Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel steeped in symbolism. Among its most potent images is the color red, worn by the Handmaids and woven throughout the narrative. While seemingly simple, the color red in this story operates on multiple levels—cultural, emotional, political, and psychological—creating a visual code that reinforces the novel’s themes of control, fertility, identity, and rebellion.
In the theocratic regime of Gilead, where women are systematically stripped of autonomy, the choice of red is not accidental. It is both a uniform and a message. Its power lies not only in what it represents to those within the story, but also in how it confronts the reader with layers of historic and contemporary meaning.
Red as a Symbol of Fertility and Reproductive Control
At the most immediate level, red symbolizes fertility—central to the role of the Handmaids. In Gilead, where infertility is widespread and women are valued based on their ability to reproduce, Handmaids are assigned to high-ranking Commanders for the purpose of bearing children. The red garments signal this singular function: to carry life.
Historically and biologically, red has been associated with menstruation and childbirth. It evokes blood—the blood of potential, of cycles, and of labor. In Gilead’s twisted theology, women’s bodies are not their own, but vessels for the continuation of the regime. By cloaking the Handmaids in red, the state reduces their identity to a biological process. It is a constant reminder of their purpose and a visual reinforcement of their role.
However, this symbolism is not celebratory. The red doesn’t honor fertility; it weaponizes it. The same color used to symbolize life also signals captivity. Red becomes a cage made of cloth.
Uniformity and Erasure of Individuality
In Gilead, color is used to separate social classes and enforce hierarchy. Wives wear blue, Marthas wear green, and Handmaids wear red. This visual coding serves a dual function: it promotes conformity and suppresses individuality.
The Handmaids’ red clothing is uniform—identical robes, hoods, and white “wings” that block peripheral vision. This aesthetic sameness dehumanizes them. No distinction is made between one Handmaid and another. To the regime, they are interchangeable, identified only by patronymics like “Offred” or “Ofglen,” which denote the Commander they serve.
The overwhelming red becomes a tool of psychological control. Even in crowds, the Handmaids stand out as a collective marked body. They are hyper-visible yet utterly silenced. The vibrancy of red, usually associated with passion or vitality, is turned into a signal of subjugation. In Gilead, red does not express—it confines.
Red as a Warning and a Mark of Danger
Beyond reproductive symbolism, red functions as a color of warning. Globally, red is used in stop signs, danger labels, and alarm lights. It commands attention and incites caution.
In The Handmaid’s Tale, this logic is weaponized. Handmaids are simultaneously revered and reviled. While they are necessary for reproduction, they are also reminders of the broken world and the extreme measures Gilead employs. The red robes make Handmaids stand out in public spaces, but not for admiration—for surveillance.
Red becomes a warning not only to others but to the Handmaids themselves. It isolates them, ensuring they cannot hide or blend in. They are constantly aware of their visibility. The color functions as a mobile restriction—a form of psychological imprisonment that follows them everywhere.
A Color of Shame and Control Over Female Bodies
Atwood layers additional meaning into red through cultural references to shame. Historically, red has been associated with “fallen women” and sexual transgression. The “scarlet letter” from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, for instance, was worn as punishment for adultery.
In Gilead, though the Handmaids are not adulterers by choice, they are publicly defined by their sexuality. Their very existence hinges on sanctioned, ritualized sex for procreation. The color red reinforces the state’s control over their bodies, marking them as both sacred and impure.
This paradox—that the same color signals sacred fertility and sexual sin—mirrors the regime’s contradictory views of women. They are exalted as life-givers and simultaneously degraded as instruments. Red becomes the visual embodiment of this duality.
Red as Emotional Symbolism: Rage and Rebellion
While the regime assigns red to control, readers and viewers of The Handmaid’s Tale may experience it differently. The emotional resonance of red includes anger, intensity, and revolution. It’s the color of fire and fight.
As the story progresses, this dimension grows. Red begins to shift from passive symbolism to active resistance. When Handmaids unite in their shared suffering, the collective red becomes harder to ignore. Their robes, once a sign of submission, begin to look like banners of protest.
In moments of rebellion—when Offred challenges Aunt Lydia, when Handmaids refuse to stone Janine, when the women march in silence—the red no longer reads solely as oppression. It becomes defiant. The same color used to isolate them is reclaimed as a bond.
Visual Impact in Adaptations
The symbolism of red has gained even more potency through visual adaptations of the novel, particularly Hulu’s television series. The stark imagery of dozens of red-robed women moving in silence, heads bowed and faces hidden, is hauntingly powerful.
The cinematography often places the red against bleak or sterile backdrops—gray skies, white snow, concrete walls—amplifying its presence. In these visual contexts, red doesn’t just suggest emotion or theme; it dominates the scene, demanding to be noticed.
This visual prominence echoes how the regime uses the Handmaids: as visible proof of its power and control. But for the audience, the sight of red-cloaked figures invokes sympathy, urgency, and a call to resistance.
The Lasting Power of Symbolic Color
One reason the red in The Handmaid’s Tale is so unforgettable is that it operates on both conscious and unconscious levels. We are conditioned to respond to red. It grabs the eye, stirs emotion, and lingers in memory.
Atwood’s choice of red was deliberate and multifaceted. It’s not just about biology or aesthetics—it’s about visibility, emotion, and domination. In the world of Gilead, red encapsulates the system’s control over women, their bodies, and their futures.
Yet, as the story unfolds, red also becomes the color of potential transformation. The very intensity that makes it oppressive can be redirected into strength. The fire that burns can also ignite.
A Color That Refuses to Be Ignored
In The Handmaid’s Tale, the color red is more than a wardrobe choice—it is a weapon, a boundary, a message. It signifies fertility, visibility, shame, and protest all at once. Few literary symbols are as visually and emotionally charged.
By using red to define the Handmaids, Atwood explores how appearance becomes a form of ideology. And by allowing red to evolve—shifting from silence to rebellion—she reminds us that even symbols of oppression can be reimagined as signs of resistance.
