laryan's Full Review: Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale
Imagine, one day in the future that terrorists kill the president and all members of congress. You and your husband are in shock as is the rest of the country. The government is holding on by thin threads, trying to organize elections. In the mean time, the National Guard imposes a few restrictions on travel. Overnight, it seems, all the adult bookshops and the travelling sex shows (porno-marts) are closed.
It hasn’t been easy, really, in the few years before. You and Luke, your husband, are still together and you have a beautiful daughter. It was hard when Luke was divorcing his first wife and you were holding clandestine meetings in hotels, but those days are behind you. You are both working and you enjoy your job transferring books to computer discs.
Then one day, you stop for a pack of cigarettes and hand over your debit card only to have it refused. The new man behind the counter states your card is invalid and refuses to sell to you. You go to work and try to call the bank, but get a constant busy signal. Then your boss walks in and fires you and all your female co-workers. He is nervous and agitated and behind him are soldiers with guns.
That’s the day you find out that America is no longer. This is now the Republic of Gilead. Gilead is utopian society formed by right-wing religious extremists. The new Government is turning back to God, the Old Testament God, to turn this country around again. Any marriage that is not a first marriage for both partners is unlawful. Any doctor who has performed abortions is a criminal. Women are not allowed to read or write and are prisoners in one way or another.
Margaret Atwood starts ”The Handmaid’s Tale” with Offred, our narrator with no name of her own, talking about the “Rachel and Leah Center” where she was taken for “instruction”. Apparently due to industrial poisoning, the birth rate is extremely low. Women at the “Rachel and Leah Center” are indoctrinated to their new positions in life as Handmaidens.
Taught by Aunt Lydia and Aunt Elizabeth (all the instructors are Aunts and armed with cattle prods and switches), the women learn Religious Instruction. They are dressed in red, floor length dresses with long sleeves, and wear white wings similar to those of the old-fashioned habits of nuns. Perhaps it is the drugs, the fears, the brain washing, or just the lack of options, but the women, Offred included, leave as Handmaids.
Based on the Old Testament telling of Rachel offering her handmaid to Jacob that she might have children also, a handmaid lives in the house of her Commander (Offred literally means Of Fred, her commander). She lives with him and his wife, dressed in modest blue, solely for the benefit of a once a month ceremony to try to become pregnant with the Commander’s child. Every aspect of their life is governed by Biblical Precedent. Rachel's words to Jacob "Give me children else I die." take on new meaning. Should a Handmaid fail in all of her three postings, she is either killed or sent to the colonies--an unwoman.
This is a truly terrifying look at a possible future America. Like most Utopia societies of literature, all members are not happy or pleased with the results. In fact, the Commander’s wife, may have reason to be the most unhappy. In her younger days, she was Serena Joy, a televangelist who actively fought for the Biblical life style that is now suffocating her. Atwood sums her up by saying: "She doesn't make speeches anymore. She has become speechless. She stays in her home, but it doesn't seem to agree with her. How furious she must be, now that she's been taken at her word."
The wives, Offred, even the Marthas (name given to servant women), are at the mercy of the men in charge. Misbehavior may get you killed, or worse—sent to the colonies for clean up in nuclear dumps. A woman's worth is judged by three things--her viable ovaries (the handmaids), her marriage (the wives) or her ability to work (the Marthas).
What is so terrifying to me about this book, is the way Atwood makes it seem so plausible. It is a gradual change that Offred remembers. Some of the changes are good, but others are disturbing. At the height of her hopelessness, she learns, though, that life often is not what it seems and that certain options like Hope and Love still endure.
I have to admit, I love books on Utopian societies. I have always had in mind my perfect society. It is rather like a Disney version of the Waltons. All people are honored, even minorities, for the good they can give. No child is ever injured by his or her parents and the concept of sexual abuse is so foreign, no one would understand it. How could anyone hurt a child? No one is beaten or humiliated or killed because they are a different color or a different religion. Gays and lesbians are not victimized, but considered just like every other member in the community. There are no abortions because other options are available and so prevalent that there is no need. Drugs are something the Old Doc gives you when he/she is making house calls. Education is free and encouraged and there is no hunger, homelessness or alcoholism. And on certain Sundays, we all get together and raise a barn.
Of course, my perfect society can be epitome of what other people want to rid from their perfect society. To me, however, the thought of either a truly religious or a totally atheistic society is frightening and must be avoided at all costs. This book re-enforces that thought. Returning to an Old Testament religion, encroaches on the freedom and very lives of all the women in the book. But the Historical notes at the end prove that not only the women were victimized. In a society that depends on fear and punishment, no one is truly safe for long.
The book is not a continuous tale and relies on snippets of Offred’s life to give jigsaw pieces of the total picture to the reader. Left with nothing to do but relive memories, Offred gives glimpses here and there of what happened or how it happened but not necessarily when. It is up to us to put it in some sort of mental order. For some, that could be confusing, but I felt it built a nearly tangible uneasiness, fear and curiosity as to how this could have happened.
It is a rare book that I read with hurried impatience, trying to find out what happened or what happens next. Usually on these books, I will close it with a sense of relief. On the extremely rare occasions, I will immediately open the book and re-read it again, just to see if I missed anything. The Handmaid’s Tale was one of those rare books. I have since read it several times and each time get caught up in the story of Offred and most especially, her friend Moira, who appears to be the only one prepared and possibly able to beat the system and survive.
It is a good book but it is disturbing and not a light read. I would and do, however, recommend it to all. Books I enjoy fall into three categories: I’m glad I borrowed it; I must buy it; and I wish I could find it in hardback. This book is in the last category.
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In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies? Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Comman...More at Barnes & Noble.com
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