They say not to judge a book by its cover but glancing at how something appears can tell you a lot about something. In "The Handmaid's Tale" women were, for the most part, defined by what they wore. The clothes that the women wore defined them and their purpose that was given to them.
Take for instance the handmaiden herself. She was garbed in all red and blinded by white. Red can stir a lot of things inside a person on sight, ranging from passion desire and hunger to repulsion and sin. All of these things define the handmaids because through their occupation have become objects of desire but also sin. Through the use of such topical and blatant symbols Atwood has made a statement at how superficial the entire society is. When someone can glance at you and know you as much as they need to know you there is a problem.
This can also bring up the sensitive subject of self expression. people want to be able to portray who they are and how they feel and clothing is a very viable means of doing so. When human beings are stripped of that they lose not only their freedom but their identity. they become what the clothing defines them as. In the case of the Martha's they become hands for cooking and cleaning, and the handmaids become a womb. Its degrading to be broken up into parts and looked at only for what your body can do. Atwood takes something generally used to express personality and even emotion and turns it on its head making it represent the most superficial bodily functions. I found this switch to be fascinating and thought it was extremely clever on Atwood's part.
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