The Handmaid's Tale

Anna Rose Iverson
Mrs. Arnold
Honors English
May 18, 2015

The handmaid's Tale

          The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian science fiction with a similar premise of that of George Orwell’s 1984.  Instead of themes of socialism Atwood focuses on women's rights in her not-so-distant future world.  The Handmaid’s Tale is told through the eyes of a handmaid named Offred. Offred is not her real name, it is “of” added to the first name of her commander, in this case Fred, (this is how all handmaids are named).  This is an obvious way of showing that these handmaids are property of their commander.  Offred leads us into the society of Gilead, which replaced the United States. Gilead has a fundamentalist Christian government that was built by the suppression of women like Offred. Women have few roles in Gileadian society. There are marthas, who keep the houses of their commanders, house wives who are the wives of the commanders and are in charge of the house, and economy wives who are forced to do every thing for her husband including having children. Then there are the Handmaids. In a society where pollution, nuclear warfare, and ramped STDs lower fertility rates, the Handmaids are wombs for hire (but without a choice).  Basically Handmaids are forced to be the commanders’ sex slaves. If they get pregnant their child is stolen from them for the commander and his wife, yet if she  doesn't get pregnant after a set amount of time she becomes an unwoman and is sent to “the colonies” to be a slave who cleans radio active waste with no protection.  The final position a woman can hold is that of most power, the aunts. Their job is to suppress the handmaids and brainwash them after they grew up in the pre-Gilead world. Offred shows us the twisted relationships between the women of different classes in the society and also in women’s relationships with men and how off they seem to be to us. Atwood has written The Handmaid’s Tale in a way in which it seems Offred is speaking to us. She does not speak to us perfectly and shows her imperfections making her relatable. Atwood published this book in 1986 during the second wave feminist movement, which is referenced in the book. While Atwood never explicitly states when Gilead took over the US it is assumed that it is during this time. She uses the book as a call to arms to women. This book shows what might happen if the feminist movement failed.Offred grew up with a strong single mother who was a leader in a feminist movement, which mostly embarrasses Offred. Offred is not a feminist hero. She did not champion right but just lived her life not appreciating the simple rights she had. Offred’s name is never stated. she is the personification of all the women who are not actively championing womens rights. This book is worth reading because it opens your eyes to what the world could be like without feminists. Everyone should experience Offred’s world where a persons name could literally means “Of-the man who rapes me”.