The wall in The Handmaid's Tale could be a Biblical allusion to the walls referenced in several Old Testament passages that suggest cities of God should surround their towns with such a structure.
In this passage from 2 Chronicles 14:7, Asa, the new king of Judah, explains why the walls around the kingdom are important:
"Let us build up these towns," he said to Judah, "and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The...
The wall in The Handmaid's Tale could be a Biblical allusion to the walls referenced in several Old Testament passages that suggest cities of God should surround their towns with such a structure.
In this passage from 2 Chronicles 14:7, Asa, the new king of Judah, explains why the walls around the kingdom are important:
"Let us build up these towns," he said to Judah, "and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.
What is interesting about this passage, particularly in its relation to The Handmaid's Tale, is Asa's goal, in addition to building a wall, was to obey God in all ways, which is very similar to the stated goal of the leaders of Gilead, which is also named after a biblical kingdom.
Like Asa's walls with "towers, gates and bars," the wall in The Handmaid's Tale has "ugly new floodlights mounted on metal posts above it, and barbed wire along the bottom and broken glass set in concrete along the top." In addition, the walls aren't there to keep people from entering Gilead, rather it's there to keep residents from leaving.
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