Dystopian Literature depicts worlds in which parts of it are as bad as possible, in most cases it’s impossible for the system to benefit the majority. These societies are often similar to our own yet somehow have reached some stage of ruin. The reader’s investment in how the world got to this point must be maintained through the narrative voice. This serves as a guide to this new world. In The Testaments and in The Drowned World they use first person to help the reader develop a relationship with the characters. The Testaments does this through three narrators Aunt Lydia, Jade (also called Nicole or Daisy) and Agnes (also called Aunt Victoria). The use of three narrators to show the reader Gilead and its oppression of women gives the reader a first-hand account of the oppressed and how the oppressed may take their revenge. In The Drowned World this form allows the reader to understand Kerans’ reasoning behind his actions. Why he feels so tied to nature and by the end why he’s willing to sacrifice human society to keep nature alive. The reader gets to watch Kerans’ identity shift from being a member of human society to a product of his new environment, a man who believes himself to possibly be destined to be the last man alive. Agnes’ identity changes throughout the book too, from citizen of Gilead to saviour. Her surroundings changing her into something new. Much like Kerans change through his surroundings and nature.
In The Testaments Jade and Agatha searching for their identity within a family. In contrast, in The Drowned World, Kerans pushes away his previous identity, instead framing himself as the biblical Adam, with the power to save or condemn the human race. He rejects typical forms of companionship instead casting himself in a new light, as Adam from the biblical tales. He wishes to cast himself in the role of the first human, to be what all the others stem from. Kerans embraces the change instead of embracing his identity as doctor he chooses to cause harm to patients.
The women in The Testaments change too. Aunt Lydia herself, explaining the point where she was forced to change. Agnes and Jade take on a subtler transformation, as they slowly come to the realisation of what it takes to survive in Gilead. Nature’s change plays a large role in The Drowned World, the earth’s gradually creeping temperature changing the natural wildlife and giving amphibians the run of the world. Their sped-up evolution though radiation, transforming them into the dominant species, pushing humans down the food chain and detracting from humanities achievements. Humans now live in opposition to nature. Unlike in The Testaments, many from Gilead have never seen parts of nature (like the sea) and they are kept from it instead told to embrace the urban life of serving men inside the house. Nature works in opposition to the main characters; we see this when it tries to tear down Aunt Lydia ’s statue and sink Agnes and Jade’s boat.
Both books use the form of first person within the dystopian genre to create a sense of intimacy with the characters. While this essay will be focusing primarily on Agnes’ perspective in The Testaments, it must be noted that the use of first person in all three narratives was used to create a feeling of closeness with each character, so you have an understanding of Gilead from multiple perspectives. You understand why it’s unsustainable and why it must end. On the other side you have The Drowned World. This novel takes you through Kerans deeply personal experience, understanding only his world view and why he takes the actions he does. Leaving only his perspective allows for the interpretation that he is the hero of his own story; it also leads the reader to question on how reliable he is as a narrator. “First-person narrative is an interesting test bed because it is likely to trigger conflicting expec-tations and interpretations”1. While having this personal connection with the character, the reader is also given a somewhat limited view of the world.
In contrast, The Testaments has no firsthand male perspective, there’s no understanding behind what drives them other than control. This mysterious nature of the men allows for people to come up with their own reasons, which can be scarier than if given a reason. The same can be seen/demonstrated in The Drowned World. Only hearing Kerans’ perspective narrows the readers’ understanding of the book. There’s no knowledge of anything other than what Kerans choses to show the reader.
Family is something everyone understands. Whether or not they had a family present growing up, the ideals of a family are widespread and embedded in Western society. Family shapes everyone’s life. It’s both presented as nature and a large part of nurture. It can create identity. In The Testaments the identity of being a mother was very important. To those who were unable to give birth, they were given the identity of mother through someone else’s child. Tabitha, Agnes’ mother, is someone who was given that role. Agnes identifies as her daughter, as a young child stating, “I loved Tabitha very much”2. Yet when Agnes find out Tabitha is not her “real mother” (Atwood p. 48) she begins the, “processes of identity exploration”3 imagining another mother, yet there’s no rejection of her identity as Tabitha’s daughter. The same can’t be said for, “Commander Kyle, whom I no longer thought of as my father” rejecting being his daughter completely when he does nothing fatherly toward her.
The prevalence of family in The Testaments contrasts with how little family is mentioned in The Drowned World. Kerans discloses very little about his life before living at the Ritz. Through Bodkin we do find our attachments to the world as we know it. He talks of how he, “found the laboratory where my father used to teach. We left here when I was six, but I can just remember being taken to meet him one day”4. Through his remembrance of his parents, we see a brief glimpse of life before the solar flare that wiped out a large portion of humanity. Yet in this world, ravaged by the sun, there seems to be no family units. Only Beatrice has a hint of this being raised by her grandfather, yet there’s no talk of their relationship. Kerans separation from family shows how little he feels really attaches him to his human identity. Yet, when pondering the idea of being completely detached from humanity, he remembers the one-time humanity almost abandoned him and he, “had felt like a child parted forever from its mother” (Ballard p 16). Now however he has decided to try, “identity exploration across domains including occupational choice, ideology, and relation-ships” (Von Korff p 400) like an adolescent he is finding out who he is.
The narrative voice from Agnes differs significantly from Kerans. One, a young woman and the other, a middle-aged man. Yet they’re both trying to find their place in the world. Kerans uses his perspective to show the reader how difficult he finds human company. While he does not hate it, he prefers the calm of his own mind. Measuring the changes within him and, eventually, plotting his escape from civilisation, letting nature rule. Agnes spends time with people around her, knowing that Gilead is are not what’s best for her but humouring the expectations put on her from living there because, opposing Kerans’ actions she does what she believes is best for the majority. While she also escapes her civilisation and her life in much the same way Kerans does, she’s doing it to save those in her country.
Unlike Kerans, Agnes uses her perspective to show the reader how important people are. How empathy for those who believe being suppressed is what’s best for them rather than believing them to be stupid. It’s a bold opposition to the lonely narrative that elicits empathy for the reader and holding both books into contrast, you understand how significant Keran’s decision is. He’s giving up on empathy, love, and compassion. While he may be leaving the small annoyances behind, he’s given up on both receiving and feeling those things. How can he feel compassion when there is no one to feel compassion for? In giving up on his relationships to embrace this metamorphosis he’s given up on himself. Yet he’ searching for the reward of answers, being in charge of his own life and not being weighed down by having to make choices for others is something Agnes is missing. She’s choosing to keep the restrictions put on her life by staying close to humanity. Misogyny exists outside of Gilead, women still get hurt, and she is still risking herself by choosing to live with humans.
The concept of belonging to something isn’t lost on Kerans. He frames himself in the light of becoming the new Adam. He views himself as belonging to a greater cause, having the future of humanity in his hands, “the genealogical tree of mankind was systematically pruning itself, apparently moving backwards in time, and a point might ultimately be reached where a second Adam and Eve found themselves alone in a new Eden” (Ballard p. 13). His belonging to the end of days ties him to Beatrice who he views to be his Eve. At the beginning of the book there’s hope in the reader that due to Beatrice’s fertile family that perhaps they will in some way help rebuild humanity. Ironically he doesn’t value Beatrice his, “attitude towards Beatrice is condescending and dishonouring at large”5. This gies to show how little he values those around her. He does not love Beatrice and treats her as if she is worth very little despite being, at least to him, the last woman. His Eve. While the reader may have hope he plans to reproduce with Beatrice it’s clear he already sees himself as the only person alive, the only person worth worrying about. He seems to expect Beatrice to bite some kind of apple but he himself is the one who changes the course of humanity by reflooding London. Casting himself not in the role of Eve, as some may say the condemner of man but God. He begins to refer to himself as Neptune. Like god he is casting himself as, “the beginning and the last the alpha and the omega”.
Agnes makes no narrative of grandeur for herself, instead breaking the narrative Gilead set and creating her own with little idea of what society could look like. She makes no effort to break out of the narrative Gilead has set out for her as a child. Yet by existing within this narrative, she defies it. Mothers are meant to love their children, children in Gilead are supposed to be valued. Yet when Agnes’ stepmother comes into the picture this narrative is broken. “Despite not having any stepsisters who abuse her, the wicked stepmother is more than enough”6 to make Agnes’ childhood into a Cinderella like fairytale. By doing nothing wrong she is taught that authority does not have her best interests at heart. “Once the status quos are interrupted, the … [heroine is] expected to begin their quests” (Higbee p. 99) Agnes begins her quest by subverting the narrative laid out for her and becoming an aunt instead of a wife. She begins to take control of the narrative and makes her own choices. These choices remained within the Gilead system, “[the aunts] wouldn’t be having any children. That was a secret sadness for me” (Atwood p. 162) here she isn’t even entertaining the possibility of breaking free and becoming a mother in her own way she identifies too much with being a woman of Gilead. Someone who follows orders. By the end she’s forced into the role of heroine by Aunt Lydia. If she strayed from her hero’s path she would be executed as, “guilt by association applies in Gilead” (Atwood p. 156).
Neither Kerans or Agnes truly belongs to where they are at the beginning of the books, but it can be debated that they end up where they belong. Kerans’ own narrative may be unsound. His surprising survival throughout the book does not guarantee his survival once the book has ended. Agnes may have escaped Gilead where she would have almost definitely died for knowing of Aunt Lydia ’s plan. Lydia writes the narrative for Agnes, but she believes in it. She helps Lydia because she believes she is bringing salvation to the people of Gilead by doing away with the, “deplorable degree of corruption that currently exists in Gilead” (Atwood p. 166) and letting them rebuild. On the other side Kerans sticks to a harsher narrative. He has decided that humanity will fall and as one of the youngest, he will be the last survivor. He mercilessly floods London knowing that he is destroying a chance of humans repopulating the earth. In some ways paralleling how Agnes will bring down Gilead. For her freeing her people and for him condemning them.
Kerans’ narrative voice reflects his state of mind by focusing almost solely on himself. Even in relation to other people. He’s not concerned for the harm he causes such as the harm to Hardman by stating that they are about to leave. Instead, when he makes a mistake he hopes, “obliquely to absolve himself of his slight feeling of guilt” (Ballard p. 20) it is only concern for himself that he faces. No one else. Agnes’ narrative voice is one of concern for those around her. While she hates those that cause her harm, she uses her voice to create a feeling of compassion for Gilead within the reader. While the readers’ natural reaction may be one of wanting to destroy a society that does not value women, Agnes’ voice reminds the reader that they are people, even the men who act as the suppressors are people asking, “Why would you want to harm so many people?” (Atwood p. 186). In this simple phrase it calls the reader to question their own world views. That no matter how other some societies are, no matter how little they may value certain groups within all are people.
The value of nature can’t be understated in both books. Humanity is shown to live in opposition to nature in The Drowned World. In The Testaments Indu puts how nature is valued well, “Both women and nature are life sustaining and resource giving but their role is often neglected and sidelined in society” 7. Nature is tamed in Gilead; the same way women are meant to be tamed. Anything uncontrollable is kept out of Gilead. There’s a bold difference between this and nature in The Drowned World where nature rules. To Kerans it’s not something to overcome but to accept. While tied up against his will he begins, “stoically acting out the role of Neptune” (Ballard p. 62) and survives the extreme heat. This survival gives cause to believe in Kerans narrative. Perhaps embracing nature is what caused him to survive? Nature is against them in The Testaments. Agnes is directed to, “Row! Row for your life” (Atwood, p. 195) as the sea works to kill them. In The Drowned World, the sea is treated as humanities’ biggest enemy and humanity its. “In short, the sea has revenged itself” 8 and Kerans welcoming of this, taking natures side, is what allows him to become what he believes to be, “a second Adam” (Ballard p. 13) While in The Testaments the sea seems to be actively displaying its power. If you apply Kerans’ narrative voice and his interpretation of the sea, the failure of the boat and subsequent storm Agnes and Jade must face could be seen as nature attempting to triumph over humanity. It doesn’t care who you are, but any intruder must be gotten rid of. The same way Kerans refloods London to restore the sea back to its natural form and as a consequence of this remove those attempting to repopulate London. Agnes’ narrative voice shows her rowing is another attempt to overcome something else with power. Another obstacle that although she “I felt weak and tired” (Atwood p195) Agnes overcame. Her ability to adapt and overcome shows a triumph over nature and her oppressors. Through overcoming the sea she’s proven to herself her own strength and in a larger way her oppressors. Everything, even nature is against her, and she overcame it.
The form’s utilisation of first person in both books brings the reader in closer to the characters giving them a firsthand view of why they act the way they act. In doing this, the reader has a narrower scope of the world. They can only relate to the world through the characters bringing them closer to the characters. Despite the reader’s personal life and perspective, they are shown this new perspective and given the chance to understand somebody else’s world. This new perspective gives them a chance to question their own. The Testaments lean into this by giving the reader three first-hand accounts. This provides a broader scope to the suffering women go through in Gilead and how the oppressed react to their situations. It shows the reader what kind of choices these women had. Agnes and Kerans’ narrative voice tells the reader what kind of life they live and what they want to live. This impacts the reader’s view of the wider world. If society has failed, this character so badly who else has it failed? It also shows the reader what they have learnt within their societies. Agnes does not see herself as better than those around her, but Kerans sees himself as someone who will either bring about the end of humanity or save it. Kerans’ self-identity as someone with this power leads him to go to drastic measures to protect himself. This selfishness is expected within the dystopian form. On the other end of the spectrum, Agnes is a victim of a dystopian regime and does not dress herself as a saviour despite her saving the women of Gilead. She instead uses her narrative voice to lift others up. Even by the end, when she is fighting nature itself, she downplays her efforts to save herself. By the end of The Drowned World Kerans is embracing nature he’s decided who he is and is listening to, his own instinct and allowing nature to take him believing that on this path lies grandeur. These books both use compelling narrative voice to tell a story about what it is to be human and how humans can react to obstacles. What it takes to live through a dystopia and what it takes to survive.
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