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The use of red throughout The Handmaid’s Tale is significant. The handmaids are recognized by their red clothing, which is meant to represent their role in society. The use of this colour is no mistake; it represents many things associated with women, including fertility, birth, romance, violence, and sin. Atwood even states that the handmaids are defined by “red, the colour of blood” (8), which is referring to the blood shed during childbirth as well as menstrual blood, and the obvious reference that blood is life.
Many of the pictures that are included in this collage are very literal, even though the use of red in The Handmaid’s Tale was the most significant when it was emblematic of other things. For example, the handmaids were forced to wear red to remind them of their past, their present, and their future. One could argue that one of the things that red is associated with is birth control, or more specifically, abortion, and the handmaids are forced to wear this colour as a reminder of their failures in the past, since men seem to blame them for the previous society’s problems.
Approximate Word count = 921
Approximate Pages = 3.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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