The Handmaid's Tale
Key points about The Handmaid's tale and Gilead:
Atwood doesn’t call her novel science fiction; she calls it speculative: it is a worst-case scenario of her
concerns for society
These are all valid concerns in society, summed up in the dystopian Republic of Gilead.
All of what happens has happened somewhere, at some time, which is what makes it terrifying as it
demonstrates what humans are capable of. It is believably frightening.
It is a dystopia rooted in realism.
It is a totalitarian state, which limits freedom, language, privacy and roles.
It is also a monotheocratic state- state control is based on one religion; however, she is not scared of
religion, but she is scared of people manipulating religion to control people. The church is used as a religion
because the spiritual element of religion is no longer needed- it is the control that they gain from religion
that is key. They even capitalize religion- they charge people for prayers.
Context of the 1980s:
Worry about nuclear bombs and pollution were prominent- radiation, thalidomide disaster, ongoing threat
of nuclear war.
Atwood was an environmentalist
There were declining birth rates, and methods being brought in to combat this, such as IVF.
There was also more contraceptive pills and abortion than ever before which many people disagreed with
Introduction of new technologies; Atwood was perhaps worried that this could be used to control women,
such as when the women's bank accounts were shut down
There was a feminist uprising where people fought the traditional values of women
There was also the anti-feminist backlash
There was a rise of the religious right movement in America/ Reagan era
Key points about The Handmaid's tale and Gilead:
Atwood doesn’t call her novel science fiction; she calls it speculative: it is a worst-case scenario of her
concerns for society
These are all valid concerns in society, summed up in the dystopian Republic of Gilead.
All of what happens has happened somewhere, at some time, which is what makes it terrifying as it
demonstrates what humans are capable of. It is believably frightening.
It is a dystopia rooted in realism.
It is a totalitarian state, which limits freedom, language, privacy and roles.
It is also a monotheocratic state- state control is based on one religion; however, she is not scared of
religion, but she is scared of people manipulating religion to control people. The church is used as a religion
because the spiritual element of religion is no longer needed- it is the control that they gain from religion
that is key. They even capitalize religion- they charge people for prayers.
Context of the 1980s:
Worry about nuclear bombs and pollution were prominent- radiation, thalidomide disaster, ongoing threat
of nuclear war.
Atwood was an environmentalist
There were declining birth rates, and methods being brought in to combat this, such as IVF.
There was also more contraceptive pills and abortion than ever before which many people disagreed with
Introduction of new technologies; Atwood was perhaps worried that this could be used to control women,
such as when the women's bank accounts were shut down
There was a feminist uprising where people fought the traditional values of women
There was also the anti-feminist backlash
There was a rise of the religious right movement in America/ Reagan era
