The Handmaid's
Tale
Imogen, Victoria, Milena, Ciara
Background Information
Author: Margaret Atwood
Year of Publication: 1985
Genre: Feminist, Dystopia
Background Cont.
Setting & Time Period: Mid-70’s-80’s, Republic of Gilead
(USA), Cambridge, Massachusetts
Protagonist: Offred
Antagonist: Gilead society and its affiliates such as the
Eyes, the Aunts
Characteristics of Gilead
The Handmaid's Names
Red Center
The Ceremony
Prayvaganza (Angels)
Salvaging
Particicution
Wall (Harvard)
Relationships
Offred's friendship with Moira
Offred's past marriage with Luke
Offred's relationship with the Commander
Offred's forbidden relationship with Nick
Key Traits:
Offred- submissive (self-preservative), shaped by society,
previously a loving mother/wife, genuine though
surrounded by illusion
Serena Joy- desperate to preserve dignity, infertile, bitter
Commander- no defining characteristics (societal parody),
lonely (perversion of gender stereotypes)
Luke - Offred's former husband (his second marriage;
Offred was his mistress), comforting force during height
of transition
Nick - cares about Offred, although it is unclear how much
she reciprocates his feelings, underground subversive
Moira- foil to Offred, starts out as revolutionary, then
Major Conflicts
Loss of identity, individuality
Male dominance, patriarchy
Love vs. sex (Offred searches for emotional connections in
her relationships)
Survival
Search for happiness/contentment in Gilead
Key Scenes
Moira's escape from the Red Center
Offred's evenings with the Commander
When Ofglen reveals she is a member of the resistance
Offred seeing the picture of her daughter
Visiting Jezebel’s and seeing Moira
The first time Offred sleeps with Nick
"Particicution"
Key Quotations
“I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling. I need to
believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that
such stories are only stories have a better chance. If it’s
a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending.
Then there will be an ending, to the story, and real life
will come after it. I can pick up where I left off” (39).
(Offred's thoughts)
“Nolite te bastardes carborundum” (52). Do not let the
bastards grind you down.
(Carved by the previous Handmaid)
Key Quotations Cont.
"Are they old enough to remember anything of the time before, playing
baseball, in jeans and sneakers, riding their bicycles? Reading books, all
by themselves... Even though some of them are no more than fourteen...
still they'll remember. And the ones after them will, for three or four or five
years; but after that they won't. They'll always have been in white, in groups
of girls; they'll always have been silent" (219).
(At the Prayvaganza)
“I wish this story were different. I wish it were more civilized. I wish it showed
me in a better light, if not happier, then at least more active, less hesitant,
less distracted by trivia... I wish it were about love...” (267).
(After Nick and Offred sleep together)
Themes of Interest
Desire/companionship
Rigid social order
Complacency
Subjugation of women
Cyclic nature of history
Power dynamic (give a little to get a lot)
Theme Statement
When an intelligent, once-free former wife and mother with
a strong sense of female identity comes in conflict with
an oppressive, patriarchal society in a situation in which
she is forced to act as a sexual subjugate, she
experiences a loss of identity and emotional detachment
as a method of self-preservation. Her account is
discovered centuries later when American society has
reverted back to a democratic state, suggesting that the
nature of human history is cyclic, alternating between
periods of extreme oppression and autonomy.
Subsequently, attempts to study history's past mistakes
in order to prevent them in the future are rendered futile.
Author Style & Structure
Point of view:
First person reflective
Characteristics of the Narrator:
The narrator is telling a story, which often affects the way she presents the
description of the events. Her fear effects the story-telling (it is a risk that
could cost her her life).
Characterization:
Mostly indirect with occasional subtle direct characterization. The narrator
rarely states her own opinions and makes small observations about the
physical properties of her world.
Author Style & Structure Cont.
Drawing conclusions
Alternates between narrator drawing conclusions for the reader and the reader having to draw his/her
own conclusions. Characters' backgrounds are unclear. Where did they come from? How did they
become who they are now? When Offred escapes at the end of the novel with the mysterious
men she only has Nick's word that they are trustworthy. However, in the historical notes chapter,
Offred's story is clarified and more conclusions are drawn for the reader.
Syntax:
Mix of long and short sentences. Atwood has a tendency to repeat sentence structure. Active voice.
Use of metaphors.
Sentence Structure:
Simple in diction and varied in syntax. Sometimes very casual and diary like sentences, other times
very specific and complex sentence structure.
Prose Style:
Efficient prose. Pensive/reflective. Social commentary. Atwood uses repetition to emphasize certain
points. For example, "I wish..."
Author Style & Structure Cont.
Does the narrative feel drawn out or underdeveloped?
A bit drawn out for most of the novel but it is rushed at the
end.
Diction:
Mostly simple.
Mood:
Dark, foreboding, claustrophobic, pessimistic, hopeless,
nostalgic at times
Author Style & Structure Cont.
Does the narration seem reliable?
Told from the POV of an oppressed Handmaid in a
patriarchal society; it would be different if told from POV
of a man/Unwoman/wife. Also, Offred's documentation
of her experience is dangerous.
Unreliable because of first person narration bias. She will
tell different variations of how one thing happened. For
example, Offred had three different descriptions about
the first time she slept with Nick and three different ideas
about what happened to Luke.
Author Style & Structure Cont.
What is the structure of the narrative?
The main plot is chronological, but the story is punctuated
by flashbacks.
What impact does the structure have upon the reader’s
experience?
Flashbacks gradually reveal information about Offred's past
life and experience at the Red Center. This technique
draws out the plot and keeps the reader curious.
What Makes The Handmaid's Tale
Revolutionary
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Set in modern times (not futuristic)
In the middle of a transitional period
(characters can remember time before)
"Full circle"
Symbolism
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Colors (red, white, blue)
Flowers, garden
Religious (Angels, Prayvaganza, Salvaging)
Harvard (ironic use of academic setting)