My fascination with this book lies mainly in the rigidness of the society: the society's abundance of rules, and the overall lack of individuality. Women of the Republic of Gilead- the so called "rat maze"- aren't valued for personal character, but for their ability to reproduce. Atwood's novel is essentially a feminist overexageration on the conflicts of (then) modern society.
From news briefs, and television clips mentioned throughout the novel, you learn that islamic terrorists had essentially taken over the United States. The Republic of Gilead is an Americanized take on a women's place in modern Muslim society. You can see definite similarities (the all-covering wardrobe, leaving nearly no skin to the eye, the seperation between men and women, men being of a higher level, etc). Rape is controversial, especially when the women scold Janine for being raped (a fate that she entirely did not choose). Atwood wants to conjure strong emotions in her female readers, make them hate the society of Gilead, and therefore, empower readers to fight.
The Handmaids Tale- in particular the quote on page 163- is a feminist take on what a women's role in society may develop into (if taken to an extreme, of course).
Continuing with feminism....it's interesting to look at this idea of freedom through women in society today. Women are, in fact, jumping ahead: higher enrollement in colleges, higher test scores, earning more college degrees than men etc.... The Handmaids Tale may have been Atwood's prediction of things to come, but it seems (at least in our part of the globe) that women are proving to be the opposite of " the handmaid."The novel is ironic in that, we are proving elements in this book wrong (at least so far) as we become the new leading gender.
Celine,
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoughtful and interesting post (thanks). I agree with you that Atwood, who seems to be so prescient on so many fronts (environmental degradation, Islamic terrorism, etc) does seem to have got it wrong in terms of gender roles (one only has to think back to that piece from the Atlantic that we read at the start of the year, "The End of Men"). So it's interesting to see a young woman--strong, and ostensibly feminist like yourself (though, I may be wrong here)--nonetheless chastise Atwood for over-exaggeration. Do you think that this is the emotion Atwood wanted to "conjure" in women like back in 1986 and, more to the point, do you think, in an odd way, she'd actually be pleased with your reaction today (the book may be wrong, but only because society's right)?