A Summary of The Handmaid’s Tale Imagine an American in which the government leaders are dead, the Constitution is suspended, a religiously guided regime is now in power, and women are relegated to the roles of baby makers. This is the reality for Offred, (her new name, since her true name is never revealed) who recounts the story of her transition from a typical college girl to a Handmaid. In A Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood tells of a dystopian world through the memories of one of the lowest, yet most valuable, members of the new society. Each section of A Handmaid’s Tale is revealed to be a different cassette recording that Offred recorded sometime after her life as a Handmaid ended. Many timelines coexist throughout the novel; Offred
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Women who are capable of conceiving lose all bodily autonomy, or face death. Women unable to conceive are cast out of society, and the most despised people within society are doctors from the time before who performed abortions, gave birth control, or women who received that health care. Atwood forces readers to question their own ideas about the role of women, specifically when it comes to child bearing. Atwood published The Handmaid’s Tale on the heels of the Women’s Liberation movement. Through the 1960’s and 1970’s, this wave of feminism shook North American. This movement fought for equality in the workplace, in hiring practices and in pay, challenged the idea that every women should be a housewife, rid women of oppressive ideas that limited women’s personal lives in areas such as relationships and sexuality, and advocated for increased women’s health services (Tavaana). This feminist movement also sought to give women the right to choose when it comes to reproductive health care, be it through greater access to birth control methods and legalization of abortion. These ideas were considered immoral and radical and faced strong
Women who are capable of conceiving lose all bodily autonomy, or face death. Women unable to conceive are cast out of society, and the most despised people within society are doctors from the time before who performed abortions, gave birth control, or women who received that health care. Atwood forces readers to question their own ideas about the role of women, specifically when it comes to child bearing. Atwood published The Handmaid’s Tale on the heels of the Women’s Liberation movement. Through the 1960’s and 1970’s, this wave of feminism shook North American. This movement fought for equality in the workplace, in hiring practices and in pay, challenged the idea that every women should be a housewife, rid women of oppressive ideas that limited women’s personal lives in areas such as relationships and sexuality, and advocated for increased women’s health services (Tavaana). This feminist movement also sought to give women the right to choose when it comes to reproductive health care, be it through greater access to birth control methods and legalization of abortion. These ideas were considered immoral and radical and faced strong