THE HANDMAID'S TALE

In The Handmaid's Tale, the aunts serve as a harsh mentor and educator to the training of the handmaids.  At the Rachel and Leah Re-Education Center, the aunts "train" the handmaids by physically beating them into place.  The aunts view the beatings as part of the system and see no wrong in hurting other women; who are already massively oppressed.  Atwood uses the aunts to portray the idea that power is contagious.  The aunts could find other ways to train the handmaids, but enjoy the abuse because it provides a sense of power.  Women are starving for any type of power in Gilead, and the aunts are able to have total power of the handmaids.  Although, there is a contradiction to this power.  While the aunts feel they are powerful, they are still greatly oppressed and truly don't have any actual power at all.  The aunts are forced by Gilead to perform their jobs or go to the colonies; so in reality they have no choice or power and are just following orders.  It seems evident that the aunts are also brainwashed, just like the handmaids.  "The Republic of Gilead knows no bounds.  Gilead is within you" (23).  The aunts also provide the stereotypical woman hungry and desperate for women.  All of the women in The Handmaid's Tale serve as a different stereotype.  Atwood introduces the characters of the aunts to display a false sense of power.  This false sense of power furthers the argument of oppressed women because this shows that even when women feel most powerful, they are still being manipulated by men.