The Handmaid’s Tale: essay notes
Grade 12 IEB
• Atwood’s handmaid’s tale was a dystopian novel attempting to
depict her inspiration of Orwell’s “1984” from a female point of
view
• Her argument was that other dystopias of the time were written by
men and the role of woman was understated, where they were
either depicted as sexless automations or rebels.
• Main reasons for the takeover of the USA by Gilead:
o Increasing occurrence of infertility
o Declining birth rates
o Abortion and contraception being banned o Woman’s rights to
freedom
o Toxic omissions which polluted the surrounding environment
• NB: Despotism: the exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel
and oppressive way
• Gilead:
o theocracy (a system of government which uses religion as a
means of control)
o set within former USA
o surrounding environment is extremely toxic and all non-
supporters of the regime were sent to these areas to clean up these
toxic materials (colonies)
, • ways in which woman were oppressed:
o the handmaids’ names (Offred) degrade any previous sense of
identity of these women and the “of” in each of their names
signifies that they are now possessions and not their own.
o Their names are changed when they are allocated to a new
household thus ensuring that they do not have sufficient time to
adjust to “their” new identity
o The “of” in each handmaids name also signifies that they are
somewhat of an “offering” to their commanders, like a temporary
gift.
o Woman are denied education
o They are denied the right to vote
o They are denied the choice to work and must serve a pre-
determined purpose chosen by others based on their capabilities
o They were not allowed to read or write thus limiting the amount
of communication
o Handmaids are forced into a monthly ritual called the ceremony
where the commander rapes her in an attempt to conceive. Before
doing this, he recites a verse from genesis 30, almost condoning this
action and emphasizing the theocratic ruling of Gilead.
• Types of women in the Handmaids tale:
o Wives (married to commanders/ high ranking officials)
o Econowives (married to lower ranking men)
o Marthas (servants in the houses of commanders)
o Aunts (trainers of handmaids and overseers of executions laws
etc.)
Grade 12 IEB
• Atwood’s handmaid’s tale was a dystopian novel attempting to
depict her inspiration of Orwell’s “1984” from a female point of
view
• Her argument was that other dystopias of the time were written by
men and the role of woman was understated, where they were
either depicted as sexless automations or rebels.
• Main reasons for the takeover of the USA by Gilead:
o Increasing occurrence of infertility
o Declining birth rates
o Abortion and contraception being banned o Woman’s rights to
freedom
o Toxic omissions which polluted the surrounding environment
• NB: Despotism: the exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel
and oppressive way
• Gilead:
o theocracy (a system of government which uses religion as a
means of control)
o set within former USA
o surrounding environment is extremely toxic and all non-
supporters of the regime were sent to these areas to clean up these
toxic materials (colonies)
, • ways in which woman were oppressed:
o the handmaids’ names (Offred) degrade any previous sense of
identity of these women and the “of” in each of their names
signifies that they are now possessions and not their own.
o Their names are changed when they are allocated to a new
household thus ensuring that they do not have sufficient time to
adjust to “their” new identity
o The “of” in each handmaids name also signifies that they are
somewhat of an “offering” to their commanders, like a temporary
gift.
o Woman are denied education
o They are denied the right to vote
o They are denied the choice to work and must serve a pre-
determined purpose chosen by others based on their capabilities
o They were not allowed to read or write thus limiting the amount
of communication
o Handmaids are forced into a monthly ritual called the ceremony
where the commander rapes her in an attempt to conceive. Before
doing this, he recites a verse from genesis 30, almost condoning this
action and emphasizing the theocratic ruling of Gilead.
• Types of women in the Handmaids tale:
o Wives (married to commanders/ high ranking officials)
o Econowives (married to lower ranking men)
o Marthas (servants in the houses of commanders)
o Aunts (trainers of handmaids and overseers of executions laws
etc.)
