A Dystopian Reading of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid’s Tale as a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood is set in the Republic of Gilead as a repressive, totalitarian regime based on religious fundamentalism. This paper, through some evidences from the text, provides a better understanding for the dystopian nature of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The main dystopian feature of the Republic of Gilead is its discriminatory social hierarchy. Women are at the bottom of the social hierarchy and only pay for their viable ovaries. There are a group of people in Gildaen society who cannot be ranked like others, and they are called handmaids. Servants or women with functioning ovaries are used as slaves to the commanders and their wives to the offspring of the father. In the dystopian society, people are miserable. The main character of this novel, Offred, is essentially anti-feminist. She is seductive and passive, and she relies on men to save her. The way women are sorted by colors in relation to their social status is one of the novel’s most perplexing elements. Gilead’s women are dispossessed of their occupations, families, safety, and freedom among other things. As with most dystopian novels, the Gileadan regime uses a variety of techniques to remove disobedient thoughts or actions. These methods include brainwashing, creating fear, and suppressing all forms of political and personal freedom.Keyw

Keywords:

Dyspian Novel , The Handmaid’s Tale , Margaret Atwood , Gildean Society , Handmaides , Offred , Subserviant of Gildean Regime