Why should you read "The Handmaid's Tale"? - Naomi R. Mercer

Translator: Elda Indria Sari Reviewer: Reno Kanti Riananda

In Margaret Atwood's near-future novel, "The Handmaid's Tale,"

Dalam novel masa depan Margaret Atwood, "The Handmaid's Tale,"

a Christian fundamentalist regime called the Republic of Gilead

sebuah rezim fundamentalis Kristen bernama Republik Gilead

has staged a military coup and established a theocratic government

melancarkan kudeta militer dan mendirikan pemerintahan teokratis

in the United States.

di Amerika Serikat.

The regime theoretically restricts everyone,

Rezim itu secara teori membatasi semua orang,

but in practice a few men have structured Gilead so they have all the power,

tetapi nyatanya beberapa pria telah menata Gilead agar mereka berkuasa,

especially over women.

terutama di atas wanita.

The Handmaid's Tale is what Atwood calls speculative fiction,

Atwood menjuluki The Handmaid's Tale sebagai sebuah fiksi spekulatif,

meaning it theorizes about possible futures.

artinya novel itu berteori tentang prospek masa depan.

This is a fundamental characteristic

Ini adalah karakteristik mendasar

shared by both utopian and dystopian texts.

yang dimiliki teks utopia dan distopia.

The possible futures in Atwood's novels are usually negative, or dystopian,

Prospek masa depan dalam novel Atwood biasanya negatif, atau distopia,

where the actions of a small group have destroyed society as we know it.

di mana tindakan sekelompok kecil orang telah menghancurkan masyarakat.

Utopian and dystopian writing tends to parallel political trends.

Tulisan utopia dan distopia cenderung sejalan dengan tren politik.

Utopian writing frequently depicts an idealized society

Tulisan utopia sering menggambarkan masyarakat yang ideal

that the author puts forth as a blueprint to strive toward.

yang dijadikan penulisnya sebagai skema untuk bergerak maju.

Dystopias, on the other hand,

Distopia, di sisi lain,

are not necessarily predictions of apocalyptic futures,

tak harus berupa prediksi masa depan yang apokaliptik,

but rather warnings about the ways in which societies can set themselves

tetapi lebih berupa peringatan tentang bagaimana masyarakat

dapat menggiring diri sendiri menuju kehancuran.

on the path to destruction.

The Handmaid's Tale was published in 1985, when many conservative groups

The Handmaid's Tale diterbitkan tahun 1985, saat banyak grup konservatif

attacked the gains made by the second-wave feminist movement.

menyerang pencapaian gerakan feminis gelombang kedua.

This movement had been advocating greater social and legal equality for women

Gerakan ini telah mendorong kesetaraan sosial dan hukum bagi kaum wanita

since the early 1960s.

sejak awal tahun 1960-an.

The Handmaid's Tale imagines a future in which the conservative

The Handmaid's Tale memvisualkan masa depan di mana

counter-movement gains the upper hand

gerakan kontra konservatif berada di atas angin

and not only demolishes the progress women had made toward equality,

yang tak hanya menghancurkan upaya wanita mewujudkan kesetaraan,

but makes women completely subservient to men.

tetapi juga membuat mereka tunduk sepenuhnya pada pria.

Gilead divides women in the regime into distinct social classes

Gilead membagi wanita dalam rezim menjadi kelas-kelas sosial yang berbeda

based upon their function as status symbols for men.

sesuai dengan fungsi mereka sebagai simbol status pria.

Even their clothing is color-coded.

Bahkan pakaian mereka pun diberi kode warna.

Women are no longer allowed to read

Wanita tak lagi diperbolehkan membaca

or move about freely in public,

atau bergerak bebas di muka umum,

and fertile women are subject to state-engineered rape

wanita yang subur akan "digagahi" oleh negara

in order to give birth to children for the regime.

untuk melahirkan anak-anak bagi rezim tersebut.

Although The Handmaid's Tale is set in the future,

Walau The Handmaid's Tale berlatar di masa depan,

one of Atwood's self-imposed rules in writing it

salah satu aturan yang diterapkan Atwood saat menulisnya adalah

was that she wouldn't use any event

ia tak akan menggunakan peristiwa

or practice that hadn't already happened in human history.

atau praktik apa pun yang belum terjadi dalam sejarah manusia.

The book is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Latar buku ini bertempat di Cambridge, Massachusetts,

a city that during the American colonial period

kota yang dalam masa kolonial Amerika

had been ruled by the theocratic Puritans.

dipimpin oleh kaum Puritan teokratis.

In many ways, the Republic of Gilead resembles the strict rules

Republik Gilead meniru peraturan-peraturan ketat

that were present in Puritan society:

yang ada dalam masyarakat Puritan dalam banyak cara:

rigid moral codes,

kode moral yang kaku,

modest clothing,

gaya berpakaian sopan,

banishment of dissenters,

pengasingan bagi pembangkang,

and regulation of every aspect of people's lives and relationships.

dan aturan dalam segala aspek kehidupan dan hubungan manusia.

For Atwood, the parallels to Massachusett's Puritans

Bagi Atwood, kemiripan dengan kaum Puritan Massachusett

were personal as well as theoretical.

selain bersifat personal juga teoretis.

She spent several years studying the Puritans at Harvard

Dia mempelajari kaum Puritan selama beberapa tahun di Harvard

and she's possibly descended from Mary Webster,

dan dia juga kemungkinan keturunan Mary Webster,

a Puritan woman accused of witchcraft who survived her hanging.

wanita Puritan yang lolos dari hukum gantung karena dituduh sebagai penyihir.

Atwood is a master storyteller.

Atwood adalah seorang pendongeng andal.

The details of Gilead, which we've only skimmed the surface of,

Detail Gilead yang hanya ditampilkan sedikit,

slowly come into focus through the eyes of its characters,

lama-lama menjadi jelas lewat mata para karakternya,

mainly the novel's protagonist Offred,

terutama lewat Offred si protagonis,

a handmaid in the household of a commander.

pelayan wanita di kediaman seorang komandan.

Before the coup that established Gilead,

Sebelum kudeta yang membentuk Gilead,

Offred had a husband, a child, a job, and a normal, middle-class American life.

Offred punya suami, seorang anak, pekerjaan dan kehidupan normal

ala kelas menengah Amerika.

But when the fundamentalist regime comes into power,

Namun ketika rezim fundamentalis berkuasa,

Offred is denied her identity,

Offred kehilangan identitasnya,

separated from her family,

dipisahkan dari keluarganya,

and reduced to being, in Offred's words,

dan diturunkan derajatnya menjadi, dalam kata-katanya,

"a two-legged womb for increasing Gilead's waning population."

"Rahim berkaki dua bagi populasi Gilead yang kian menurun."

She initially accepts the loss of her fundamental human rights

Ia akhirnya pasrah kehilangan hak-hak dasarnya sebagai manusia

in the name of stabilizing the new government.

demi menstabilkan pemerintahan baru.

But state control soon extends into attempts to control the language,

Namun kendali negara merambah ke kendali bahasa,

behavior,

perilaku,

and thoughts of herself and other individuals.

juga pemikirannya serta pemikiran orang lain.

Early on, Offred says,

Di awal kisah, Offred berkata,

"I wait. I compose myself.

"Aku menunggu. Menenangkan diri.

My self is a thing I must compose, as one composes a speech."

Diriku adalah sesuatu yang kugubah, layaknya menggubah sebuah pidato."

She likens language to the formulation of identity.

Ia menyamakan bahasa dengan perumusan identitas.

Her words also acknowledge the possibility of resistance,

Kata-katanya juga membenarkan peluang perlawanan,

and it's resistance, the actions of people who dare to break the political,

dan penentangan, aksi masyarakat yang berani mendobrak aturan politik,

intellectual,

intelektual,

and sexual rules,

dan seksual,

that drives the plot of the Handmaid's Tale.

yang menjadi plot utama The Handmaid's Tale.

Ultimately, the novel's exploration of the consequences of complacency,

Pada akhirnya, eksplorasi novel akan konsekuensi kepuasan diri,

and how power can be wielded unfairly,

dan kekuatan yang digunakan secara tidak adil,

makes Atwood's chilling vision of a dystopian regime ever relevant.

membuat visi rezim distopia Atwood yang mengerikan menjadi relevan.

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