The Handmaid’s Tale of Sacrifice for the Good of Society

My wife and I have been watching The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu and have been enjoying the dystopian tale quite a bit. For those who haven’t read the novel nor watched the show, the story is told in 1st person point of view by a handmaiden in a dystopian future where there is such widespread infertility that the human race is threatened and the only hope seems to be to force fertile women into reproducing for the benefit of mankind. The story takes place in a section of what used to be the United States, now taken over by Christian fundamentalists who have taken the story of Rachel and her handmaiden as a model of how to ensure the production of progeny.

From the point of view of those in charge — the government — people who are capable of reproduction have a duty to society to reproduce. If they do not do so, there could be societal collapse.

The problem is that the handmaidens are all forced into reproductive slavery to the elite males of the society. Once a month, when they are fertile, they are forced to have sex with the man of the household with whom they are paired. As the story’s narrator, Offred, points out, she is being raped once a month.

In this future dystopia, the handmaidens are both forced into sexual slavery and also revered for their role in society as the only people who can ensure the survival of mankind. But should one condone an act so immoral that it’s universally criminal — rape — just because it benefits society? Does the fact that it…