(Continued discussion of flowers in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, a sequence)
Fast forwarding about a hundred pages to what stands out as being a very flower-centered scene, Offred decides to steal a flower from the vase in Serena Joy's living room. "A withered daffodil... will soon be thrown out," she says, so she sees no harm in stealing it (109). She discusses pressing it under her mattress to leave as a present for the next Handmaid that will have her room, which reminds me of the "print of flowers" at the very beginning of the story, because both of the flowers are flattened (17). This, perhaps, symbolizes the fact that the Handmaid's have a very slim chance of producing children, because the flower is crushed, dead. The "withered daffodil... [that] will soon be thrown out" symbolizes the same thing (109). It yields the image of a “withered” womb, shriveled up and unable to produce children (106). The flowers also symbolize the Handmaids themselves and the fact that their inability to produce healthy offspring will not be tolerated; it could end in death or possibly becoming an Unwomen.
But if flowers represent these negative things, why would Offred want to steal it? I understand her need to steal something is because she wants a small piece of power, and she wants to get back at the system in small ways. But what is the purpose of stealing a flower, specifically? Since flowers represent children, who, as I have expressed in previous blogs, are the key to power in this society, could her need to steal a flower just be a reiteration of her want for more power? Or it could be her want for children, because they are so rare and so desired in society? But what really stumps me is the fact that the flower is described as "withered," seeming to symbolize Handmaids and their inability to produce children (109). Why would Offred want to steal what is metaphorically herself? I would understand if Offred would want to steal her whole life back, because in her previous life, she could produce children - the daughter she misses so much. However, in her old life, there were no “withered daffodil[s];” people could produce children without problem – Offred seems to have had no difficulty there (109). Therefore, Offred’s inclination to steal a flower does not represent her yearning for her old life. Perhaps Offred stealing a dying flower is symbolic of her trying to return to the way society used to be, rather than return to her child. Their old society has "withered" now, and Offred wanting to press the flower to save it for the next Handmaid is her way of reminding the next Handmaid of what society used to be like (109). It is her way of making sure that people do not forget about what once was, just as the previous Handmaid presumably tried to do for Offred when she carved the Latin phrase in her room.
Fast forwarding about a hundred pages to what stands out as being a very flower-centered scene, Offred decides to steal a flower from the vase in Serena Joy's living room. "A withered daffodil... will soon be thrown out," she says, so she sees no harm in stealing it (109). She discusses pressing it under her mattress to leave as a present for the next Handmaid that will have her room, which reminds me of the "print of flowers" at the very beginning of the story, because both of the flowers are flattened (17). This, perhaps, symbolizes the fact that the Handmaid's have a very slim chance of producing children, because the flower is crushed, dead. The "withered daffodil... [that] will soon be thrown out" symbolizes the same thing (109). It yields the image of a “withered” womb, shriveled up and unable to produce children (106). The flowers also symbolize the Handmaids themselves and the fact that their inability to produce healthy offspring will not be tolerated; it could end in death or possibly becoming an Unwomen.
But if flowers represent these negative things, why would Offred want to steal it? I understand her need to steal something is because she wants a small piece of power, and she wants to get back at the system in small ways. But what is the purpose of stealing a flower, specifically? Since flowers represent children, who, as I have expressed in previous blogs, are the key to power in this society, could her need to steal a flower just be a reiteration of her want for more power? Or it could be her want for children, because they are so rare and so desired in society? But what really stumps me is the fact that the flower is described as "withered," seeming to symbolize Handmaids and their inability to produce children (109). Why would Offred want to steal what is metaphorically herself? I would understand if Offred would want to steal her whole life back, because in her previous life, she could produce children - the daughter she misses so much. However, in her old life, there were no “withered daffodil[s];” people could produce children without problem – Offred seems to have had no difficulty there (109). Therefore, Offred’s inclination to steal a flower does not represent her yearning for her old life. Perhaps Offred stealing a dying flower is symbolic of her trying to return to the way society used to be, rather than return to her child. Their old society has "withered" now, and Offred wanting to press the flower to save it for the next Handmaid is her way of reminding the next Handmaid of what society used to be like (109). It is her way of making sure that people do not forget about what once was, just as the previous Handmaid presumably tried to do for Offred when she carved the Latin phrase in her room.
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