The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale (1985)

Offred is a handmaid in the republic of Gilead, a totalitarian and theocratic state that has replaced the USA. Reproduction rates are low and Handmaids are assigned to bear children for elite couples that struggle in conceiving a child. Offred herself serves the commander and his wife, Serena Joy. Serena is an advocate for 'traditional values.' Offred in fact, is not the narrator's real name -- handmaid names consist of the word 'of' followed by the name of the Handmaid's Commander. Impersonal, wordless sex must occur with the Commander whilst Serena sits behind her, holding her hands. Offred's freedom, like the freedom of all women is entirely restricted.

THEMES;
  - Women's bodies as political instruments,
  - Language as a tool of power, 
  - The causes of complacency.

MOTIFS;
- Rape and Sexual Violence,      
- Religious terms used for political purposes,  
- Similarities between Reactionary and Feminist ideologies.

SYMBOLISM, IMAGERY & ALLEGORY;
- The Bible and Religion; The novel is peppered with frequent allusions to different parts of the Bible.  "Give me children or else I die." - Genesis. Strange, small pieces of Biblical text show up frequently throughout the book. This is particularly evident in place names and propaganda.
- Eyes and Seeing; "Eyes" are spies who work for the government of Gilead, and they are situated throughout. There is the assumption that characters are constantly being watched. As reproductive objects, the handmaids must not be sexualised and one of the 'freedoms' that Gilead supposedly provides them with is the freedom from the lascivious male gaze.
- Fertility and Sex; Society had shifted all the blame for infertility onto women; "there is no such thing as a sterile man any more, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren. That's the law."

Genre; the genre of The Handmaid's Tale is a mixture between Dystopian literature and Science or 'Speculative' fiction.
Tone; Dispassionate and Factual