Why did Margaret Atwood write the Handmaid's Tale?
The
Handmaid’s Tale has been one of the most emotionally disturbing books I’ve ever
read. There are points where I honestly thought the society couldn’t get any
worse but then Margaret Atwood drops a new detail into the storyline that
brings an even darker side of it to the light. So to cope, I’ve shifted towards
trying to understand why she would ever write the Handmaid’s Tale in the first
place. Undoubtedly, the society is a dystopia. However, I feel that
Margaret Atwood has been particularly successful in creating a world that most
people would never want to live in. With women essentially being slaves who are
subjected to some pretty horrifying stuff and the Eyes surveilling every action
someone takes, it sounds like a new type of hell. Yet why bother writing such a book? Isn’t
this the type of thing you have nightmares about and is best kept in your own
thoughts than written in 311 pages?
Evidently,
Margaret Atwood had a reason for writing this book. Personally, I would like to
believe she was trying to make a point on modern society. Specifically, I felt
that in writing a society in which women’s rights are nonexistent, she is
actually trying to make a point on the topic of feminism and the rights of
women. Particularly, Dr. Majerus had us read that article on birth control
where a judge said that no women has “the right to copulate with a feeling of
security that there will be no resulting conception.” In the Handmaid’s
Tale, the judge’s comment comes across quite literally, as women are meant to
only have sex to give birth. In general, it appears that the Handmaid’s Tale is
every feminist issue but on an extreme level. Where there’s a idea that women
are meant to be subservient to their husbands, in the Handmaids Tale women are
essentially property. Similarly, when society has this notion that a woman is
partially to blame for rape, in the Handmaid’s the women are drilled into
believing that rape is their fault. By writing about these topics into her
book, I felt Atwood means to shine a light on the issues within our own
society. What do you guys think? Can you think of another reason Margaret
Atwood wrote the Handmaid’s Tale?
On a side note, Atwood is writing a sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale that’s supposed to come out in September 2019. I don’t think she’s done making her point yet.
-Christelle
Really cool post, Christelle. This novel has been disturbing to me as well for many reasons, and I'm hoping that it'll have some type of happy/better ending. Sometimes people write dystopias in order to show that our history has a bad side to it, and our future could carry worse. So we need to work on changing things in the present day in order to avoid dangerous, oppressive governments and powers in the future. And I'm excited to see what Atwood has planned for September!!
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the mark with Atwood's intent. The thing I found most intriguing was her claim that she didn't add anything to the book that didn't have a basis in history or hadn't happened before. The Handmaid's Tale sticks pretty close to reality, and I think that's a clue that she wants us to look around and see how American values could become more extreme and lead to something like Gilead if we're not careful.
ReplyDeleteReally good and interesting post! I think the reason people write mess up dystopias like this is because we're human. We can imagine pretty terrible things, thus its only natural that some people write them down - just as Atwood has here. I think this serves as a reminder of how bad things can get if we aren't careful. We could regress so far that we have no more freedom, and women are objectified beyond belief. We have to act if we want to prevent anything like this from happening (being active in politics etc). We shouldn't just blinding follow what everyone (or certain politicians) tell us, and instead look at things for ourselves. This is the only way we can continue to progress as a society.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that Atwood's main purpose in writing this book was to shed light on women's issues, and to criticize society as a whole. I do, however, have to disagree with what you said about how these things are "best kept in your own thoughts." I think that if someone manages to find a way to show what's already happening in a way that it will reach people who don't care, it is their duty to share it. Just like how in movies today there are a lot more comments about this sort of stuff. The example I'm thinking of is Captain Marvel (no spoilers I swear), where there's a scene that she gets cat-called, and I've seen people (men) online complaining that scene was "trying too hard to make a point," but I thought it felt like a very ordinary thing that happens to women. So by having that sort of thing in a movie where the demographic is likely to be more oblivious about it, they send a message across about what is actually happening and why it needs to change.
ReplyDeleteI, too, felt that she was trying to make a point with her book. Although it's horrible and some parts were hard to read, it reflects on a lot of problems we have in society today, except on a much more extreme level of course. And who knows, despite it being very extreme and hard to wrap our head around it may happen in the distant future with the direction society is headed. So Atwood did a great job of addressing these issues. I'm looking forward to what her next upcoming book has in store!
ReplyDeleteGreat post
I think the Handmaid's Tale, more so than any other dystopian book I've read, has a very clear agenda. It is most definitely commentary from a feminist point of view, and is very strongly correlated to real-world issues and events, making it even more powerful. As opposed to other dystopian novels, that have a somewhat general criticism of society, or may even just be for entertainment, the Handmaid's Tale definitely makes a lot of valuable points.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see The Handmaid's Tale as social commentary on women's rights, the dangers of religious fundamentalism, etc. I think the thing that makes the book so compelling is that the people who designed Gilead had the intent of making it a utopia (for men). Of course, Gilead becomes a hellish place, but the fact that you can sort of follow the line of reasoning for the creation of Gilead is compelling because it is rooted to real world issues. Atwood created a very effective warning through writing The Handmaid's Tale.
ReplyDeleteNice! I agree, I think that Atwood was trying to make a point about feminism and women's birth control rights, especially if we consider the time period that she was writing in. Also, I think the Republic of Gilead was totally bogus about how they were justifying their treatment of women. What 'for the protection of women.' Clearly it was a whole bunch of males deciding so they could take control of power again.
ReplyDeleteI would say the story of The Handmaid's Tale is a pretty extreme and exaggerated case of the flaws in our society today. I believe Atwood was trying to hint at these flaws and warn the readers of a world that could become. The Handmaid's Tale is really emotionally disturbing, and Atwood probably tried extremely hard to make readers feel that way. If the Handmaid's Tale wasn't emotionally disturbing and was an enjoyable book to read, her goal to point out the bad things in society would essentially be futile.
ReplyDeleteI think she is writing it to serve partially as a warning. Both as this could happen, and this already has happened to some degree
ReplyDeleteGreat points! I too think that Atwood was trying to comment on feminism and the direction of it should society fall into a dystopian world. In doing so, the book really is terribly disturbing but also remarkably thought provoking. As Matthew said, I think that she had to reach this level in order to make her point heard.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I think you're totally right, its meant to act as a kind of flashlight illuminating the problems in our world. The fact that all of the things in the book come from the real world really cements this idea that Women's rights are in jeopardy and we are only a few steps away from this kind of world
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