human rights necessitates reconsidering the institutions of family, religion, culture, tradition, and politics.