To what extent does the clothing affect the characters and the power structure in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood?

In this extended essay, I will try to analyze the effect of clothing on the characters and the power structure in The Handmaid’s Tale In by Margaret Atwood. The scope of my investigation will be thorough analysis of the clothes that are worn in Gilead, where the story takes place, whilst examining the symbolic meanings and the effect of clothing on the characters and the power structure. The Handmaid’s Tale Word count: 200 , the clothes are used to solidify the new social structure of the theocratic and patriarchal republic of Gilead (formerly the United States of America), which is born in the late twentieth century and therefore has to regulate the society strictly to prevent rebellions. The society is broken down into groups, and all groups are assigned some new roles and responsibilities, along with new clothes, or rather uniforms, which everyone has to wear. With these clothes, people grow into their assigned roles and easily adapt to the social structure of Gilead. With the help of symbolic meanings, the responsibilities and roles of groups are enclosed in the uniforms. In time, people lose their originality and characters and become what they wear, which is the main aim of the new ‘designs’