The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale

Written by: Margaret Atwood

Summary:

            The Handmaid's Tale is set in the near future in the Republic of Gilead, a theocratic military dictatorship formed within the borders of what was formerly the United States of America.

Beginning with a staged terrorist attack (blamed on Islamic extremist terrorists) that kills the President and most of Congress, a movement calling itself the "Sons of Jacob" launches a revolution and suspends the United States Constitution under the pretext of restoring order. They are quickly able to take away all of women's rights, largely attributed to financial records being stored electronically and labelled by gender. The new regime moves quickly to consolidate its power and reorganize society along a new militarized, hierarchical, compulsorily Christian regime of Old Testament-inspired social and religious ultra-conservatism among its newly created social classes. In this society, almost all women are forbidden to read.

The story is presented from the point of view of a woman called Offred (literally Of-Fred). The character is one of a class of women kept as concubines ("handmaids") for reproductive purposes by the ruling class in an era of declining births due to sterility from pollution and sexually transmitted diseases. The book is told in the first person by Offred, who describes her life during her third assignment as a handmaid, in this case to Fred (referred to as "The Commander"). Interspersed in flashbacks are portions of her life from before and during the beginning of the revolution, when she finds she has lost all autonomy to her husband, through her failed attempt to escape with her husband and daughter to Canada, to her indoctrination into life as a handmaid. Offred describes the structure of Gilead's society, including the several different classes of women and their circumscribed lives in the new theocracy.

The Commander is a high-ranking official in Gilead. Although he is only supposed to have sex with Offred during "the Ceremony", a ritual at which his wife is present, he begins an illegal and ambiguous relationship with her. He reveals to her hidden or contraband aspects of the new society, such as fashion magazines and cosmetics. He takes her to a secret brothel run by the government, and he furtively meets with her in his study, where he allows her to read, an activity otherwise proscribed for women. The Commander's wife, Serena Joy, also has secret interactions with Offred, arranging for her secretly to have sex with Nick, Serena's driver, in an effort to get Offred pregnant. In exchange for Offred's cooperation, Serena Joy gives her news of her daughter, whom Offred has not seen since she and her family were captured trying to escape Gilead.

After Offred's initial meeting with Nick, they begin to rendezvous more frequently. Offred discovers she enjoys sex with Nick, despite her indoctrination and her memories of her husband. She shares potentially dangerous information about her past with him. Through another handmaid, Ofglen, Offred learns of the Mayday resistance, an underground network working to overthrow Gilead. Shortly after Ofglen's disappearance (later discovered to be a suicide), the Commander's wife finds evidence of the relationship between Offred and the Commander. Offred contemplates suicide. As the novel concludes, she is being taken away by men from the secret police, the Eyes of God, known informally as "the Eyes", under orders from Nick. Before she is put in the large black van, Nick tells her that the men are part of the Mayday resistance and that Offred must trust him. Offred does not know if Nick is a member of the Mayday resistance or a government agent posing as one, and she does not know if going with the men will result in her escape or her capture. She enters the van with her future uncertain.

The novel concludes with a metafictional epilogue that explains that the events of the novel occurred shortly after the beginning of what is called "the Gilead Period". The epilogue is a "transcription of a Symposium on Gileadean Studies written sometime in the distant future (2195)." According to the symposium's "keynote speaker" Professor Pieixoto, he and colleague Professor Knotly Wade discovered Offred's story recorded onto cassette tapes. They transcribed the tapes, calling them collectively "the handmaid's tale". Through the tone and actions of the professionals in this final section of the book, the world of academia is highlighted and critiqued.[5] The epilogue implies that, following the collapse of the theocratic Republic of Gilead, a more equal society re-emerged with a restoration of full rights of women and freedom of religion.

Why choose this text:

            When I was in my junior year of high school the time of year came when the class needed to choose a book from the approved list.  I was unsure what to choose and asked my teacher for advice.  She smiled at me and told me she knew the exact book that I should read.  The next day she brought me this book from her own library.  It changed my view on women’s rights in a way nothing had before.  To this day I still hold onto this book in my mind with the hope that one day I will be able to recommend it to one of my students.

I was a proficient reader and I would not recommend the use of this book with struggling readers.  I would also suggest that the students who study this sort of material are of a higher grade level or are in AP classes.  The discussions that must arise from a book which tackles the subjects of religion and oppression may not be suitable for a younger audience.  Whatever class uses this text should be prepared to tackle this subject area and the classroom culture should feel safe for the students.

How to use this text:

The topics of this text include religious and gender oppression and the environment.

·         Current events in multiple corners of the world are encompassed in these factors currently.  This book could easily be tied to the study of the current war in the Middle East. 

·         Gender oppression can also be tied easily with the history of the United States.  Discussions of women attaining the right to vote would tie in well with this story.

·         The use of handmaids in the text came to be because of pollution and sexually transmitted diseases.  This could be tied to current world events as well.  The AIDS epidemic in Africa, global warming, the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan, or the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are all changing and affecting our world and can be discussed.

Obstacles:

This is a controversial text.  Its topics are hotly debated in current events.  The oppression of women and their fight for some sort of agency is a difficult subject when taken into context with the struggles in the Middle East.  There is always the chance that your class could include students from a culture where women are a separate class from men.  This could make those students and their families uncomfortable.  The administration shouldn’t find fault in the discussion of women’s rights or the right to vote for women wouldn’t be taught in school.  There could be a far greater amount of backlash from the dark portrayal of religious extremists.  Even though it is clear that the dictatorship IS the work of extremists and not the average Christian, Christianity is the politically prominent religion in America.  Certain schools will not allow the teaching of a book which smears the Christian religion and certain parents will not allow it either.  This is something that will need to be discussed with the administration and a decision made on whether or not to send a note home to the parents.

An Extra Note:

The idea of a subjugated dystopian society is nothing new.  1984 has been taught and debated since it was created.  The difference in this work is that the subject is wrapped in religion and focused on the plight of women.  It is up to you as instructors if those are topics you wish to attack.  They are hotly debated. 

It should also be noted that the basis of the Gilead society is wrapped up in the Old Testament.  The use of handmaids as concubines has a biblical origin.  Jacob took his two wives handmaidens as concubines when his wives were unable to have children.  Abraham also took his wife’s handmaid.  It was believed that since the handmaids belonged to the wives that they were a suitable substitute; the baby would still come from the wife, instead it would be born of her property rather than her body.

 If you decide to speak on these subjects, this is a well written and engaging book to use.