Introduction
Both novels show a society where arranged marriages are normal. They show women as inferior and oppressed. They are inferior to men, including women in a position of power, as they are considered substitutes for men. They only function in a powerful position if it is a man's position and only represent him when he is absent. In Handmaid's tale, aunts are more powerful over the handmaids, the Marthas and jezebels, who are also inferior to wives. Therefore, women are only representing men in these positions so that men can focus on other things; hence they are substitutes. They cannot be trusted to hold the positions of women altogether. As much as women are in positions of power, their power is restricted.
In addition to inferiority, both characters are not part of their households. They are treated as inferiors; they don't participate equally as members of the family. They are restricted from some rooms, activities, and behaviors. There are specific rules set for them; however, both characters try to undermine these rules to oppose the house's man. Jane is socializing with Mr. Rochester in a way that is not acceptable in society, while Offred is also doing the same with the commander. Their relationships with these men would make them mistresses, which they both dislike.
In Jane Eyre, your gender and position in society are judged according to your manner and appearance. In contrast, in The Handmaid's Tale, each position is unique in society; positions have a color to distinguish them. The specific approach results in appearance and manner being used when roles are assigned, therefore confirming Butler's theory that "we act and judge people's gender and position based on cultural stereotypes and norms at the existing time."
Jane is valued for her brain, while Offred is valued for her body. Therefore, Jane works as a governess, passing her knowledge to children while Offred is required to use her body to produce children for a society with procreational struggles. Jane has the freedom to deice what aspects of religion she can apply and which parts of dismissing. Offred, however, does not have this freedom. She is forced to share the same faith as Gilead or be killed. In both societies, religion plays a huge role.
In terms of the female language in both novels, both can write themselves and write their bodies; however, they do it differently. Jane can write herself in her society, but Offred is not able to do this. Offred is not allowed to read and write, if she's caught expressing her thoughts on paper as Jane does, her finger will be cut off, or she loses an eye as a form of punishment. Jane can reclaim her sexuality by refusing Mr. Rochester's proposal of being his mistress. However, Offred is not able to do this because there would be consequences.
Both Jane Eyre and the Handmaid's Tale offer evidence of feminist criticism of religion and society. Jane is a strong-willed character, which shocked the contemporary audience because her writing did not reflect reality. However, in the Handmaid's tale, Offred lives in a society that does not allow her to be strong-willed compared to Jane, but she still develops rebellious thoughts.
In regards to feminism, in both novels, women are suppressed and considered as the weaker sex. The inequality presented in both novels forces women to contemplate, and some even succeed in taking their lives in an attempt to escape the reality of their circumstances. They feel like prisoners, and they have a desire to flee—the fee women who hold positions of power act as substitutes for men.
The two novels tend to create different classes in society. Lowood establishes a class of women for a professional need. The women in training become classless and desexualized women serving households. Gilead, on the other side, trains through a mechanism of brutality; handmaids do not have a spot in the households, they are not permanent, and they are very different from the Marthas and the masters. Women in both novels are taught to deny their physical existence for moral superiority. Food is not allowed for the handmaids; food given to the Handmaid is "good enough….through bland" (65) because a Handmaid should bear children; therefore, coffee, tea, alcohol, and cigarettes are forbidden(65).
In both novels, they are forced to develop a mechanism of survival. Handmaids learn to read each other's lip movements and whisper with little sound to communicate, empowering the women and giving them comfort. Their concern for self-preservation characterizes the main characters. June narrates that "thinking can hurt your chances, I intend to last "(The Handmaid's Tale, 17). On the other side, Jane shows her desire to preserve herself throughout the novel; when she is asked how she is planning to avoid hell, she says, "I must keep in good health and not die" ( Jane Eyre, 26). Both these women want to preserve themselves.
Jane's survival in the anti-feminist world is displayed based on the several instances she showed resistance. She resisted when her aunt wanted to lock her up in the red room where her uncle passed away; this is where her struggle for independence originally began(Brontë 11). She defends herself through her strong opinions and her search for truth. She rejects Mr. Rochester's proposal by stating, "I am no bird, and no net ensnares me. I am a free human being with an independent will(Jane 257-8). She gives herself a chance to survive in a restricting society through her Independent views and candid personality.
Offred is displayed as a woman who attempts to survive through her faint and timid acts. She is suppressed in Gilead, but she tries to resist through her inward defiance. Citizens of Gilead often defy the opposition (Atwood 52). The people of Gilead had hatred towards the controlling regime. Offred battles the anti-feminism suppression while Jane overcomes the battle of oppression. Jane is often the victim of torment from her aunt; her aunt broke the promise to her husband. She had promised to take care of Jane, but she never fulfilled his dying wish. Jane got a chance to attend Lowood as a way of escaping torture from Mrs. Reed.
Offred faces the challenge of being reduced to property severally throughout The Handmaid's tale. The Citizens of Gilead are instilled fear by the Republic of Gilead regime, and it suppresses women's thoughts fearfully. All the women in this restricting society, including Offred, fight this struggle of being reduced to the property's condition. However, unlike Jane, these women cannot overcome this struggle because of the fear caused by resistance. The regime used the corpses of disobedient citizens to instill a sense of fear in the republic(Atwood 32).
The regime reduced citizens to property ks by removing everything that they once cherished, for example, Offred's daughter and husband, Luke. The regime's goal was to focus on the oppression of females and the killing of disobedient citizens. The Handmaid's Tale and Jane Eyre depict the problems women have to go through in an anti-feminists setting.
Conclusion
Jane Eyre and Offred being the protagonists, survive in different restricting societies due to their resistance, whether boldly or timidly. While Jane Eyre overcomes the cruel ways of being frequently suppressed, Offred's indirect methods do not give her the chance to rise and prosper above the suppression level. Both authors display their main characters as women who need to flee from being bound by a chauvinistic world and how much they struggle to reach their goals. Both The Handmaid'S Tale and Jane Eyre depict the importance of independence and not agreeing to the oppression caused by people in authority.
