Themes of The Handmaid's Tale

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An exploration of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" and how it's themes are relevant in today's modern society.

Transcript

00:00A relatable text will amuse all readers. It shows the reader something they can relate to,

00:05something they've experienced which allows them to empathize with the characters of the story,

00:09making it more real. However, sometimes a tale can be so familiar that it gives them something

00:14they've seen before. Therefore, a good piece of literature should have a shock, a shock of

00:18something new or a new point of view, to catch the reader off guard and challenge their thinking.

00:22This is the case in The Handmaid's Tale, a 1985 dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood.

00:28The book follows the story of Offred, a woman forced into a life of producing children in a

00:32totalitarian, extreme religious version of the United States. It explores the idea of gender roles,

00:38loss of identity, and freedom, making a statement about controlling women's freedoms through assigned

00:43social roles, treating them more like part of the house than an independent person.

00:47Gender roles are a major theme in today's society. Although in recent years people have started to

00:52break this trend, it largely persists, where around 29% of two-parent families have a stay-at-home

00:57mother. This social system can be observed in The Handmaid's Tale through the roles of women in

01:02Gilead. As stated by Offred, there's hardly any point in my thinking, is there? I say,

01:08what I think doesn't matter, which is the only reason he can tell me things.

01:12This line perfectly sums up how women are seen in Gilead. They aren't meant to think,

01:16they have one purpose, whether that purpose is cleaning like the Martha's, managing a household like

01:21the ants, or having children like the handmaids. The rhetorical question asked by Offred reflects

01:26this. Women aren't meant to think, they're just property. Offred isn't a person, she's just Offred,

01:31Fred being the commander she serves. This idea is one that many people in modern society are afraid

01:37of, and Atwood uses this, playing off the fear of the threat of years of progress towards equality

01:43being suddenly undone by someone with an old system of beliefs. In Gilead's case, the 400-year-old

01:49puritan system from before the United States existed. However, in both the 80s and 2000s,

01:54there have been strong parallels to this. In the 80s, Ronald Reagan's conservative presidency saw a

02:00great rise in Christian fundamentalism, which had feminists scared of what this would mean for all

02:05the progress women had made in the last hundred years. Today, the relevance of this issue can be

02:10seen through the Trump presidency, which ended with an attempt at revolution by radical conservatives

02:15who stormed the White House, much like how Gilead was born. Trump's presidency also outlined the

02:20political and moral divide in the U.S., making the possibility of revolution by a group of religious

02:26extremists very plausible and frightening. Evidently, the issue of gender roles is one that has strong

02:32roots in U.S. history and remains relevant to this day, another piece of a divided nation with a great

02:37history of division of opinions and beliefs.

02:40Loss of identity is a major concept in today's society, especially in an ever more digital world.

02:45Because there are so many of us, we need to be classified, with the government giving us a

02:49number which they use to identify us. The more of us that exist, the more this must be done,

02:53the less individual we become. In The Handmaid's Tale, this is expressed often by our protagonists,

02:58including in the following quote,

02:59My name isn't Offred. I have another name which nobody uses now because it's forbidden.

03:04I tell myself it doesn't matter. Your name is like a telephone number. Useful only to others.

03:08But what I tell myself is wrong. It does matter. I keep the knowledge of this name like something

03:12hidden. Some treasure I'll come back to dig up. One day.

03:16Atwood uses a short sentence to emphasize this initial point, then using a simile to describe how

03:20a person's name is seen in that universe. Comparing it to a telephone number, useful only to others,

03:25but then uses the metaphor, some treasure I'll come back to dig up. One day. Demonstrating to the

03:30reader just how severe the loss of identity is in this universe. With people's names, something

03:35we take for granted, being like a great buried treasure to be one day dug up. In many ways,

03:40this is the case in the world we live in as well. We aren't recognized in society by name. Instead,

03:45we're numbers, part of a system, one of many cogs that makes the clock tick.

03:49Freedom is one of the most important concepts in society. Freedom is what allows us to make our own

03:54decisions, gives us our individuality. Without freedom, we have no identity, no independent

03:58thought. In Chapter 5, Offred states, we used to talk about buying a house like one of these,

04:04an old big house, fixing it up. We'd have a garden, swings for the children. We would have children,

04:09although we knew it wasn't too likely we could ever afford it. It was something to talk about.

04:14A game for Sundays. Such freedom now seems almost weightless. Aunt Lydia explains a quote later,

04:19saying, There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from.

04:24In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it.

04:30These quotes outline how the freedoms we have can be taken for granted,

04:33using short sentences to emphasize the important point, don't underrate it. Because we have freedoms,

04:39we fail to realize how important they are. This concept is very relevant in today's society,

04:44where certain freedoms, such as freedom of speech, have been taken away by changing social values.

04:48However, people seem happy to have freedom from what this freedom would give them.

04:53With freedom of speech, people may not be able to voice their opinions safely,

04:57but they're sheltered from the opinions they don't agree with coming from other people.

05:01Evidently, it is crucial we find a balance between freedom to and freedom from,

05:05especially when considering how important freedom is in society.

05:09Ultimately, The Handmaid's Tale is a relatable text that tackles contemporary issues

05:14that have affected the world throughout history. It balances the historical issues of gender roles,

05:18loss of identity, and freedom, while applying them to a modern context that speaks to the audience.

05:23Atwood is able to challenge the audience's thinking and perspective on these issues

05:27by giving them perspective that many people haven't experienced before, commenting on the

05:31rights of women and society's progression towards equality, while also pointing out similarities

05:36between time periods considered sexist and progressive.

05:41Forest ofairness

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05:50There are factors that affect women's Shepherd.

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