A silent body: Portraits of control over pregnant subjects in The Handmaid's Tale and Consecuencias naturales

Abstract

The comparison of the repressing mechanisms over pregnant subjects in Consecuencias naturales and The Handmaid’s Tale shows a series of constant elements: the person is reduced to their reproductive possibilities while their speech, as well as their access to the centre of History, is limited. Moreover, the strategies to portray this dominance, both over the body and the speech, prove to be the same: in the Handmaid’s Tale, those would be the imposition of certain formulas to the Handmaids, while Consecuencias naturales favours the inversion of gender roles, as the male protagonist goes through the same experiences that have historically characterized the life of any woman. The value of this study lies in the fact that both texts share the same commitment to the reality of their times, as well as the willingness to denounce the injustices, even though they differ greatly both in tone and the circumstances surrounding their creation. Beyond the success of both of these portraits, it is alarming to see how familiar they still feel, decades after their first publication. This should work as a warning against any self complacency.