feminist dystopia.

The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
Started August 23, 2007
Finished September 5, 2007

I can see why this novel is so often required reading in high school and college English classes. Margaret Atwood offers a richly contextual novel with no easy answers. While some of the major themes include feminism, misogyny, totalitarianism, religious extremism, and theocracy, the novel deals in ambivalence. In other words, there are no easy answers. While the futuristic dystopia that Offred, the narrator, describes is terrifying, the past that Offred reminisces about has plenty of its own flaws. In addition to forcing the reader to consider some difficult questions about feminism and religious extremism, I should also point out that I found this novel an incredibly compelling read. Offred, the narrator, is a "handmaid"- used basically as a breeder for the elite in the new totalitarian society. The novel jumps around in time from before the overthrow, to Offred's time being conditioned into a handmaid, to her present posting with Fred, her Commander. (Her name is Of-Fred because she belongs to Fred at her current posting...). I like to think that things have turned out somewhat better for women than Atwood imagines in this novel. I hope that's true. I like to believe that I'll be able to have a career that I'm good at and enjoy and also be able to have a meaningful relationship and a family. I guess it's important not to take the efforts for change from the past for granted. I can't imagine not being allowed to read like most of the women in The Handmaid's Tale!