HMT was a response to
to the growing political and social conservatism in US in the Regan era
also from her experiences travelling in Afganistan and Iran in the 1970s, when women’s rights were being stripped from them
narration style
first person limited
HMT relevance to todays audience
and HMT have taken on a new relevance following the election of Trump
with the American Institution bent on defunding abortion clinics, many have noticed parallels with HMT
Orwell’s influence
showed her that it isn’t labels, like Christianity or Socialism, that are bad, but the actions people do in their name
compared to other dystopias
in an essay about the book, Atwood compares it to 1984, Brave New World and A Clockwork Orange- all with political undertones, that suggest that they world they portray aren’t far from our world
significance of the Handmaid’s uniforms
- “young girls should not wear red… Dancing in red shoes will kill you” - Atwood 1978 poetry collection.
- atwood desing it base on nun’s costumes, school girl hem lines, the faceless women on the old dutch cleanser box and a chador ( an encompassing robe she acquired in Afghanistan)
- some argue the hijab prevents women being sexually objectified but some argue it should be a womens choice rather than feeling pressured into doing so
- the “scarlet women” or whore of babylon
- uniform designed by men
- “the colour of blood which defines us”
- little red riding hood - infantilises
feminism
Offred’s mother was part of the second wave feminism movement in the USA. Their focus was on sexual freedom and domestic abuse had been gaining momentum in the late part of the 20th Century, until the novel’s publication in 1985.
Gilead seems to undo much of the work, sending women back to their Commanders’ homes and making them state - sanctioned surrogates
in an attempt to reverse rapid falling birth rates, which is something currently happening in many rapidly developing countries such as japan.
religion
Gilead’s foundation in their very literal (mis)reading of the Old Testament and especially Genesis is clearly criticised by Atwood. She turns contemporary America into a dystopian theocracy where religion is used as the rational - or excuse - for reasserting stick gender stereotypes and turning women into little more than “two legged wombs”
natural and manmade disasters
the very real threat of nuclear apocalypse was felt by all in 1985 with the second wave of the CND movement
“a bunny’s tale”
Gloria Marie Steinem is a journalist, activist, and Second-Wave feminist icon. Steinem has been actively engaged in the feminist movement since her role as a leader of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1970s.
victorian influences
“angle in the house” or “fallen women”
significance of the star of david and triangle drawn on the bodies hanging of the wall
this was also done in german concentration camps during WW2
