CULTIVATING COMPASSION
Literature, Tattoos and Resistance
Fiction Again” were common. Interpreting the Ink Atwood’s novel seems all the more prescient in the present mo- PHQWRIJLYHQWKHRYHUWXUQ - ing of 5RHY:DGH LQ-XQH the U.S.’s plummeting birth rate, and increasing environmental and social instability. The United 1DWLRQ¶V ,QWHUQDWLRQDO &RXUW RI -XVWLFH LVVXHG LWV ¿UVW HYHU RSLQ - ion about climate change on July $FFRUGLQJWR an article in The 1HZ <RUN 7LPHV , “The unanimous opinion said that the failure of nations to take action to protect the climate system may constitute ‘an internationally ZURQJIXO DFW¶ ,W DOVR IRXQG WKDW protection of the environment is ‘a precondition’ for ensuring hu-
BY LAURA WRIGHT; EDITED BY CAM MACQUEEN
According to the 1HZ'LFWLRQDU\RIWKH+LVWRU\RI,GHDV : The path of resistance has been neither straight nor narrow. First adopted by the political right, and then crossing the aisle to the left, resistance is sometimes FRQVLGHUHGDPHDQVDQGRWKHUWLPHVDQHQG,WVPRG - ern history traces the evolution of an idea and a trans- formation in politics. The English word resistance is a derivation of “resist,” stemming from the Latin — via the French — mean- LQJ ³WR VWDQG´ 5HVLVWDQFH KDV D WHFKQLFDO VFLHQWL¿F PHDQLQJ WKH RSSRVLWLRQ R̆ HUHG E\ RQH ERG\ WR WKH pressure or movement of another, as well as a later psychoanalytic one, the unconscious opposition to re- pressed memories or desires. But the 2[IRUG(QJOLVK 'LFWLRQDU \¶VSULPDU\GH¿QLWLRQ ³7RVWRSRUKLQGHU D PRYLQJERG\ WRVXFFHHGLQVWDQGLQJDJDLQVW WRSUH - YHQW DZHDSRQHWF IURPSLHUFLQJRUSHQHWUDWLQJ´ has a distinct political bent. ,QPDQ\ZD\V8QLWHG6WDWHVKLVWRU\FDQEHUHDGWKURXJKWKHOHQVRI resistance as a way of understanding various political and social move- PHQWVLGHRORJLHVDQGLQVWLWXWLRQV,QWKHVSULQJRI,WDXJKWD contemporary literature course focused on the concept of “resistance,” LQODUJHSDUWEHFDXVH ,DPLQWHUHVWHG LQWKH ZD\ WKDWOLWHUDU\¿FWLRQ – an artistic mode credited with increasing readers’ level of empathy ±HQJDJHVZLWKIUDXJKWKLVWRULFDOUHDOLWLHVDVZHOODVR̆ HUVG\VWRSLDQ VSHFXODWLRQDERXWWKHIXWXUH,DVNHGKRZOLWHUDU\¿FWLRQPLJKWKHOS XVQDYLJDWHDQGUHVLVWWKHWURXEOLQJUHDOLWLHVOLNHWKRVH,ZDVVHHLQJDW the time. , KDG MXVW UHWXUQHG IURP WKH ¿UVW :RPHQ¶V 0DUFK LQ 1<& ZKLFK WRRNSODFH-DQXDU\WKHGD\DIWHU'RQDOG7UXPS¶V¿UVWSUHV - idential inauguration. The march, as you might remember, was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history (a title surpassed three years ODWHUE\WKHSURWHVWVDJDLQVWWKHNLOOLQJRI*HRUJH)OR\G 0DUFKHUV wore cat-eared hats, and many carried signs decrying the misogynist UKHWRULFDQGWKHWKHQSRWHQWLDOSROLFLHVRIWKH¿UVW7UXPSDGPLQLVWUD - tion. 'XULQJ WKH PDUFK PDQ\ SURWHVWRUV FDUULHG VLJQV WKDW UHIHUHQFHG 0DUJDUHW $WZRRG¶V QRYHO 7KH+DQGPDLG¶V7DOH , a speculative ¿FWLRQDO QDUUDWLYH WKDW LPDJLQHV WKH HDVW FRDVW RI WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV called Gilead in the novel, as a Christian nationalist separatist state reeling from an environmental collapse that has led to mass infertility. Women who can bear children are forced into reproductive servitude for the wealthy elite class. The narrative’s protagonist, known only as 2̆ UHG KHUQDPHDIWHUVKHLVJLYHQWR³)UHG´RU&RPPDQGHU:DWHU - IRUGDQGKLVZLIH6HUHQD-R\ QDYLJDWHVKHUOLPLWHGSDWKVWRUHVLVWWKH LQMXVWLFHVLQÀLFWHGE\WKHVWDWH Atwood wrote 7KH+DQGPDLG¶V7DOH as a kind of response to the rise RIWKHUHOLJLRXVULJKWLQWKH86GXULQJWKH VDQGWKHQRYHOVDZ DUHVXUJHQFHRILQWHUHVWGXHWRWKH+XOXFKDQQHO¶VRULJLQDOVHULHV based on the novel. According to 9DULHW\¶V (OL]DEHWK:DJPHLVWHUDW the time that a second season was announced, “The Handmaid’s Tale ha[d] been watched by more Hulu viewers than any other series pre- miere on the platform, considering both original and acquired series.” 7KHQDUUDWLYHZULWWHQDOPRVW\HDUVSULRUKDGR̆ HUHGXVDZDUQLQJ of where the U.S. could be heading. That we found ourselves increas- ingly in a space that looked shockingly similar to Atwood’s Gilead be- came a kind of uneasy reality. At the march, VLJQVVD\LQJ³0DNH$WZRRG
Tattoo & Photo By Joy Antonie, Owner, The Joy RI,QN7DWWRR6WXGLR RQ,*#MR\R¿QNWDWWRRV
man rights and cited government support of fossil-fuel production DV D SRWHQWLDO YLRODWLRQ RI WKHVH SULQFLSOHV´ 0HDQZKLOH LQ WKH 86 the Trump administration is doing its level best to eliminate environ- mental protections, and is rolling back the previous administration’s H̆ RUWVWRFXUEJUHHQKRXVHJDVHPLVVLRQVDQGLQFHQWLYL]HFOHDQHQHUJ\ production. ,Q$WZRRG¶VQRYHOLQIHUWLOLW\LVWKHUHVXOWRIHQYLURQPHQWDOGHJUDGD - tion and the ingestion of toxins, leaving women who can have children vulnerable to exploitation and sexual and reproductive slavery — with ]HURERGLO\DXWRQRP\'HVSLWHKHUFLUFXPVWDQFHV2̆ UHGVD\VRIWKH UXPRUHGUHVLVWDQFHFRGHQDPHG³0D\GD\´WKDWPD\RUPD\QRWH[LVW ³,EHOLHYHLQWKHUHVLVWDQFHDV,EHOLHYHWKHUHFDQEHQROLJKWZLWKRXW shadow; or, rather, no shadow unless there is also light.” She feels en- FRXUDJHGDIWHUVKH¿QGVDSKUDVHFDUYHGLQWRWKHÀRRURIKHUFORVHWLQ the room where she lives, a room that had previously held an earlier handmaid: “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.” The words are fake Latin, a made-up phrase meant as a joke, but the intended meaning is FOHDU 'RQ¶WOHWWKHEDVWDUGVJHW\RXGRZQ 7KDWWKHSKUDVHLVDMRNHLVDOVRSDUWRILWVVWUHQJWK,W¶VLQVLGHUFRGH shared by women who are, in the world of the novel, not even allowed WRUHDG%XW2̆ UHGFDQUHDGEHFDXVHVKHOLYHGLQWKHEHIRUHWLPHVRIWKH novel when women were taught to read, could own property and make money, and could exist in public spaces. The women who will come after her won’t be able to read. They won’t have the comfort of the joke RUWKHSHSWDONWKDWLWR̆ HUVHYHQLIUHVLVWDQFHSURYHVIXWLOH7KH\ZLOO no longer have access to the code. The novel ultimately leaves us in a SODFHRIQRWNQRZLQJZKHWKHU2̆ UHGHVFDSHVRULVVHQWHQFHGWRGHDWK ,QWKHZDNHRIWKH¿UVW7UXPSDGPLQLVWUDWLRQZRPHQKDGWKDW³1R - lite te bastardes carborundorum” phrase tattooed on their bodies — 'RQ¶W OHW WKH EDVWDUGV JHW \RX GRZQ $V $WZRRG QRWHV LQ KHU SRHP ³6SHOOLQJ´³$ZRUGDIWHUDZRUGDIWHUDZRUGLVSRZHU´$VDVFKRODU DQGWHDFKHURIOLWHUDWXUH,DJUHH,W¶VZK\ERRNVJHWEDQQHGZK\DX - thoritarian leaders target the press and the academics; it’s why they do WKLQJVOLNHGLVPDQWOHWKH'HSDUWPHQWRI(GXFDWLRQ That women chose to tattoo “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” on their bodies during this pivotal moment in history constituted an act of solidarity, resistance, and prescient cognition; much of Trump’s agenda has subsequently targeted women’s healthcare, particularly women’s access to abortion. Tattoos mark the body as text, readable
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PATHWAYS—Fall 25—11
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