Handmaid’s Tale Context of Composition

By: Wahyu Pradiva, Wilmer Halim, Adzka Siraj

Margaret Atwood, a writer with a degree in the University of Toronto then getting a
Masters at Radcliffe College wrote a book titled “The Handmaid’s Tale”, this book is a dystopian
Novel which is a genre of speculative fiction that explores social and political structures, the
book was based on similar events that happened in real life, since Atwood herself claimed that
the book was some sort of reflection of what has happened in human history, this meant that the
book is of great relevance to those studying the history of oppression. The Handmaid’s Tale is
her most notable work yet, it's set in a dystopian future somewhere in North America where,
after the revolution, the Republic of Gilead ruled as an authoritarian state controlled by
fundamentalist Christian beliefs. The story is presented through the eyes of Offred, an assigned
Handmaid in the book. The book was so popular, it was translated into 40 different languages
and even has a netflix series of its own.

The Handmaid's Tale heavily emphasizes religion. Christian Bible principles, which serve
as justification for the government's policies and practices, are the cornerstone upon which the
Republic of Gilead was built. Women are denied their rights and freedoms in this deeply
patriarchal and oppressive society. The government uses the Bible to defend its policies on
abortion, contraception, and reproductive rights. Religion is used as a tool to control women's
bodies and sexuality. The Handmaid's Tale also investigates how politics affects society. The
dystopian future in which the story is set has a theocratic regime in power after overthrowing the
US government. Citizens are now classified according to their gender, social standing, and
reproductive capabilities in a new, oppressive social order that the government has created. The
novel shows how propaganda and fear mongering can be used by the ruling class to keep their
grip on power and how politics can be used to manipulate society.

The Handmaid’s Tale effectively shows social struggles as well, especially struggles with
women, The book explores how society creates gender identity and questions conventional
gender roles. Women in Gilead are divided into fertility groups, with fertile women being
compelled to serve as "handmaids" and have children for the ruling class. The novel also shows
how gender roles are imposed through coercion and violence, with men being socialized to be
dominant and women to be submissive. The interesting part of this book is the historical events
that was happening or had happened to inspire the book, starting with the improvement in
feminism in the 1960s to the 1970s, which happened during Atwood’s younger years which may
have inspired her views on women’s rights, another event is the Cold War, where the fight
between the states and the soviet union led to fear, the Republic of Gilead was believed to be a
representation of the soviet union due to its controlling and authoritarian believes.
 The Public had mixed feelings about the book, while some criticized it for being too
anti-religious and demonized men too much, many believed that it is a great representation of
the issues of gender equality and religious and political abuse.

Sources:
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-handmaid-s-tale/chapter-1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale