Margaret Atwood’s the Handmaid’s Tale Study: Assertion of Self Amidst Alien Culture Canadian Literature is a literary output emerging out of a confluence of the two main streams in the English Language - British and American. It soon asserted its nationalism and developed into an independent tradition. The twentieth century has witnessed quite a number of Canadian fictions and it is remarkable that the women writers outnumber the male writers in Canada. The reason why the women writers excel the male writers in Canada is that the plight of the women had not improved much. Aware of such a situation, the women writers gave preference to the female identity in a male-dominated society. The idea of women’s individuality made the women the women put forth questions such as Who they are? Where they are heading to? and How they should shape their future in a male- dominated society? Margaret Atwood has carved a niche in the minds of the literary readers as a leading literary artist. Her success is multidimensional as a poet, novelist, critic, short story writer, and the winner of great many literary awards. Atwood’s commitment towards improving the lot of women finds its expression in her works for she delves deeply into the theme of survival . Women vulnerable to the physical atrocities go through agonies and their intense pain initiates them to fight against their subjugation and emerge as individuals. Atwood not only aims at the