A HANDMAIDS TALE

Margaret Atwood
 INTRODUCTION
a dystopian novel originally published in 1986.
Set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian, Christian
theonomy that has overthrown the United States government
journey of the handmaid Offred, an emphasis on the possessive form "of
Fred,"
themes of women in subjugation to misogyny in a patriarchal society and
the various means by which these women gain individualism and
independence.
title echoes the component parts of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury
Tales, which is a series of connected stories ("The Merchant's Tale", "The
Parson's Tale", etc.).[6]
Can be interpreted as a double narrative, Offred's tale and the Handmaid's
tales.
The night sections are solely about Offred, and the other sections
(shopping, waiting room, household, etc.) are the stories that describe the
possible life of every Handmaid, though from the perspective of Offred.
 Background
Need for sustained political, feminist consciousness amongst
females and society
Gilead is a hierarchical society with highly differentiated roles for
each member
Facing plagues and ecological crises
A right-wing fundamentalist reading of Bible supported by
patriarchal attitudes
Reconditioning attitudes
Devoted to reproduction
The women are infertile and barren- where Handmaids come in
Men are not infertile
The Jezebels
 Debars women from writing
Gilead also adopts measures specifically aimed
against women, their individuality, financial
freedom and their identity
The fading away of memories and by extension
the sense of self for Offred
The way Offred drops down to identifying with
her body- using it to achieve certain things-
exactly what the regime wants
Offreds turn to domesticity after being fired:
symbolic: lack of a feminist concsiousness
Romanticization of Nick paralyses her
Hers is not an active resistance
 Moira: exists as an alter-ego
She goes beyond the traditional expectations
and eals with the coup differently
Internalised the Gilead Regime
Is selfish- not concerned with society as a
large