The Handmaid's Tale Review

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood takes place in a dystopian future heavily influenced by Christianity where women have little to no rights. The main character in the novel is Offred, even though that is not her birth given name. She has frequent flashbacks to her life prior to living in this society where she, her husband, and their daughter lived happily. In this futuristic civilization, women are only valued for their ability to procreate. She and the other women are not allowed to read, write, have romantic relationships with men or women, and much more. Though I have only read about one-hundred pages, it seems that the reasoning behind this society is partly to prevent rape against women. However, these women are taught that when a woman is raped, it is her fault. Men and women are not even allowed to directly look at each other. There are harsh consequences for breaking the rules; the main consequence is being hanged on a wall for all to see. The fact that punishment is publicly displayed encourages others to abide by the rules, so they will not have to face the gruesome penalties. Finally, there is a Commander, who is the head of each household of women. Even though this society seems set up to prevent rape, the Commander has sex with the women in the house in hopes of impregnating them. The women never actually consent to this; it is just how the society operates. However, pregnancy is envied and women yearn to become pregnant. I would definitely recommend this book to friends as well as anyone who is interested in women’s rights because this story is an incredibly creative way of exaggerating the patriarchal society that America, as well as many other countries, are. It is probably more suitable for mature audiences, but it is not overly sexually explicit and the racier scenes are necessary to convey the overall message of the novel. I will definitely finish this book over the summer.