Our Shared Shelf discussion

I'm really interested in Atwood's use of colour in the book and also for those watching the TV show how that uses it.

I came across this brilliant article which briefly outlines the different connotations of red, which is obviously a huge part of the book - however there is also significance in the other colours used ie:

Blue - Wives
Green - Marthas
Stripes - Econowives
Brown -Aunts
Black - Commanders
Pink - Young girls (can't remember if this is in the book but it is in the adaptation)

Also other colours - I'd have to flick back through the novel to pick out more examples but these were a few ideas I had:

Oranges - this was incredibly striking in the Hulu adaptation
Colours of flowers in Serena Joy's garden
Red lipstick
White - girls clothing for prayvaganza

The natural vs artificial in these examples is super interesting as is the connotations of the colours and how we interpret them.

If you have any ideas to add please do, I definitely haven't exhausted this.

I just finished the book, and girls do not wear pink. From what I remember they only wear white because it is the color of innocence. It is interesting that this changes to pink in the adaptation. I haven't watched the tv show yet, but plan to do so soon.

Also, I think it's interesting that, while econowives wear stripes, these stripes are red, blue, and green (p. 24 of paperback edition). I think this signifies that, while they are seen as poor, cheap, and not as valuable, they possibly have more freedom than Handmaids, Wives, and Marthas. They do the work that these women do, but they have more freedom in the colors they wear, and do not have as many rules and regulations thrust upon them. It would be interesting if the adaptation dived into that aspect further. Like I said, I haven't watched it yet, so I'm not sure if they go into that at all.

Ooh Erin I love that interpretation of the Econowives stripes! It is really subversive but I completely see where you are coming from - I guess it suggests that power and privilege doesn't equate to freedom?

Exactly! I think it would be interesting to get an econowife's perspective, just to see if she is happier than the others, even though she is seen as less than?

I've just realised I never posted the article I mentioned about the colour red - here it is: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2...

I think the use of red with the Handmaid's is interesting because in one breath they are venerated as fertile life givers, but red suggests all of the negative connotations that have been associated with sex ie wanton women as in The Scarlet Letter. This alongside the idea that the wives see them as 'sluts' really complicates their status and for me compounds the 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' that a lot of women face with any number of different stereotypes applied to them.

Although my question here would be what the sexual lives of the wives are? Is sex that isn't for procreation permitted? Is their job to 'entertain' their husbands? Or do they abstain completely? Perhaps this is the reason for Jezebel's.

I like your take on blue in terms of the feeling as well as the context - it also makes me think of purity and freedom - sky, water etc. Blue is also historically one of the most costly colours indicating status and privilege https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst....

In this respect of connotations I also see red as danger - the handmaid's are literally marked as dangerous.

For green all I can think of is that it is linked to money and economics - so the Martha's are just very simply economic labour? Apparently green has little reference in the Bible.

Love all of these different interpretations of what the colors represent. I find it interesting that the colors didn't stand out as much to me (maybe they do more when watching the show) but the fact that they never looked at each other closely. So one could keenly be aware of the type of person that was near without paying attention to the specifics or uniqueness of people. It was another way of subjecting everyone to lose their own identity and become one of the whole group.

Emma wrote: "Ellen wrote: "Ooh Erin I love that interpretation of the Econowives stripes! It is really subversive but I completely see where you are coming from - I guess it suggests that power and privilege do..."

I love your point, but also, while reading this, I thought it was interesting that the Econowives were allowed to raise their own children, instead of either the fertile ones becoming Handmaids or the children going to the Wives. I wonder if this was because they were married before all this happened, however I doubt all of the Econowives were. Do we know what purpose the poor, either wives or husbands, serve in this new community? I could not figure that out.

Also, the different stripes must be because some can produce children (red), they can be Wives and raise their children (blue), and they are servants to their househoulds (green Marthas). So I agree, they are more free, and I would love to read the story from their point of view. They are poor and looked down on, but they can keep their children and husbands, and run their own households.

The point about the stripes is really interesting and one that hadn't occurred to me. When I think of stripes, I think of a prisoner, but in a way I suppose both interpretations could be true. Econowives are free in certain ways (especially compared to Handmaids and Marthas), but they, like all women in Gilead, are restricted to laws that oppress them. Yes, they're free to be mothers and raise their own children, but not much else, and they are on the the lower end of a caste system, which restricts them even further. Even the name "Econowives" makes them sound like a commodity as opposed to a human being, or even part of a family.

Hi Rana, I originally thought of prisoners too, but after reading this discussion thread, the colors of their stripes made more sense to me. Every woman in this story is a prisoner, but the lower-class Econowives are the only ones that look like prisoners.

Rana wrote: "The point about the stripes is really interesting and one that hadn't occurred to me. When I think of stripes, I think of a prisoner, but in a way I suppose both interpretations could be true. Econ..."

I did not immediately think of prisoner when I first read about the Econowives, but I can see it now. It is an interesting contradiction with them wearing all the colors, but also seen as 'less than' or maybe even prisoner. Their roles are as close to women's roles in today's society (raising their own babies, doing all the work, etc) and yet they are the lowest in terms of Gilead's caste society. They are the most independent in terms of women in Gilead, but they are not seen as human. By that, I mean that they are not seen as their own person. I agree with your definition of Econowife in that it sounds more like they are viewed as a commodity.

Erin wrote: "Rana wrote: "The point about the stripes is really interesting and one that hadn't occurred to me. When I think of stripes, I think of a prisoner, but in a way I suppose both interpretations could ..."

I never got the idea that the econowives were prisoners, or even seen as not human. In fact, where did you get that idea? I don't remember seeing that in the book 0_0 I always thought that the econowives were just from lower class families which were the most like normal families: one husband, one wife, whose role is apparently a housewife. I always thought they had the better deal than the Wives, Handmaids, and Marthas because they had families.

What color was the dress Offred wore to Jezebel's? I think maybe it was purple with feathers and sequins?

I think so. It was very different than the all-covering red dress the handmaids normally wore. And Moira was in a bunny costume. Moira's costume choice could've just been because almost any reader would recognize this costume was related to Playboy, but the author could've also made the costume choice to signify that Moira and the other woman were now treated as "pets" or "items."

I think we have to thank mostly Nazi Germany for the immediate association of stripes to prisoners...

These are all some very interesting ideas. I agree with those of you who have gone a little further on the greater freedom 'enjoyed' by the econowives. Now I hadn't consciously thought of it while I was reading, but it has resonated so much with me when you eloquently worded it that I think I was under such an impression, too.

I have yet to see the Hulu adaptation because I am in China and am lucky if I get regular access to normal Internet, but I would love to see more detail on how each woman was assigned a role in Gilead. We obviously got some information from Offred's account, however it's not so clear for Marthas vs Aunts, for example. As for the Econowives, I wonder just how much would their husbands have drunk the koolaid. I would initially think that the biggest threat to Gilead's level of insanity would come from families that were able to stay together, even under such circumstances. Or perhaps the opposite?

The color orange reminded me of studying symbolism in art history. Oranges (the fruit) in art often represented marriage and love, as seen in the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait by Jan van Eyck. Consequently, peeled oranges (never seen in the book or adaptation) are given a more sexual connotation, and other interpretations note that peelings represent a passing of time.

As for the color orange, I've read it can mean courage and endurance.

Fruit for thought!

When I was reading the book the colour blue for the wives made me think of the Virgin Mary. She's often portrayed in blue. The Marthas also made me think of the Bible, as when Jesus visited Mary and Martha, it was Martha doing all the housework (which he didn't appreciate!).

Really interesting topic! I also connect the color of the Handmaids and wives with the Virgin Mary. Both she and Christ are often portrayed in red and blue. When i quickly googled color symbolism in art history i found this: "Red was color of love in sense of selfless love, like Christ's love fro humanity, agape which is the unconditional love, and blood of redemption and blood of martyrs. Blue was symbol of heaven,contemplation, things which are divine, life lived in accordance to the highest standards." ( http://artelisaart.blogspot.se/2012/0...)
I think it is quite descriptive for the book, the role of the Handmaid is all about sacrificing oneself for the "love" and need of others/the nation while the Wives lives a life separated and elevated from everyone else retaining the order.

That's interesting, I didn't think of red as being the color of selfless love. Handmaids are supposed to be "part of the family," until they give birth or fail to give birth.

While reading this, I kept thinking of red as symbolizing the handmaids' menstruation and fertility.

Burnadette wrote: "The color orange reminded me of studying symbolism in art history. Oranges (the fruit) in art often represented marriage and love, as seen in the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait by Jan van Eyck. Consequ..."

Ah thank you so much for this Burnadette! I have always wondered what connotations orange has other than the fruit and I actually feel like this brings a lot of meaning to the novel for me.

It has also given me revelations about fruit in The Great Gatsby - seven years after studying it!

This is probably me reading too much into it but while we never see peeled oranges, we know people eat them so they must get peeled - suggesting sexuality behind closed doors perhaps?

My surname is Orange so learning something new about it is definitely exciting for me!

Rana wrote: "The point about the stripes is really interesting and one that hadn't occurred to me. When I think of stripes, I think of a prisoner, but in a way I suppose both interpretations could be true. Econ..."

That makes me think of one of the Aunt's statements about "having freedom to and having freedom from." The Econowives are viewed so negatively, yet they have "freedom from" all the subjugation that all the other women have to put up with in their own homes. The Econowives, to a degree, are their own masters, having a freedom that the Wives, with all their supposed societal power, could only dream of.

What is orange in the TV series? I don't recall reading about anything orange in the book... except in the beginning when Offred goes shopping with Ofglen, and there are some oranges available at the shop. But it didn't make me think of the color at all - to me it's a reference to the situation in Berlin in the 80's. People living in Berlin-East for sure didn't get any oranges (or any kind of tropical fruit), whereas West-Berliners did - maybe with more difficulties because of the Berlin Wall.


Red is primarily... blood.
The blood of sex, the blood of birth.

Blue and red have always been in opposition. Blue is water/cold, red is fire/hot. In the Middle-Ages, blue was for girls (as you said, because of Virgin Mary) and red/pink was for boys (because of the blood they spilled during fights). I don't know when it changed to the symbolism of today, now blue is for boys and red/pink for girls.

But you know what? Red is the color you see the best in the darkness. To me, making the dresses of the Handmaids red is loaded with symbolism, as you all cited above (danger, erotism, etc), but is also practical. You see the color better, from far. It becomes even more difficult to be unseen or escape.

Interesting that you say it makes it more difficult to be "unseen," considering in many ways, that seems to be what Gilead wants, for them to be "unseen." Yet they are so brightly colored that they can't be ignored... to not escape, of course, but looking at it from the "unseen" category it interesting too.

What is ironic is that the Gilead society segregated women roles (child bearing, home maker, and wife) BUT still allowed for Econowives to wear all the "colors" if you will. The upper echelons are very well aware of the duties a woman is capable and puts it on such a high pedestal that it becomes demoralized.

Eva wrote: "What is ironic is that the Gilead society segregated women roles (child bearing, home maker, and wife) BUT still allowed for Econowives to wear all the "colors" if you will. The upper echelons are very well aware of the duties a woman is capable and puts it on such a high pedestal that it becomes demoralized."

I don't remember: is it told if Econowives keep their children? Handmaids have to give babies away to the Wives. And the children that they may have got before becoming Handmaids are also taken away. Do the children of the Econowives stay with them and in this "class", or are they also given to richer families?

I've thought exactly the same thing when reading and re-reading. It seems like perhaps being an "econowife" is the best situation for a woman in Gilead. Life is hard but perhaps you still have some semblance of normalcy and can retain your family. I presume if your husband is a hard worker, it's everyone's first marriage, and you don't cause any waves and keep your head down you can keep your children. Of course your girls will probably end up handmaids in their early teens when they become fertile so you'd live in constant fear of their futures. Seems like the best one can expect in Gilead is still a pretty crummy situation.