The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
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Book Reviews of The Handmaid's Tale
Book Review: "Mother...wherever you may be. You wanted a women's culture. Well, now there is one. It isn't what you meant, but it exists..."
Summary: 5 Stars
It's sometime in the not-so-distant future, and the United States of America no longer exists. What once was the U.S.A. is now the Republic of Gilead, a nation "under God" where the Constitution has been suspended and society is strictly controlled. Women have neither freedom, nor their own money, nor jobs. They are not allowed to read or write. They are objectified, labeled, separated into groups, color-coded for quick reference. There are the virtuous Wives of the Commanders, who wear blue; the Marthas, housemaids, dressed in green; and the Handmaids, in bright red, whose purpose is the most startling of all. In an age of declining birth rates and sterility, the Handmaids are valued solely for their ovaries, for their ability to bear children. Although they are consistently called "commodities" and the importance of their position is stressed to them again and again, the Handmaids are objectified to the extent that their real names are taken away from them; they are known only as possessions.
Thus, we meet Offred, the heroine of THE HANDMAID'S TALE. Offred remembers a time, not so long ago, when she had a husband, a daughter, a militant feminist for a mother. Now she doesn't even know where her family is; they could have made it across the border to Canada, or they could be dead; they could be in the Colonies--villages that glow with radioactive waste, where people are sent when they're too old to be useful or as punishment for past transgressions. Offred reflects on her past, lives in her memories, and dreads a future of utter despair. Each day begins with nothing to look forward to; each day ends in hopelessness, with a spirit that's a little bit more broken. Offred's story is a stream of consciousness, an account of the days as they pass and of long-ago days in a different world. And the tale this Handmaid has to tell is one of the most thought-provoking, horrifying accounts you'll ever read.
Here are just a few of the words I'd use to describe THE HANDMAID'S TALE, written by Margaret Atwood in the mid-eighties: startling; perceptive; mysterious; terrifying; eloquent; sorrowful; passionate; important; captivating; paranoid; and what is perhaps the most appropriate word of all...POSSIBLE. Just read the book, and then look at our world; I defy you not to see the similarities between the way we're living today and the time Atwood calls "Before," the years directly preceding the formation of the Republic of Gilead. These similarities--the obsession with female sexuality, the importance put upon worldly goods, religious and nuclear war, political unrest--are precisely what make this book so frightening. And Atwood wrote this book twenty years ago; we're closer and closer to this future every day. What if...?
THE HANDMAID'S TALE is utterly riveting and completely unputdownable. Atwood's details keep us relentlessly aware that she's talking about the United States in the future, with references to etchings in the wood of schoolroom desks and televangelists and the Appalachian Mountains. This sense of familiarity increases the gravity of Offred's situation; it's startling, an ominous reminder of what the world has become in the future of Atwood's novel. And at the same time, the novel is intentionally vague; we never really know exactly how the Republic of Gilead came into being; we're just given snippets of the past. This vagueness, the not knowing, makes the book even scarier.
The prose is descriptive and flowing, but Atwood doesn't waste her words; each sentence is heavy with Offred's desperation, with the weight of no hope. But Offred is not to be pitied; she's to be admired for her strength. She's an incredibly human character, one who didn't always do the right thing in her previous life (and doesn't always in her current one). The supporting characters are just as well-drawn and humanized. That's one of the greatest things about THE HANDMAID'S TALE, in my opinion: The government can change the name of the country, they can enforce strict rules and guidelines--but they can't change what it means to be intrinsically human.
The bottom line is this: Atwood is just an ingenious, literary writer. Take our heroine's name, for example, which so poignantly symbolizes duality, a major theme in the novel. Offred can be read as "Of Fred," signifying possession--but it can also be read as "Off Red" (read: off with the red dress), symbolizing freedom.
THE HANDMAID'S TALE would be a perfect read for a book club or a college classroom; there are lots of political, religious, social, and psychological issues to discuss. If nothing else, reading it will make you more appreciative of what you have. Usually stories about women's inferiority in society are antiquated; but in THE HANDMAID'S TALE, Margaret Atwood has given us a shocking portrait of what life could be like for "the fairer sex" in the future. And this future could, unfortunately, happen; I think after you read the book you'll agree. I'm giving THE HANDMAID'S TALE my highest recommendation; it's a definite must read and a book I'll never forget.
Book Review: A CALL FOR FEMALE EMPOWERMENT
Summary: 5 Stars
In her novel, The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood effectively portrays a woman's struggle to retain her power.
The Handmaid's Tale describes a future in which a radical religious sect-the Sons of Jacob-has overthrown the United States government. A backlash to blasé attitudes regarding sex, this group aimed to cease the objectification of women, but only succeeded in creating a new form of objectification. The Sons of Jacob formed a caste society in which women must either "`fulfill their biological destinies'" (220) or be declared "Unwomen" (10).
The novel is told from Offred's-a Handmaid's- perspective. The regime forced her from her life of freedom to become a Handmaid-"a chalice" (286). Offred, like many women today, is too scared and unsure to defend herself. Readers easily identify with this character and cannot help but internalize Atwood's message of empowerment. The Handmaid's Tale drives home the theme of women's power with mastery.
The novel is intended for women. It is told from a woman's perspective and details horrors of sexism. Atwood stretches modern antifeminist thoughts to their haunting conclusions-urging women to take a proactive stance against sexism now, before it's too late. The book's fervent message is a response to growing antifeminist attitudes in the 1980's when feminists were accused of wrecking the traditional home. Atwood wrote The Handmaid's Tale to illustrate the chilling impact of the antifeminist sentiments that women belonged at home and men are more powerful than women. These attitudes are stretched to become "`But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence'" (221) and "`she shall be saved by childbearing'" (221). The author was also influenced by the American Puritans' conservative values and the Iranian monotheocracy during the 70's and 80's. She takes these values and draws them to their logical conclusions.
The book's feminist message carries through the plot, which focuses on Offred's empowerment. After being imprisoned, stripped of her name, and sent to an elite household to bear children, Offred's spirit is shattered. She is utterly powerless against the new regime, which forces her to submit to objectification or die. Every month, Offred and the Commander must perform "The Ceremony" (93)-a sexual act that reiterates Offred's loss of sexual power, as there is no choice, intimacy, or love involved. The Commander asks Offred to meet with him secretly to play Scrabble and to talk. As women are forbidden to read or write, and the meetings are kept secret from his wife, this lends Offred a small power. Later, the Commander dresses Offred like a whore and brings her to Jezebel's, a brothel for elite men, for "`just another crummy power trip'" (243). At the end of the novel, Offred must either assert herself, or fall back "into the darkness" (295) of her powerless state within society.
I fell in love with this book on two levels-as a woman and as a reader. Atwood's fervent message of female empowerment humbled me. Previously, I regarded books like Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God as feminist. Atwood's satirical take on the matter, however, coupled with the narrator's relatable personality gave The Handmaid's Tale much more impact. Unlike Hurston's novel, this book is not clean-cut or uplifting. Its messy and despondent nature renders this tale's message more powerful. Women who read this book cannot take it lightly, but are forced to confront their own way of life. Atwood achieves her intended goal-to make the reader question and, therefore, empower herself.
The questions raised by Atwood added to the imagination stimulant this novel provides. Atwood's distopian world intrigued me. The Handmaid's world is wholly imaginative, with a few connections to modern American society that ground it in reality. This odd blend of fantasy and reality forms a plausibly extrapolated distopia. Atwood's spare style enriches this world. She uses short, simple sentences such as, "I don't need to smoke this cigarette" (209), to create an austere and distant tone.
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is intellectually, emotionally, and imaginatively stimulating. She effectively urges women to recognize and demonstrate their own power. Atwood's work speaks for feminists everywhere when it states: "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum...`Don't let the bastards grind you down'" (186).
Book Review: The gripping tale of a Handmaid.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Handmaid's TaleThe plot of this story begins when the main character is caught by the totalitarian state of Gilead while trying to escape from their control. She is then taken to an institute called the Red Center where other "special" females are also held. This is the start of the rising action in the story. From there, our main character, Kate (later renamed as Offred), goes through a certain type of training or preparation at this Red Center to become a Handmaid. Here Kate learns the ways of this soveriegn state and learns that she is among a selected few who can still "bear the fruit". These women are later sent on assignments to complete their job as "assistants", which in this case, means bear children to those who cannot. This is the law of the Republic of Gilead, which is the setting of this tale. At this setting, the status of both men and women are very distinct. Women hold few roles as either Handmaid's, Aunts (those who train Handmaid's) or Wives (usually Commander's Wives). The other women are mere servants or of lower class. The men are either high- ranking Commanders and Generals, or soldiers and guards. The basis of this government rule is Biblically oriented. This explains the use of Handmaids in this society, and the bizarre manner how this government functions. This then introduces our story's conflict, man vs. society, and our story's theme of freedom. This becomes the main character's ongoing battle, along with identifying herself. Moving along towards our climax, our character, Kate, is sent on her assignment to a new commander's house. Here she faces a new dilemma, the Commander's Wife, Mrs. Serena Joy. The position of a Handmaid is a difficult and awkward one due to the fact that she's forbidden to have relations with anyone besides these commanders. And when they must have relations, which is done preceding a ceremony, the Commander's Wife must also be present, holding the Handmaid in fact, during this session. That is why the role of the Wife is powerful, yet fragile. She is the antagonist of this story, yet without doing any wrong. Continuing towards our climax, our protagonist, Kate, ends up having an affair with the commander of this household. Their innocent meetings of playing board games and reading magazines, which have been banned, go on for quite a while without Serena Joy's knowledge. Thinking up schemes of her own, Serena Joy, sets Offred up (our character's name has been changed by this point) with the commander's escort driver and guard, Nick, in attempt to get Offred pregnant by Nick's seed. Serena does this because she believes the commander may be infertile and she wants a baby already. Offred complies with this set up because she has feelings for Nick, and if she has a baby she would not have to stay there anymore, and her status of a Handmaid would rise. Moreover, being with Nick is the only real relationship she has. The turning point of this story, the climax comes along when Offred realizes she's pregnant with Nick's baby and decides that she wants to keep it for herself. The climax comes also when Serena Joy finds out about Offred and the Commander by her clothing that the Commander gave Offred to wear the night he took her out to Jezebel's, the underground nightclub. The falling action after the climax is when a group of soldiers, called the Eyes, roll up to the Commander's house in a van shortly after Serena found out, and comes for Ofrred. To Offred's surprise, the first soldier through that door was Nick. Thinking she has been betrayed, Offred is hauled away by the Eyes. But for the final twist in this story, Offred soon realizes that the Eyes are not "really" soldiers, but rebels, those who oppose Gilead and it's rule. They actually came to save her, on Nick's request. Our resolution in the end is that Nick helped Offred escape, by being a rebel himself. Beyond that fact, the end is not really clear, but it's contemplated that Offred (Kate) ends up having Nick's child and crosses the boarder into Canada. She then writes this book of her gripping tale, the tale of a Handmaid.
Book Review: Possibilities
Summary: 5 Stars
First, let me establish that The Handmaid's Tale is not a purely or even primarily political book. It has a great deal to say about the difference between the genders, contains beautiful poetic sequences (one can tell it's written by a poet), is well-constructed, deals accurately in powerful emotions, and is intellectually stimulating. To call this book primarily political, or "propaganda" as some have, is to openly display one's prejudices and biases.
I would like to discuss the political side of this book, however, particularly the plausibility of the coup. I'll focus on this because that appears to be the cause for a majority of the dissonance in this book's Amazon reviews.
While this novel's story does seem unlikely, it is far from impossible, and there are several things from Offred's description of the coup that are undeniably similar to recent events, if certainly more extreme. (Beware, spoilers ahead.)
Congress and the President were gunned down, and the catastrophe was blamed on Islamic fanatics. The Constitution was temporarily suspended, Newspapers were censored, and roadblocks began to appear requiring "identipasses." A significant circumstance that helped the coup was that all money was electronic--down to people using credit cards to buy groceries.
A much milder, but still similar, version of this has happened in real life. The real version of the catastrophe (9/11) really was committed by Islamic fanatics (unless you subscribe to conspiracy theories), and this is where the similarity is the weakest. However, many civil liberties have been temporarily suspended by the PATRIOT Act, border security has been tightened, identification is becoming increasingly necessary, nearly all money is now electronic (not as a result of 9/11; neither was the electronic money of The Handmaid's Tale), and while newspapers have not been censored by any means, there does seem to be an attitude among some that the news media is less trustworthy than the government. Incidents such as Newsweek's Guantanamo-Kuran-flushing gaffe, or specifically the reaction to said gaffe, demonstrate this plainly.
It's been claimed by another reviewer that the US Military would never support a theocracy such as Gilead. That's quite debatable. The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, according to a column by Jonathan Chalt, is under the leadership of a "born again" commandant and "a group of like-minded chaplains." "At supposedly nondenominational services," Chalt writes, "the academy's head chaplain has urged cadets to pray for those who didn't attend, and to remind them that 'those not "born again" will burn in the fires of hell.' Younger cadets who skip the prayer services have been hunted down by seniors, who call them 'heathens.' Even the football coach has joined in, putting up a banner in the locker room urging his players to join 'Team Jesus Christ.' Scores of cadets have complained of being harassed and insulted by evangelicals, and a team of visiting chaplains from Yale Divinity School found a shocking level of of religious intolerance on campus." This suggests that some among the military might not be wholly against a real Gilead. The idea of the military gunning down the President and Congress does seem implausible, but said assassinations certainly wouldn't be necessary for a real Gilead. And while the Los Angeles Times, for whom Jonathan Chalt wrote the above column, is considered fairly liberal, the report by the Yale Divinity School is real.
Stepping back to the book itself, it does seem remarkable that Margaret Atwood imagined (I wouldn't quite say "predicted;" it seems more that she's saying they're possible than that they're inevitable) these things in the 1980s.
Again, it is inaccurate to call The Handmaid's Tale a purely or primarily political book. But nearly all of the disagreement in the plethora of reviews of the book appear to be due to political objections, so hopefully this review will help the unsure customer make a decision.
Book Review: Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Handmaid's Tale / 0-385-49081-X
This dystopia masterpiece, set in a modern world that rings eerily familiar years after the publication date, describes the daily life and desperation of a woman caught up in a social struggle that she cannot influence.
A state of emergency has been declared, the national borders have clamped closed, and martial law rules a country that had previously been open, democratic, and free. Who is the enemy? That isn't always clear. A religious group, perhaps, or terrorists, but maybe the government is lying about the war, who they are fighting, and how it is going. Like the narrator, a prisoner in the country she once loved, we only she what she is allowed to see. In this time of despair, terror, and lower fertility caused by toxic chemicals in the water and air, the majority of citizens are willing to give up their rights in exchange for a fleeting feeling of security and protection.
When the state of emergency is declared, a fundamentalist Christian-based sect of the government takes over, using Biblical passages wildly out of context to justify denying basic rights of citizenship to women. Women are no longer allowed to work, hold property, carry money, or read and write. The men - husbands, fathers, and brothers - are given the women's former belongings and are charged with their safety. The new "work" for women is bearing children, or (for older, infertile, upper-class women) being submissive wives. Divorce is retroactively criminalized, and women in second-marriages are rounded up as criminals and put to work as private sex slaves and baby-incubators, making heirs for the privileged and politically connected. This is the story of one of these women. She tells of her loss of freedom, her sorrow at her husband's death, the pain at having her daughter torn away from her, and the slow mental decay as she sleepwalks through her new life - the endless waiting for nightfall, the humiliation of her "work" in trying to conceive a child.
The story is a work of art, and a masterpiece. The pacing is slow, leisurely, and even. We are gently and carefully walked through the life of a handmaid, we see the horrors and pain, and - like our heroine - we are numbed by it. Shocked, saddened, and pained, yes, but mostly numbed. We see the signs outside the grocery stores with simple pictures only, because reading is illegal for women. We see the slow crawl of days, stripped of freedom, monitored even while she is bathing, lest she attempt suicide. We see the other women, the ones who have accepted their fate and have come to adore their captors and the ones who have rebelled, fought back, and lost their lives dying trying to reclaim what was once there own.
Even the epilogue, which Atwood has attached without a word of explanation, is a dash of sharp irony. Against all hope, the diary which we have been reading, written by this abused woman, has been found by later historians. These wise and 'modern' men are entranced by the diary, but not because they care about the horrors this woman has lived through. No, they are not here to 'judge' history, they only want to read her innermost thoughts, open her up, place her in history, date her and sign her and then delegate her to a nice shelf somewhere to quietly rot. Even in death, our lost lady has no name, no identity, no worth in herself, not because she is unimportant, but because the people who have power over her cannot appreciate her worth. Their priorities are wrong, and they can only consume others, without contributing anything worthwhile to society.
~ Ana Mardoll