The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

1052 Words3 Pages

The dystopian genre often presents an abhorrent alternative society, constructed through the author’s extrapolation of their contemporary contexts in order to provide critical reflections and warn against potential disasters. Dystopian texts reflect on the idea that individuals are subject to the laws and regulations of corrupt systems, thus possessing a role, to act as a catalyst for change. These ideas are presented in the novel, the Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood, where the authoritarian theocracy represses individuals’ sexual and reproductive freedom, as well as their desires for social progress. This is contextually reflected in society’s fears of rising Christian fundamentalists and fascism to government power, as well as …show more content…

In an interview for The Progressive, Margaret Atwood explains that The Handmaid’s Tale was written “on a what-if scenario, supposing ultraconservatives of the 20th century achieved a coup d’état and ruled a totalitarianism regime, including unethical racial cleansing, torture, repressive police and women assigned roles based on their reproductive abilities .”(Cliffs Notes, Guide to Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale) As these attributes are reflected in the Gilean society, it is suggested that Atwood is supposedly cautioning audiences that the modern society could be contingent on these dystopic ideas unless rebellions are successful in inflicting change. Towards the end of the novel, Offred, although reluctant, slowly comes to terms with Gilead’s society and its implications, as she states, “Everything they taught me at the Red Center, everything I've resisted, comes flooding in…. I don't want pain. I don't want to be a doll… I don't want to be a wingless angel…” The anaphora of “I don't want” highlights her desire to surrender to the system, as she has given up on resisting any further. Moreover, she affirms her resolution in saying, “I am abject. I feel, for the first time, their true power,” where the short syntax accentuates her compliance and continuation to passively accept to the oppression of the system. Despite her early minor rebellious acts against the system, Offred’s final submission to authority and lack of change imposed on society, resulted in further repression and dangerous continuation of the Gilean

Open Document