The Handmaid’s
Tale (320 pages) was first published as
a novel in 1985, and so far, its 8
million copies have been sold. Recently
, Margaret Atwood has written and published a
sequel to this book with
the title ‘The Testaments’.
The book is a mixture of history and literature. It
reminds us that totalitarianism can happen
in the USA and any where in the world. Totalitarian regimes rely on collusion with
some of their own people . Gilead is an imaginary
totalitarian , theocratic state
in the USA .In Gilead, women are classified as Wives, Handmaids, Aunts,
Marthas and Econowives . Illegitimate women are Unwomen
and Jezebels. Men are classified
as Commanders , Eyes, Angels, Guardians.
In Gilead,
there is a severe limitation of
people’s rights , especially those of women . Women are forbidden to read or write , handle money or to hold property. A Handmaid is indoctrinated into life by
the government- trained Aunts. She
is assigned to produce children for a
Commander, one of the ruling class of
men . The protagonist is given a name Offred ( Of Frederick).
Handmaids are forbidden to use their
birth names and must echo
the master whom they serve. The Commanders’ Wives dress in blue , the handmaids in red with
white veils around their faces.
At her new
home, Offred is treated poorly by the Commander’s wife Serena Joy.
The Commander and Offred begin an illegal relationship where they play Scrabble. He takes her
to a government-run brothel
called Jezebel’s .She learns there that those women who are found breaking the
law are mostly sent to the Colonies
to clean up toxic waste , women
are also allowed to work at Jezebel’s as
punishment. After a few months, Offred
is pregnant. Shortly afterward, men
arrive at the house wearing the uniform of the secret police. (the Eyes), to take her away. Offred is unsure if leaving will result in her escape
or her capture. Still, she enters the van.
Atwood has explained that The Handmaid’s Tale is a response to those who claim the oppressive , totalitarian , and
religious governments that have taken
hold in other countries throughout the years “can’t happen here”—but
in this work , she has tried to show how such a takeover might play out. Many scholars have placed this book in the same category of dystopian fiction as Nineteen Eighty -Four
and Brave New World. Atwood does
not see the Republic of Gilead as a
purely feminist dystopia, as not all men
have greater rights than woman .The Handmaid’s Tale is “ a study of power , and how it operates
and how it deforms or shapes the
people who are living within
that kind of re regime”.
I decided to read
this novel 35 years after its publication .I have no hesitation in saying that
it has become more relevant to read it now than perhaps earlier. If you have
not read it , please do read it .I recommend it.
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