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Margaret Atwood & the Handmaid’S Tale

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Margaret Atwood & the Handmaid’S Tale Margaret Atwood & The Handmaid’s Tale Nugent: AP Literature Spring Background • Born in 1939 in Ottawa, Canada • Growing up, she spent time in nature in Canada – Father was an entomologist • Her literature is concerned with Canadian identity • She read extensively as a child – Was homeschooled for several years • She first published her poetry while in college in Toronto Background • Won E J Pratt Medal for her published poetry collection, Double Persephone. • Completed her MA, but did not finish her doctoral degree. • Taught at a few universities in Canada and the US. • Has been nominated for the Booker Prize 5 times – Won for The Blind Assassin Notable Novels • The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) • Cat’s Eye (1988) • Alias Grace (1996) • The Blind Assassin (2000) • Oryx and Crake (2003) – All these novels were finalists for the Booker Prize, a British equivalent to the Pulitzer prize. The Blind Assassin won the Booker Prize. – All of these novels have also appeared on the AP Exam Q3 multiple times. Surfacing (1972) has also been on the Exam. – Atwood has published poetry, novels, short stories, e-books, children’s books, essays, other non-fiction, libretti (the plural of libretto, the text which goes along with an opera or other musical work), graphic novels, and drawings. Feminism • Atwood is a noted feminist writer and thinker • In her writing, she questions patriarchal societies and the role of women. – Where do women fit in society? – What is equality? • How do women achieve it? – What does it take to be equal? • How easy is it to lose those rights? – Fertility • What are the implications of creating life? Literary Genre • Atwood doesn’t see herself as a science fiction writer. • Instead, she sees herself as writing speculative fiction – She writes with more realism – There’s no Martians, time travel, or talking squids, she says. – Her novels are generally set in the distant future. • The content of her novels is plausible – Realistic characters in realistic, but exaggerated, situations Major Themes in Atwood’s Works • Atwood deals with a variety of different issues and themes in her novels and poetry, but she generally focuses on: – Femininity – Canadian Identity and Culture – Power and control through patriarchy – Political and intellectual oppression – The power of language – Technology and its affect on its users – Information, and the lack of it – Life and death Cultural Context of The Handmaid’s Tale • People’s fears about what happened in Orwell’s 1984 were peaking in the early 1980s. • There was a persistent fear of Communism and Communist-led countries. – Or fear of dictatorships and the loss of human rights • Religious fanaticism was on the rise in the US and abroad – The Iran Hostage Crisis happened in 1979 because of complex religious and political reasons in the US and Iran. – Iran was a theocracy, meaning they governed based on Islamic law. Religious leaders had political and governmental power. Cultural Context of The Handmaid’s Tale • Atwood presents a situation where a political uprising happens in the US. – A new government is installed – The new government is based on Christian ideology – People, mostly women, are stripped of their rights • Many people are re-educated and reconditioned through fear and oppression. The Handmaid’s Tale • The novel is dedicated to Mary Webster and Perry Miller • The Epigraph to The Handmaid’s Tale has 3 quotes – The Bible, Genesis 30:1-3 – Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal – A Sufi proverb The Handmaid’s Tale- Dedication • Perry Miller was a former professor of Atwood’s who focused on early American literature and the Puritans. – ''You often hear in North America, ‘It can't happen here,' but it happened quite early on. The Puritans banished people who didn't agree with them, so we would be rather smug to assume that the seeds are not there. That's why I set the book in Cambridge” (Atwood). • Mary Webster was Atwood’s ancestor – ''Mary Webster was an ancestor of mine who was hanged for a witch in Connecticut, but she didn't die. They hadn't invented the drop yet'' - the part of the platform that falls away - ''so they hanged her but she lived” (Atwood). The Handmaid’s Tale- Epigraph • And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her, and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. --Genesis 30:1-3 • This is the logistical structure of the household in The Handmaid’s Tale • Who plays which roles? • The Commanders are Jacob, the Wives are Rachel, and the Handmaid’s are Bilhah. The Handmaid’s Tale- Epigraph • But as to myself, having been wearied out for many years with offering vain, idle, visionary thoughts, and at length utterly despairing of success, I fortunately fell upon this proposal… ---- Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal • How does this relate to The Handmaid’s Tale? What is A Modest Proposal about? • American in A Modest Proposal were already eating babies and were enacting this barbaric proposal. They seem to have followed a similarly outrageous solution to a problem in The Handmaid’s Tale The Handmaid’s Tale- Epigraph • In the desert there is no sign that says, Thou shalt not eat stones ---- Sufi proverb • What does this mean? • You don’t need a rule, law, or sign to tell you to avoid doing something you wouldn’t do anyways. Women’s Roles • Wives- Married to the Commanders and wear blue. Either do not, or cannot have children. – Serena Joy is a Wife • Marthas- Do basic housework and wear green – Rita and Cora are Marthas • Handmaids- Are responsible for getting pregnant and wear red – Offred, the narrator, is a Handmaid • Aunts- reform women into their societal roles and wear brown – Aunt Lydia reformed Offred in the Rachel and Leah Center • Econowives- Are a combination of Wives, Marthas, and Handmaids and wear red, blue, and green stripes. They are lower class, and live in lower class houses. Men’s Roles • While the novel is set in the US in its new religious, totalitarian, patriarchal society called New Gilead, the men seem to have semi-ambiguous roles. • Commanders- They have some sort of governmental position, or high status based on wealth. – He passes down his name to his Handmaid – Offred is his Handmaid, so her Commander is named Fred. She is the Handmaid of Fred, so Offred. – He seems to have little control or power within his house. The women seem to have more domestic control. • Angels- soldiers and police force • Priests- • Guardians- • Eyes of God- a secret police force who enforce the laws • Men also staff the various government-run stores War • The world, or at least North America, seems to be at war. • A religious war is happening, but Offred and other only see pieces of information on the TV news shows. – Baptists – Libertheos from Central America – Sons of Jacob (New Gilead’s armed forces) Infertility • Aunt Lydia says that infertility is a forbidden word. • Many of the men and women in New Gilead are infertile. – Cause by pollution and other diseases • The Handmaid structure becomes a solution to a problem. – Much like Ireland’s problems of poverty, infant mortality, and outside oppression which led to A Modest Proposal The Ceremony • The Ceremony is based on the Genesis scripture from the epigraph, where the Handmaid, not the Wife, gets pregnant. – This is the Handmaid’s central duty. • The Ceremony – The Handmaid is bathed and fed. – The Commander reads from the Bible to everyone in the household. – The Wife is present during The Ceremony, holding her hands. – The Commander attempts to impregnate his Handmaid. – The Commander enters the room fully dressed and leaves immediately afterwards. Illiteracy • Women are forbidden to read – English becomes a spoken language • Signs are not in a written language anymore – The grocery store is called Milk and Honey, but it only has a logo- a three eggs, a bee, and a cow. • The bible is kept in a locked caged – Only the Commander can read it aloud – Scriptures can now be changed and edited to fit New Gilead’s needs • People can’t check to see if a scripture or verse is real. True Believers • While many men and women in New Gilead are oppressed and looking for a way out or to subvert the rules, some truly believe in New Gilead. – The Eyes of God work as a secret police force to enforce the rules and to entrap people – Fear, paranoia, and lack of information keep people in line • Offred describes many women in The Center, in town, and in the house who may be true believers, and is cautious of what she says. .
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