Jyoti, Offred, and I

Last class we compared Offred from The Handmaid's Tale and Jyoti from Jasmine. One of the most obvious similarities is that both women are oppressed. What is interesting however, is that both women are oppressed by other women; a theme that tends to be less common in women's literature. Aunt Lydia is constantly brainwashing Offred and the other handmaids. She wants them to believe that they are not worthy of choice and freedom and that they belong under the control of men. In Jasmine Dida, Pitaji's mother says, "Some women think they own the world because their husbands are too lazy to beat them" (47). She too wants Jyoti to believe that their place in the universe is beneath men. Another similarity both women struggle with is the idea of multiple identities. Although she never tells the reader what it is, Offred mentions multiple times her old name and she attaches it to her old life; her life before Gilead. The start of Jyoti's multiple identities begins when her husband Prakash calls her Jasmine. "To break off the past, he gave me a name name: Jasmine" (77). As Jyoti moves around the country and comes across new people, she receives different variations of her name to fit her new situation. From Jyoti to Jasmine to Jazzy to Jane, I'm unsure of how to refer to the narrator. I think for the duration of my blogging I am just going to refer to her as J. J struggles to distinguish between identities. She says,

"And which of us is the undetected murderer of a half- faced monster, which of us has held a dying husband, which of us was raped and raped and raped in boats and cars and motel rooms" (127)

http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/essay-10-03.html

Having lived in two different parts of the world, I understand what J is experiencing. When I go back to my hometown in Connecticut over the summer I have different nick-names than I do for the duration of the year in London. That isn't all that changes though. My group of friends in Connecticut have a different sense of humor, make different pop culture references, and enjoy different activities. Over the summer I subconsciously mold into someone more like them. It is always strange coming back to London right before school begins and realizing how much I have changed. However, within less than a week I am back to my old self. But what is my "old self"? Is that my true self? Is there just one version of myself or do both versions make up who I am? I guess as I get older and make new friends outside of a high school environment where there is so much pressure to conform, I will discover my true identity.