Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Women's Bodies as Political Instruments - Because Gilead was formed in response to the crisis caused by dramatically decreased birthrates, the state's entire structure, with its religious trappings and rigid political hierarchy, is built around a single goal: control of reproduction. The state tackles the problem head-on by assuming complete control of women's bodies through their political subjugation. Women cannot vote, …showed first 75 words of 1167 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1167 total…