97 Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
In This Chapter
Author Background
Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author, poet, literary critic, and environmental activist. She was born on November 18, 1939, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Atwood is considered one of the most significant and celebrated writers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Her works span various genres, including novels, poetry, short stories, essays, and literary criticism. She is best known for her speculative fiction and dystopian novels, often exploring themes of gender, identity, power, and environmental issues.
Early Life
Margaret Atwood grew up in rural Canada and spent much of her childhood in the northern wilderness of Ontario. She developed a love for reading and writing from a young age, and her interest in literature continued throughout her education.
Atwood attended the University of Toronto, where she studied English, with a particular interest in Victorian literature. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961 and later pursued graduate studies in English and creative writing at Radcliffe College (now part of Harvard University) in the United States.
Writing Career
Atwood published her first book of poetry, Double Persephone, in 1961. She continued to write poetry throughout her career, earning critical acclaim and numerous awards for her poetic works.
Atwood gained international recognition for her novels, particularly The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and Oryx and Crake (2003). These dystopian novels have become seminal works of speculative fiction, exploring themes of totalitarianism, gender oppression, and ecological collapse.
Atwood’s literary achievements have earned her numerous awards and honors, including the Booker Prize for Fiction (now called the Booker Prize) for “The Blind Assassin” (2000) and the Arthur C. Clarke Award for The Handmaid’s Tale. Her works are widely studied in universities and schools around the world.
Activism
Atwood is also known for her environmental advocacy. She is vocal about climate change, conservation, and the importance of protecting the natural world. As an environmental activist, Atwood has supported various organizations and initiatives focused on environmental sustainability and raising awareness about ecological issues.
Margaret Atwood’s literary contributions have left an indelible mark on contemporary literature. Her thought-provoking explorations of social and environmental issues have resonated with readers and critics alike. Atwood’s impact extends beyond her writing, as she continues to be an influential voice in discussions about feminism, politics, and the state of the planet.
Her work has been lauded for its intellectual depth, linguistic prowess, and exploration of timely and relevant themes. Her literary achievements have secured her a prominent place in the pantheon of contemporary writers, and she remains an iconic figure in Canadian literature and beyond.
Background on The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel first published in 1985. Set in the near-future totalitarian state of Gilead, the novel explores themes of women’s rights, gender oppression, religious extremism, and the dangers of a society governed by authoritarian rule. The Handmaid’s Tale has become one of Atwood’s most well-known and critically acclaimed works, receiving widespread recognition and influencing popular culture and discussions on feminism and reproductive rights.
Context and Inspiration
Atwood drew inspiration from various historical and sociopolitical events when writing The Handmaid’s Tale, including the rise of religious fundamentalism, the feminist movement, and debates surrounding reproductive rights in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979) and the establishment of an Islamic theocracy were also influential in shaping Atwood’s dystopian vision of a theocratic regime in The Handmaid’s Tale.
Plot Summary
The story follows Offred, a Handmaid who is one of the few fertile women in Gilead. Handmaids are forced to serve as surrogate mothers for high-ranking officials and their infertile wives.
Offred’s only purpose is to conceive and bear a child for her Commander. Her individuality and rights have been stripped away, and she is subject to extreme control and surveillance.
Through flashbacks, the novel reveals Offred’s life before the rise of Gilead, her family, and the gradual erosion of civil liberties leading to the establishment of the oppressive regime.
Themes
Women’s Rights and Gender Oppression: The Handmaid’s Tale explores the subjugation of women and their loss of autonomy, focusing on the consequences of a society where women are reduced to their reproductive functions.
Reproductive Control: The novel delves into issues of reproductive rights and control over women’s bodies, emphasizing the dangers of using religion and government to suppress individual freedoms.
Resistance and Rebellion: Throughout the novel, Offred struggles with her desire for freedom and her fear of the severe consequences of rebellion.
Language and Propaganda: Atwood emphasizes the power of language and propaganda in shaping public perception and maintaining control over the population.
Cultural Impact and Legacy
The Handmaid’s Tale has had a profound impact on popular culture, becoming a symbol of feminist resistance. It has been adapted into various forms, including a successful television series and stage productions.
The novel’s themes of authoritarianism, reproductive rights, and the dangers of religious extremism continue to resonate with readers and remain relevant in contemporary discussions on politics, women’s rights, and social issues.
The Handmaid’s Tale remains a powerful and thought-provoking work, known for its compelling narrative and its chilling depiction of a society where oppression and surveillance reign. It continues to be studied and appreciated for its insights into the human condition and the potential consequences of extremist ideologies.
You can borrow and read the full text of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale by visiting Internet Archive and signing up for a free account: https://archive.org/details/handmaidstale0000atwo
Margaret Atwood – On Fiction, the Future and the Environment
Watch the following video to see an interview with the author:
The following discussion questions should provide a starting point for in-depth conversations about the thought-provoking themes in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. These questions can also be used as writing prompts to encourage students to reflect individually.
- The Handmaid’s Tale revolves around the control of women’s bodies and reproductive rights. How does the society of Gilead use religion and power to justify this control? What commentary does the novel offer on the implications of such control?
- The novel portrays a society with strict gender roles, where women are subjugated and reduced to their reproductive functions. How do the male characters in the novel perpetuate this patriarchal system, and what roles do they play in maintaining the oppression of women?
- The government of Gilead uses language as a tool of control and manipulation. Discuss the use of euphemisms, slogans, and propaganda in the novel. How does language shape the characters’ perception of reality?
- Throughout the novel, there are characters who resist the oppressive regime. How do Offred and other characters navigate the dangers of resistance? What methods of resistance do they employ, and what are the consequences of their actions?
- In Gilead, motherhood is valued, but only within the strict confines of the state-sanctioned roles of Handmaids. Explore how the novel portrays motherhood, and how the characters grapple with their roles as mothers in this society.
- The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a society that claims to be based on religious principles. Discuss the portrayal of religion in the novel and the dangers of religious extremism.
- The novel frequently delves into Offred’s memories of the past. How do memories of her former life influence her sense of identity in Gilead? How does the lack of individual names reinforce the loss of identity among the Handmaids?
- How does the historical context in which The Handmaid’s Tale was written (1980s) inform the themes and issues explored in the novel? Discuss the relevance of those themes in contemporary society.
- The characters in the novel are confined physically, emotionally, and psychologically. How does the concept of freedom manifest itself in the story, and how do different characters experience or pursue it?
- The novel ends with an ambiguous conclusion, leaving certain aspects of the story open to interpretation. What do you make of the ending? What might Atwood be trying to convey with this ambiguity?
- Examine the character of the Commander and his interactions with Offred. How does their relationship illustrate the complexities of power dynamics in the society of Gilead?
Sources
Atwood, Margaret. In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination. Nan A. Talese, 2011.
Atwood, Margaret. “Margaret Atwood on What ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Means in the Age of Trump.” The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/books/review/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-age-of-trump.html
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Internet Archive, 1986, uploaded by station46.cebu, 13 Oct. 2020, https://archive.org/details/handmaidstale0000atwo
Cook, Nathalie. Margaret Atwood: A Critical Companion. Holtzbrinck, 2004.
Margaret Atwood’s Official Website. 2022, http://margaretatwood.ca/
“Margaret Atwood – On Fiction, the Future and the Environment.” YouTube, uploaded by The Nexus Institute, 21 Dec. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FwVOsDrp7E
Mercer, Naomi.
Morris, Mary. “The Art of Fiction No. 121: Margaret Atwood.” The Paris Review, issue 117, Winter 1990, https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2262/the-art-of-fiction-no-121-margaret-atwood
Speculative fiction is a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.
A dystopia is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives, opposite of a utopia, or perfect world.
Although poetry and plays were important in Victorian cultural life, the period is known as the great age of the novel. The serial form of publishing, in which installments of a novel were released at regular intervals, encouraged engaged audiences. Victorian era literature was characterized by depictions of everyday people, hard lives, and moral lessons.
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book.
A euphemism is a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.
