The Handmaid’s Tale: A Scary Reality
The world of dystopian fiction often uses modern fears and concerns to create a feeling of fear among its audience. This is clear in hit Netflix show Black Mirror, The Hunger Games trilogy and Orwell’s classic 1984; all of which have made audiences question technology, society and our possible future as humans.
Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale has many connections to dystopian fiction, but the novel sits more comfortably in the niche genre of speculative fiction (Heching). It has long been known for its dark mirroring of real life events and, with its recent televised adaption, the very possible — and very scary — future that the book presents is reaching an even wider audience. Atwood herself said that there is “nothing in the book that didn’t happen, somewhere” (Heching), a scary revelation when you realise the religious extremism, female inequality and segregation tactics present in the novel.
Atwood’s novel largely uses the dangers of the patriarchy as well as the need for feminism to execute its narrative. Feminist issues such as abortion, rape and even sexual liberation are shown in an anti-feminist way throughout the book. In the fictional world of Gilead abortion is banned, but this does not stop women dangerously attempting to get rid of their babies. This is a not so distant cry from the 26 countries worldwide in which abortion is completely illegal, along with a further 97 countries having limitations for which instances abortions are considered necessary. With all these restrictions in place, it is estimated that a total of 17 million unsafe abortions take place globally each year (Beale).
In Atwood’s book, rape is viewed interchangeably with victim blaming; with handmaid’s chanting ‘her fault’ in response to who should be blamed for a women’s rape (Dray). It is difficult not to compare this eerie reaction to the recent Ireland rape trial in which the girl’s underwear was used in evidence against her, it being claimed “You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front.” (Mezzofiore).
The Bible has a heavy presence in novel, from the language used and recited phrases to the teachings and beliefs held in Gilead. With this comes the belief that the purpose of sex is reproduction; an idea that strips women of their enjoyment of sex, further declining the helpless women of their identity and individuality. The idea that ‘love is forbidden’ creates an uncomfortable read of the descriptive ‘ceremony’ in which handmaids are forced to have monthly sex with their commanders in an aim to get pregnant.
Atwood’s novel was written in the midst of second wave feminism which was succeeded by what is referred to as the feminist backlash; a period in which many felt that feminism wasn’t necessary. Atwood takes this idea to extreme lengths, stripping almost all identity, power and freedom away from her female characters. The idea that prior to the formation of Gilead, ‘women were not protected’, ensuring this is the safest society for women to be in.
Historically, past events are used to remind readers that what happened once could happen again. Most notable in this case are the similarities between Nazi Germany and the handmaids. The iconic red dresses worn by the handmaids are a reference to the yellow bands worn by Jews in Nazi Germany — a way of separating these people from the rest, creating a hierarchy of importance and worthiness. As Jewish people were demoted to mere numbers, the handmaids lose their names, becoming possessions of the men who own them — a loss of power on top of the rights that they had previously been stripped of. Further correlations can be found between those who are not useful in Gilead (due to being infertile) and those who were deemed unfit to work in concentration camps (Dray).
A number of environmental issues are touched upon in the book with one of these being the dangers of nuclear power. It is stated in the book that nuclear plant disasters are the cause of miscarriages, stillbirths and genetic deformations (Nicolaou), with Atwood using this as a scaremongering tactic to deter people away from the choice of nuclear power. Chillingly, one year after the book’s publication, the Chernobyl disaster occurred; the worst nuclear disaster in history.
When all of the shocking realities used by Atwood as fuel are combined, the world of Gilead really does seem like an utterly shocking place. But the truth behind much of what is written should probably lead us to rethink; are we all that far away from Gilead as we hope?
References:
Atwood, Margaret. “Haunted by The Handmaid’s Tale.” The Guardian, 20 January 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jan/20/handmaids-tale-margaret-atwood
Beale, Charlotte. “These are the countries where it’s still illegal to get an abortion.” World Economic Forum, 28 May 2018, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/the-many-countries-where-abortion-still-banned/
Dray, Kayleigh. “The real-life events that inspired The Handmaid’s Tale.” Stylist, May 2018, https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/handmaids-tale-channel-4-tv-show-spoilers-books-real-life-true-events-margaret-atwood-elisabeth-moss/130001
Heching, Dan. “Margaret Atwood: There’s nothing in The Handmaid’s Tale ‘that didn’t happen, somewhere’.” Entertainment Weekly, 8 March 2017, https://ew.com/books/2017/03/08/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-reality/
Mezzofiore, Gianluca. “Women tweeting #ThisIsNotConsent after underwear used as evidence in rape trial.” CNN, 15 November 2018, https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/14/europe/ireland-underwear-rape-acquittal-scli-intl/index.html
Nicolaou, Elena. “What Caused Infertility In The Handmaid’s Tale, Anyway?” Refinery29, 24 April 2018, https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2018/04/197336/infertility-cause-handmaids-tale-pollution-virus
White, Catriona. “Dystopian fantasy? The Handmaid’s Tale is based entirely on real history.” BBC Three, 2 June 2017, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/c7bbe6fc-f452-4015-acdb-719ff8e5d389
