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The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

1169 Words5 Pages

New Historicism is an emerging field of literary criticism that originated in the 80’s. It focuses on the relationship between literature and the time when it was written. One of its most fundamental concepts is that it “assumes that every work is a product of the historic moment that created it" (Richter 1205). An example of this occurs in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood as a product of Puritanism during the Seventeenth century. During the Seventeenth century, Puritans believed that women were culturally subordinate to men and “they did not approve of doing anything to prevent pregnancy.” (Roe n.d) Similarly, in Atwood’s critically acclaimed novel, “women had to dress modestly, covering their hair and arms” (MacLean, 2007). Puritans also believed that “as God's elect, had the duty to direct national affairs according to God's will as revealed in the Bible” (Bowden, n.d). …show more content…

Through the prevalence of Puritan beliefs in The Republic of Gilead, readers can observe how different characters accept, feel oppressed and threatened by Gilead’s beliefs. These behaviours prove that Gilead is a product of Puritanism, a fundamental concept of New Historicism. In The Handmaid’s Tale, there are various strategies that authoritative figures use to install these Puritan ideologies to the citizens of Gilead. A lot of these strategies work quite effectively as some characters simply accept these ideas. However, these ideologies that largely deal with inequality of the sexes cause some characters to feel oppressed and as a result, some characters rebel while some characters feel threatened to rebel within

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1310 Words | 6 Pages

(Atwood 187). Although Handmaids experience oppression by the Gilead regime, Atwood emphasizes the importance of unity and collaboration in the face of difficulties. The government of Gilead presents how hypocritical their society is toward women’s rights since the government uses a form of manipulation to make the Handmaid’s circumstances more tolerable. Additionally, Offred expresses how women do not have a right to their bodies because of the power others have over them as Offred states “I am abject” (Atwood 331). Offred expresses the removal of her individuality, autonomy, and basic human rights.

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‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ shows patriarchy and how it is used against the female voice through how the Gileadean society has placed women in roles of labourers and handmaids. For example, “He is demonstrating, to me, his mastery of the world. He’s breaking the rules, under

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The Handmaid's Tale Comparative Essay

2977 Words | 12 Pages

Introduction Background In her 1986 novel The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood presents a scathing critique of a dystopian society that focuses on the subjugation of women and denial of their basic human rights. The novel takes place in the Republic of Gilead, a theocratic regime that has replaced the United States of America, in which women are degraded to reproductive machines, without access to education, independence, or even the ability to read. Central themes in this novel include patriarchal oppression, religious fundamentalism, and totalitarianism. Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, published in 2019, continues to explore and expand upon these themes, but the subject of her criticism shifts slightly.

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Inferiority and superiority complexes between individuals exemplify the imbalance of power and is shown throughout the novel, Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood. “This is supposed to signify that we are one flesh, one being. What it really means is that she is in control, of the process and thus of the product” (Atwood 94). Throughout the ceremony, the process alone is supposed to demonstrate that both the wife and the handmaid are equal and one. That gives them a sense of equality and there is some sense of a balance between the women.

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The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood begins with the main character, Offred, describing the setting of the gymnasium she is in. The room is called the Red Center and her and many other women are sleeping there. The place is guarded by two women, Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth who prevent the women from escaping. Offred is the narrator of the story as well as the main character of the story. She is a handmaid, the women who bear children for the elite couples.

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The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

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The Handmaid's Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, displays the totalitarian and dystopian society of Gilead in which women are stripped of their rights and identities as it all takes place in Cambridge Massachusetts. The novel is set in the mind of Offred, a handmaid whose sole purpose is to birth children for the commanders, the elites of Gilead. Gilead is structured into a long, complex societal pyramid as the commanders reign above while the handmaids linger towards the bottom. Religion is central to the story as it helps shape and hold Gilead together, but not in a way you might think. As mentioned previously, the commanders hold the power within Gilead as their manipulation of biblical faith empowers them over the handmaids as the power

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The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

1794 Words | 8 Pages

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood illustrates the Republic of Gilead's as a new society where there are sexually oppressed women and is founded by religious extremist. In this society, women are used as a child bearers and have no rights in the cruel and harsh society. In between the dystopian society, Offred is a slave to this freedomless civilization; she is known as a Handmaid. Offred presents her story of pure oppression and how she survives to hold her past life. “ I used to think of my body as an instrument,...or an implement for the accomplishment of my will…

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2035 Words | 9 Pages

Works of literature often portray ideas relating to Marxist theory, this is why in a dystopian society, class distinctions dominate the social climate, using Marxist ideologies as a tool to define the lives of the narrator and those around her. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, ideologies from Marxist theory dominate the society in which Offred, the narrator, lives in, evidenced by the strict class systems and limited interaction between them. In writing the novel, Atwood makes a point to create a world that could exist using technology and ideas already accessible in today’s society, meaning the events that take place in The Handmaid’s Tale could happen in present day. Offred lives in a reality where class distinctions dominate society, and women, especially fertile women. These women are displaced downwards, although there are those women who attempt to resist the grip of society.

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This year is the 30th anniversary of the publication of Margaret Atwood 's dystopian classic, The Handmaid 's Tale. The novel is told from a first person account of a young woman, Offred. In an age of declining births, she is forced to become a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, the imagined future in the United States. The Handmaids are to provide children by the substitution of infertile women of a higher social status. Through the creation of different characteristics of female characters – ones who are submissive yet rebellious, and like to take advantage of their power - Margaret Atwood portray themes of love, theocracy, rebellion, and gender roles.

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996 Words | 4 Pages

In this written text, the emphasis will be on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale and as well as the way Atwood portrays women and how it can be argued to show the oppression of women. The main purpose is to analyze the way women are treated throughout this book and depict why they are represented this way in the society in Gilead. Then, comparatively, observe the men’s domination over women and how they govern this society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are stripped of their rights, suffer many inequalities and are objectified, controlled by men and only valued for their reproductive qualities. The Gilead society is divided in multiple social group.

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