O controle social pela linguagem em The handmaid’s tale : discurso, poder e resistência

Abstract

This study examines the social control exerted by language in the first season of the series The Handmaid's Tale, adapted from Margaret Atwood's homonymous work. The main objective is to investigate how verbal language is instrumentalized as a mechanism of oppression and, simultaneously, as a space for symbolic resistance in the theocratic regime of Gilead. For this purpose, the research adopts a qualitative approach, anchored in Critical Discourse Analysis, with contributions from Sociolinguistics and the theoretical thought of authors such as Ernst Cassirer, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, and José Luiz Fiorin. The analysis focuses on the ten episodes of the first season, emphasizing ritualized discourses, surveillance practices, the resemantization of terms, and the silencing strategies imposed by the regime. The results demonstrate that language in Gilead operates as a technology of power, standardizing behaviors, erasing identities, and naturalizing gender hierarchies. However, cracks of resistance are also revealed through minimal linguistic gestures, such as the preservation of proper names, clandestine writing, and the formation of underground solidarity networks. It is concluded that, even in contexts of totalitarian control, language retains an insurgent potential, serving both domination and the re-existence of subordinate characters. This work contributes to studies on language, power, and gender, offering a critical reflection on the political uses of language in contemporary societies.