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The Handmaid's Tale has kept fans hooked and on the edge of their seats for six seasons now. However, as Season 6 comes to an end, one of the things that has become most prominent and noticeable about the show is how the meaning and the significance of the red dress that the Handmaids wear have changed over the seasons. From being a symbol of oppression in the opening seasons to finally becoming a symbol of rebellion in the final season, the red, flowing dresses have come a long way.
The red dresses have been a constant motif in The Handmaid's Tale for eight years now, as the Handmaids have always been seen sporting these flowing, covering dresses in Gilead. The dresses had been synonymous with the oppression faced by the Handmaids for eight years, till the show changed its meaning altogether in the final season.
READ MORE: The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 Episode 9: Release date news, time, streaming details, and more
The red dresses in The Handmaid's Tale change from a symbol of oppression to rebellion in the final season
In Season 6, the storyline closely follows June Osborne (played by Elisabeth Moss) as she works with Mayday to take down Gilead. As her initial plan of attacking the Commanders fails with Nick informing Commander Wharton about the attack, she is forced to come up with a new one. She decides to execute it at the wedding celebration of Serena Joy and Commander Wharton. This is simply because she knew that this celebration would be a hub for many Commanders to get together, making things easier for the Handmaids.
While the red dresses originally stood as a symbol of oppression for the Handmaids in Gilead, this meaning completely changes during the attack planned by June. The red dresses were originally meant to hide the shape of the women wearing them, hiding their identity altogether and simply showing them as nothing more than an instrument for giving birth to children.
However, during the attack, it is these very red dresses that come in handy for the Handmaids, turning them into symbols of power and rebellion. The flowy shape of the dresses, originally meant to hide the shape of the Handmaid's body, now made it easier for them to carry weapons like knives underneath the dress, which they then used to kill the Commanders. Since all the Handmaids would wear the same red dresses, it also became very difficult to single them out and identify them individually.
Finally, the red color of the dress, which was initially supposed to reduce the Handmaids to nothing more than symbols of fertility and childbearing capacity, now became a symbol of power, denoting the color of the blood of their oppressors instead.
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It is interesting to note that the shift in symbolism of the red dresses is something that is addressed in Season 6, Episode 8 of The Handmaid's Tale, especially in June's speech. She speaks about how Gilead has been oppressing the Handmaids with these very dresses, but eventually, she encourages the Handmaids to reclaim the dresses as their own and transform the symbolism of these clothes for themselves.
READ MORE: The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 Episode 8 recap: The war against Gilead is finally on
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