The Handmaid's Tale Flashcards
What are dystopian characteristics in THT?
- protagonist knows what is happening in society is wrong
- characters are being watched
Themes
- power
- identity
- the home
- sexuality
- power of language
- freedom
- confinement
- moral relativism
- gender conflict
- feminism
- politics
- religion
- environmental issues
- jealousy
- social hierarchy
Offred
- narrator
- protagonist
- ordinary woman placed in extraordinary situation
- fails to escape with husband and daughter
- contrasts mother
- affair with Nick= absorbed by the physicality and autonomy Gilead has denied her
- escape comes through Nick
- inertia shows how oppressive regime like Gilead can destroy most people’s ability to resist it
The Commander
- ethical problem for Offred
- agent of her oppression
- founder of Gilead
- more sympathetic and friendly towards O than most people
- unhappiness and need for companionship make him seem a prisoner like everyone else
- visits with O are selfish, rather than charitable
- moral blindness highlighted by visits to Jezebels; the club reveals the rank hypocrisy that runs through Gileadean society
Serena Joy
- Commander’s Wife
- advocate for ‘traditional values’
- obvious unhappiness= at the edge of readers’ sympathy
- forfeits any sympathy the readers may have more herby taking her anger out on Offred
- no compassion for Offred
- can see the difficulty in her own life, but not another woman’s
- arranged for O to sleep with Nick
- always knew where O’s daughter was
- lack of sympathy= perfect tool for Gilead’s social order
- cruel and selfish woman= glue that binds Gilead
Moira
- friendship with Offred epitomises true female friendship
- embodies female resistance to Gilead
- lesbian
- only character who stands up to authority; 2 escape attempts, 1 successful
- the manner in which she escapes ( putting on an Aunt’s uniform) symbolises her rejection of Gilead’s attempts to define her identity
- represents an alternative to meek subservience and acceptance of one’s fate that most women adopt
- prostitute at Jezebels
- fighting spirit eventually worn down; resigned to her fate
- comes to exemplify the way in which a totalitarian state can crush even the most independent spirit
What is the structure of THT?
- discontinuous narrative
- time shifts; gradually reveals whole story
- mixture of things that actually happen and her psyche developing; psychological events and external situations
- tells herself stories
Where is Gilead based on and why?
Gilead is based on Cambridge, MA, specifically the Harvard area, outside Boston. Atwood made this choice because of the region’s Puritan background and history of intolerance.
Forced Pregnancy
(Context)
In Cambodia, mass forced marriages (and therefore pregnancies) were carried out. If you refused, you would be executed.
Children’s Kidnapping
(Context)
In World War II, the Nazi regime kidnapped children, specifically those with blonde hair and blue eyes. They were taken to Germany to be ‘Germanised’.
Death Penalty
(Context)
At the time of Atwood writing, the death penalty was still used in North Korea and Iran.
Clothing
(Context)
Due to the Islamic revolution in Iran, women went from wearing short skirts and high heels, to being forced to be covered from head to toe from their 9th birthday.
Homosexuality
(Context)
This was considered a sickness that required prevention and treatment. It took 30 years for the US Supreme Court to legalise the registration of same-sex couples.
Female Circumcision
(Context)
This procedure was carried out in 30 countries at the time of Atwood’s writing (mainly in Africa and the Middle East). Shockingly, it has been a standard medical procedure in the US for most of the last 2 centuries.
Abortion restrictions
(Context)
In communist Romania, over 10,000 women died from botched home abortions. It served as a warning for what happens when a country tries to control reproductive rights.
