The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood- Revising Context
Context is worth 25% of the Prose exam (10/40 marks)
The author, Margaret Atwood
The Cold War (1980’s)
Environmentalism
Born in 1939, Ottawa, Canada. Interested in writing from a
young age, not formally attended school until 12. Studied for
Masters’ degree at Harvard in Massachusetts, USA, which
gave inspiration for setting of Handmaids. She studied
Puritanism, influencing the political and religious overtones
of the novel. Successful academic career, teaching in
universities. Work informed by current affairs, and is a vocal
advocate of women’s rights, free speech, climate change, and
LGBTQ+ rights. Work often focuses on dynamics of power.
Critical of oppression of women under patriarchy. Maintains
even most unsettling parts of her fiction based on real events.
Handmaids Tale written in 1984 while she was living in West
Berlin. Cold war at a moment of particular intensity, Berlin
focus for tensions between West and Soviet Union. She grew
up during WW2, knowing that established social and political
orders could ‘vanish overnight’. Her work is heavily
influenced by second wave feminism, which reached
momentum in early 1980s, with increased growth of feminist
literature.
Period of heightened political tension and psychological
warfare between Soviet union & USA. Called ‘cold’ because
of lack of large-scale fighting involved. Main warfare was
psychological, involving varied attempts from both sides to
assert global political dominance – propaganda campaigns,
embargoes, etc. At time of writing Handmaid, cold war had
been ongoing for almost all of Atwood’s life. During WW2,
US dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki, which
set precedent for further nuclear warfare. Instigating nuclear
violence would inevitable lead to mutually assured
destruction. Atwood grew up with ongoing threat of nuclear
war. Mid twentieth century saw increase in fiction & popular
culture devoted to idea of nuclear holocaust, inspired by
looming political threat. Handmaid does not deal with threat
of nuclear apocalypse, but radioactive poisoning is always on
periphery, with threat of being sent to Colonies.
Atwood’s father was entomologist- studied insects. Because
of his career, Atwood spent much of her childhood in rural
parts of Canada. She is a long-time environmentalist and
often speaks about the ways in which climate change will
exacerbate existing inequalities in society. Relationship
between society and environment is often explored in her
work. During 60s and 70s, there was rapid increase in
awareness of environmental issues in US. Harmful pesticides
and chemicals banned by US government. Effect of pesticides
was not only detrimental to natural ecosystems but to humans
too. Environmental awareness filters into Handmaids when
 Offred mentions that grocery stores rarely open anymore
because the seas are so polluted that there are no longer
enough fish.
Feminism First wave (Mid 19th century to WW2) – Suffragettes
campaign for the right to vote across the west.
Second wave (Mid 20th century) - Characterized by
advocacy for women’s rights in the workplace, in marriage,
and in society. Until relatively late in the 20th century, rape
was still legal within marriage.
Third wave – Beginning in zine culture and the riot grrrl
movement that emerged in the Pacific northwest, USA from
punk and DIY scenes. Work of black feminists began to have
an impact on the wider mainstream. Intersectionality (idea
that different forms of oppression and privilege overlap and
work together in different ways within people and within
society) became a more widely accepted idea. Intersectional
feminism recognized that while all women face oppression, it
affects them individually in different ways.
Fourth wave (2012 onwards) – Defined by social media,
concerns itself with combatting sexual harassment and
violence, post-colonialism, and tries to address discrepancies
between the rights of women in the West & elsewhere.
Characterised by campaigns and intersects with the black
lives matter protests that sparked conversations about
inequalities between white women and women of colour.
 Atwood influenced by feminisms second wave. Offred
refers to her mother, a feminist activist who was probably
involved in the second wave feminist protests of the 60s and
70s. Chapter 7, Offred remembers going for a walk with her
mother in the park and coming across people burning
pornographic books. They are not religious fundamentalists
but feminists protesting the misogynistic nature of
pornography. Moira is also a vocal feminist. Two main
women in Offred’s life are proponents of feminism, yet
Offred seems to observe their politics from a distance. Her
focus is on mental fortitude and survival.
The political climate in the US in Time of writing Handmaid, USA was in second year of
the 1980’s Reagan administration. Reagan was a popular president with
Christian America. His time in office characterised by tax
cuts, increased defence spending (cold war), reduced
spending on social and public services, and anti-communism.
1980s saw increase in pressure on Government from
Christian right wing. Reagan emphasized conservatism and
his belief in famly values, alluding to traditional,
heterosexual, nuclear family. Appealed to white working
class Americans who felt racist resentment against advances
that black people made during civil rights movement.
Appealed to religious groups like moral majority –
organisation founded by members of Christian right and
republican party. Founded in response to what they saw as the

Puritanism (Salem witch trials)
Setting (Massachusetts)
The story of a handmaid
decay of moral values in American society. 60s & 70s –
decades preceding organisations formation – time of
increased sexual and religious freedom with civil rights
movement, movement for gay rights, and rise of second wave
feminism. Traditional (role of women as housewives, sex
before marriage, and women’s sexual liberty) being
questioned. Moral majority pushed back against advances.
Moral majority existed to fight the secularisation of American
society. Believed America to be fundamentally religious
nation. Fought against abortion, gay rights, pornography, and
exclusion of Christian prayer from public schools. Atwood
directly speculating on what could have happened if moral
majority achieved ultimate power in handmaid. Assumption
that inspiration for Gilead came from social order desired by
fundamentalist Christians like those in moral majority. First
cases of HIV/AIDS in US reported in 1980. 1984, nearly
4000 people had died of the virus and homophobic moral
panic was growing in mainstream media. AIDS was first
major pandemic since Spanish Flu (1918-20). At time of
writing Handmaid, prognosis was death within about one year
of an AIDS diagnosis. Reduced fertility rate in Gilead was
result of sexually transmitted disease that produced infertility.
Public fears about AIDS fed into Christian right propaganda
that was against sex outside marriage and espoused hatred
against gay people. This propaganda inspired political
backdrop of Gilead.
17th century, English Puritans forced to flee Europe due to
their strict Christian beliefs to set up new life in America.
Although they aspired to a utopian society, the system that
evolved was an oppressive, patriarchal theocracy. Witch
trials, 25 women hanged on belief that they were witches.
Mass hysteria reveals what little power women had in this
society- could not defend themselves from these accusations
made against innocent women due to personal vendettas.
Atwood can trace her family tree back to woman called Mary
Webster, who, in 1683, underwent attempted hanging as a
witch- but survived her ordeal. Atwood also went to Harvard,
in Massachusetts, not far from where the witch trials took
place.
She chose to set her story there because of New England's
puritanical history. ''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,''
The handmaids cannot show skin, forced to wear long red
dresses with white bonnets that limit their field of vision.
They cannot read or write or communicate with anyone else.
They are forced to have someone else’s child and when it is
born, it is ripped away from them before they move on to try
to give someone else a child. They have no choices or
freedom in the world and have no options to kill themselves
or escape.