Review by elwirax - The Handmaid's Tale

elwirax 's review for:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

3.0

dark reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

As all historians know, the past is a great darkness, and filled with echoes. Voices may reach us from it; but what they say to us is imbued with the obscurity of the matrix out of which they come; and, try as we may, we cannot always decipher them precisely in the clearer light of our own day.

Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it.

Undeniably, the novel's strength lies in its plausible world building. By drawing on historical and contemporary events, Atwood constructs a realism that is both chilling and thought provoking. This offers a stark warning against moral panics and the consequences of unchecked religious influence.

In terms of characters, I found Moira to be the most compelling as an active resistor compared to Offred's general apathy.

I was initially dissapointed with her ending up at Jezebel's but this was important in showing resistance as a constant battle.

Moira and Offred's friendship was a great testament to the importance of female bonds in a society intending to isolate women. However, I do also think the book would have been more interesting from Moira's perspective.

That being said, I did find parts lacking in development.

Atwood has stated that she did not write about anything that hasn't happened in history before. She mentions 'colonies' an 'underground femaleroad,' and the 'resettlement of the Children of Ham' yet makes no attempt at discussing wider colonial or race themes. She severely re-frames the real suffering of Black women during slavery to centre the fictional plight of the white cast.

Furthermore, while there is brief mention of how the Gileadean regime is sustained (Religious propaganda, media control, elimination of resistors, military violence and the use of women to control other women) there is a lack of explanation for how the regime rose and democracy fell in such a short time. Although, looking at historical examples gives an indication, the specificity of the regime would surely require vastly different events leading towards its creation.

On that same note, resistance and opposition is not given nearly enough exposition as one would expect from this type of dystopian book.The 'Mayday' movement is briefly mentioned but is largely ambiguous and while characters oppose individually, there is little in way of real change which suggests the futility of resistance.

Lastly, I'm just not a fan of biological determinism. By solely focusing on reproduction within the regime, the book fails to adequately address other tools of patriarchal control. This almost reinforces the idea that reproduction is tied with a woman's worth as much as it criticises the idea. However, given the current political climate and the control of women's bodies and reproduction, it's very much relevant, just not very 'enjoyable' to read about.

Overall, a thought provoking book but not as developed in certain areas as I would personally prefer.

Content Warnings