Volume 5, Issue 1 (March 2026)
IJER 2026, 5(1): 0-0 |
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Moslehi M, Borzabadi Farahani H, Azizmohammadi F, Khodadad M. (2026). Language as Fixed Destiny or Chosen Destination in Margaret Atwood's The Testaments: Testimony and Surveillance through Judith Butler and bell hooks. IJER. 5(1),
URL: http://ijer.hormozgan.ac.ir/article-1-514-en.html
URL: http://ijer.hormozgan.ac.ir/article-1-514-en.html
1- Department of English language, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
2- Department of English Language, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran ,053225375222@iau.ac.ir
3- Department of English Language, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
4- Department of English Language, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
2- Department of English Language, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran ,
3- Department of English Language, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
4- Department of English Language, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
Abstract: (23 Views)
Objective: This study examines the role of testimony in Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments and investigates how voice and language function both as tools of self‑fashioning and mechanisms of surveillance within the post‑Gileadean narrative.
Methods: The analysis draws on Judith Butler’s theory of performativity and bell hooks’ intersectional critique of power and voice. Through a close reading of the testimonies of Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Daisy, the study explores how language constructs authority, identity, and moral legitimacy while reflecting unequal access to expression.
Results: The analysis demonstrates that testimony in The Testaments is not neutral but shaped by social and political systems that enable some narratives while marginalizing others. Butler’s framework reveals how authority and legitimacy are produced through the repetition and recognition of language, while hooks’ perspective highlights how power operates through unequal access to voice, even among women. Across the three perspectives, language emerges neither as a space of absolute freedom nor total restriction but as a constrained field of possibility.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that The Testaments shifts the focus of control in Gilead from silencing individuals to regulating how they speak. Through its use of voice, memory, and survival narratives, the novel raises ethical questions about expression, authority, and the preservation of memory under systems of power.
Methods: The analysis draws on Judith Butler’s theory of performativity and bell hooks’ intersectional critique of power and voice. Through a close reading of the testimonies of Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Daisy, the study explores how language constructs authority, identity, and moral legitimacy while reflecting unequal access to expression.
Results: The analysis demonstrates that testimony in The Testaments is not neutral but shaped by social and political systems that enable some narratives while marginalizing others. Butler’s framework reveals how authority and legitimacy are produced through the repetition and recognition of language, while hooks’ perspective highlights how power operates through unequal access to voice, even among women. Across the three perspectives, language emerges neither as a space of absolute freedom nor total restriction but as a constrained field of possibility.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that The Testaments shifts the focus of control in Gilead from silencing individuals to regulating how they speak. Through its use of voice, memory, and survival narratives, the novel raises ethical questions about expression, authority, and the preservation of memory under systems of power.
Type of Study: Original |
Subject:
Educational Studies
Received: 2025/09/5 | Accepted: 2025/12/12 | Published: 2026/03/1
Received: 2025/09/5 | Accepted: 2025/12/12 | Published: 2026/03/1
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