In what ways does your chosen text illustrate the post structuralist contention that texts both reaffirm and resist dominant ideologies? Discuss in relation to the presentation of gender, sexuality or race.
The post-structuralist contention that texts both reaffirm and resist dominant ideologies is present within the text, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Ideology, from the outset, has been considered to be a vital tool for each Government and its political parties to maintain their superior position in society, by ensuring that its inferior subjects remain in a subservient position to the leader of the ‘machine’. Michael Chessum reinforces this by stating “[F]rom the outset, it has been clear that the government's agenda has been motivated by ideology – not necessity.” In modern society, while traditional methods of oppression are not extinct, methods of oppression have undertaken a new form. Louis Althusser outlines these new methods in his thesis ‘Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses’ : Repressive State Apparatuses (or RSA’s) utilise the traditional methods of oppression and fear, such as the use of police, law courts, armies, and prisons. Whereas, Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA’s) is the “[R]ealization of an ideology (the unity of these different regional ideologies – religious, ethical, legal, political, aesthetic, etc. being assured by their subjection to the ruling ideology)”. Evidence of Althusser’s RSAs and ISAs are particularly present in The Handmaid’s Tale as the novel battles with the new ideology of the dystopic society of Gilead, an oppressive state that displays and indoctrinates its subjects by force.
Traditionally, ideology was commonly thought of as a, consciously and unconsciously, held set of beliefs that support the best interests of a particular group or class. After a certain period of time, these aspects become a part of an individual’s, or subject’s, ideas or behaviour – thus, certain aspects of an ideology become so inhabited that they come to seem ‘inevitable’, ‘natural’ or even ‘obvious’ to a particular subject. Along the lines of this, Karl Marx sums up his understanding of ideology in the well-known phrase: “Die wissen das nicht, aber sie tun es” (“They do not know it, but they are doing it”). Marx is suggesting here that society functions in this way because subjects have a false consciousness, or understanding, of what they are truly doing or why they are doing it. This is the way in which ruling classes, such as Totalitarian Governments, are able to maintain their power over subservient classes. Through false consciousness and RSAs, subservient classes believe that it is in their best interest to conform to this particular ideology and just merely accept it as the ‘way it is’, rather than risking the consequences of a Repressive State. Gilead, in The Handmaid’s Tale, conforms to the ideology of true Marxism: that ideology binds people to their subjection. This is exemplified in the quotation: “We turn the corner onto a main street, where there’s more traffic. Cars go by, black most of them, some gray and brown. There are other women with baskets, some in red, some in the dull green of the Marthas, some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimpy, that mark the women of the poorer men. Econowives, they’re called. The women are not divided into functions. They have to do everything; if they can. Sometimes there is a woman all in black, a widow. There used to be more of them, but they seem to be diminishing. You don’t see the Commander’s Wives on the sidewalks. Only in cars.” Within this quotation, dominant ideologies are clearly displayed in terms of Gender as the narrator, Offred, describes how the women in society are categorised into a hierarchy according to their clothes, as the colour of their clothes shows their social rank. Women in Gilead are placed into a particular hierarchy, purely based upon their role in society. Whereas, the men in Gilead are always kept at the top of the social hierarchy as they are the oppressors. Offred, at this point in the novel, accepts this situation for merely what it is on the surface level, and doesn’t look to question why society is formed in such a way. Thus, suggesting that Offred is already bound to this ideology through her being indoctrinated into this society. This is emphasised later in the book when the ‘Commander’ attempts to justify the foundations and current ideologies of Gilead: “The problem wasn’t only with the women, he says. The main problem was with the men. There was nothing for them anymore… I’m not talking about sex, he says. That was part of it, the sex was too easy… You know what they were complaining about the most? Inability to feel. Men were turning off on sex, even. They were turning off on marriage… Do they feel now? I say. Yes, he says, looking at me. They do.” Within this quotation, the Commander offers the closest justification anyone offers for the need of the new government in the entire novel. Women’s oppression in the Gilead government was fuelled by the notion that feminism and the sexual revolution left men without a purpose, to the extent that the Government believed that Man’s role in society lost all meaning. By producing a Repressive State and making men, themselves, soldiers, providers, and caretakers, it was thought that meaning to men’s lives was restored. The Commander almost makes this seem noble, except that in men’s pursuit of meaning, women had to lose all of their freedom and were placed into a Repressive state.
However, it must be noted that Gilead used very few Ideological State Apparatuses within its oppressive society, which both reaffirms and resists dominant ideologies. ISAs were thought to be important as they “[P]ersuade us to consent to the existing mode of production”. ISAs prove to be very effective in indoctrinating masses, by normalising and covertly enforcing particular ideologies. However, Gilead seems to have very few ISAs, preferring to rely on the fear tactics that only RSAs can provide. Traditional ISAs such as political parties, schools, universities and general culture has been eradicated in order to prevent individuality and the expression of the individual. It can be argued, however, that the only schools that do exist are those that indoctrinate the subjects of Gilead into the accepted ideology. For example, the indoctrination centre in which all the Handmaid’s are sent to be educated into the Handmaid’s social role. However, Gilead kept particular ISAs that were easy to control. Art, television, and literature are heavily censored within the Gileadean society and must conform to Gilead’s ideology. “Doctors lived here once, lawyers, university professors. There are no lawyers anymore, and the university is closed.”
However, Post-Structuralists question Marx’s notion of false consciousness by considering whether there is a notion of true consciousness? Post-Structuralists reject the notion of False Consciousness as they believe that False-Consciousness is a ‘false dream’, or an illusion that has been placed into reality. There can be no such thing as a collective consciousness as you cannot make sense of a false consciousness if everyone is deceived. It can be argued that Offred is not deceived as to what her social situation is and, therefore, is not fully indoctrinated into Gilead’s ideology. This is exemplified in the quotation: “I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance. If it’s a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending. Then there will be an ending, to the story, and real life will come after it. I can pick up where I left off.” We can infer from this quotation that Offred is not fully deceived as to the reality of what her current position is. By telling her own story and believing that ‘real life’ will come again, Offred is acting out against Gilead – the only act of rebellion that is available to her. The society of Gilead seeks to silence the voices of women and, whilst Offred is narrating to an imaginary audience, she continues to subvert the wishes of the very government she is controlled by. The creation of her story gives her control over her ‘own ending’, even though Gilead denies women’s control. Post Structuralists also subvert traditional views of ideology by suggesting that it is not just created to indoctrinate and enslave others as, as Belsey states, “Ideology is by no means a set of deliberate distortions foisted upon a helpless populace by a corrupt and cynical bourgeoisie”. The ‘machine’ or ‘system’ is secured by consent as the subservient classes consent to the dominant ideology that government presents if their basic needs are being met. The Handmaid’s Tale subverts this notion as, whilst the bourgeoisie’s basic needs are met, the subjects are forced into this ideology. Women are robbed of their previous identities and forced to conform to the ideals of Gilead. If they refuse to conform, they must face the consequences of a Repressive State: to be punished and tortured upon the Wall for all to see, imprisoned or killed. In the case of Handmaid’s, Gilead stops to consider these women as human beings and, instead, dehumanises these women as being a ‘natural resource’, who’s only purpose in life is to recreate. It can be said that Offred has successfully internalised Gilead’s ideals and attitudes towards women, Handmaid’s in particular: “I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will… Now the flesh rearranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping.”
In conclusion, it can be said that the text, The Handmaid’s Tale, illustrates the post-structuralist contention that texts both reaffirm and resist dominant ideologies in a number of ways. Primarily, through the use of Althusser’s key terms of RSAs and ISAs and the notion of the false consciousness.