Handmaids Cultural Context Flashcards
What novel is Atwood inspired by?
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.
How does 1984 link to the novel?
Winston and Julia are in a forbidden relationship like Nick and Offred were.
How is the Testaments relevant to the novel?
Set 15 years after the events of the novel and is told in the perspective of Aunt Lydia.
How did 1984 inspire Atwood? (3)
Atwood was writing the novel in 1984 whilst thinking about that novel (Orwell wrote the novel in 1948)
1984 is widely seen as the prototypical dystopian novel, so it unofficially established a lot of genre conventions we expect from this type of text like surveillance and control and punishments.
In 1984, the protagonist is male so the perspective of the society is very male-focused and Atwood wanted to intentionally flip that so she had the perspective be very female-focused.
How did 1984 inspire Atwood in 3 other ways?
Both main characters (Offred and Winston) are assigned roles which leads to them working with people in the seat of power making them in the middle of social hierarchies.
Both Offred and Winston become entangled in illegal relationships (of a sexual nature)
The totalitarian regime in 1984 has a very tight control over sex. They are really trying to eradicate sex for pleasure. Marriages have to be approved and are arranged which puts people off wanting children.
The control over sexuality is what drives Winston to have an affair with Julia and this could be what motivates Offred to sleep with Nick also.
What was is one comparison between 1984 and Handmaids?
They both have endings that help show purpose and explain the rules. Handmaids has the Historical Notes and 1984 has the Appendix.
