#11- Handmaid's Tale

"The camera moves to the sky, where hundreds of balloons rise, trailing their strings: red balloons, with a circle painted on them, a circle with a stem like the stem of an apple, the stem of a cross" (120).

This scene shows a protest by feminists. The balloons, which represent freedom, have the female symbol painted on them. The fact that they are red symbolizes child birth since red is the color of blood. The female symbol originates in the symbol for the planet Venus - it is an interpretation of Venus' mirror which is a symbol of femininity. The way Atwood describes the symbol is important. Apples are often the symbol of love and sexuality which, when combined with the symbol of the balloon, represents the want for sexual freedom. The stem of an apple is where the fruit connects to the tree similarly to how an umbilical cord connects the baby to the mother. This represents a mother's connection with bearing children. In comparing the mark to the cross, Atwood points out that true spiritual beings give women the same respect as they give men.

Works Cited:
"Woman." Wikipedia. 31 Aug. 2010. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman>.

"Apple (symbolism)." Wikipedia. 17 Aug. 2010. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Apple_%28symbolism%29>.


Photo Credit:
"Female Symbol (for picks)." Weblog Post. Fanpop. 2007. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://www.fanpop.com/
spots/fanpop/images/41967/title/female-symbol-picks-icon>.