LoisLane05's Full Review: Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale
What would life be like without creativity, compassion, and freedom? Can you imagine not being able to read, laugh, or show love toward anyone? This is what life is like for a woman in Offred’s world. Offred belongs to the only class of fertile women in the Republic of Gilead. She is a Handmaid. Handmaids are used only for breeding and live much like guarded nuns. Because of jealousy towards the Wives of the Commanders and women with other Republic jobs, Handmaids are ostracized until a baby is produced. Once a Handmaid becomes pregnant, which is hard to achieve due to radiation leaks and other problems with the environment, her life changes and she is seen as a surrogate hero. But it isn’t easy, all Handmaids have just a few chances to bear a child before they are banished to the Colonies with the Unwomen.
The Plot
The pressure is on for Offred. This is her third and last chance to produce a baby in a new household and if she is not successful, she will be sent to the Colonies. Under this extreme pressure, Offred begins to remember how life was before the Republic was formed. She knows she is extremely unhappy and doubts that she can produce a baby. In order to cope, she spends many hours remembering her husband who disappeared when the Republic came into power. Offred has no idea if he survived or was killed. She also remembers her small daughter who was taken away from her. Offred’s flashbacks also include memories of her best friend, Moira. When they were both in school to become Handmaids, Moira made an escape and has never been heard of again. Did Moira escape successfully? Offred begins to wonder and dream about escaping herself. Could she do it, survive after trying to escape or would she be found by the Eyes (the Republic’s secret police) and killed? Would it be possible to find Moira, if she is still alive, or find anyone who feels as trapped as she does? Thinking these thoughts are as dangerous as putting them to action, but Offred cannot help but feel herself changing and wanting to live life again. Her struggle is not only with the norms of the Republic, but also with herself. Although she feels these urges, she also fights her to remain a normal part of the Republic. Will Offred find a way out or comply with the rules of her society?
Politics and Religion Gone Bad…
I was blown away with this totalitarian Republic and the way society was forced to work together in such morbid and destructive conditions. All books, magazines, and historical records were burned, similar to Bradbury’s ideas in Fahrenheit 451. Women were not allowed to read, earn money, or hold property; all of these freedoms were taken away. Any makeup or smoking tobacco was forbidden, especially for fertile Handmaids. The simple luxury of having moisturizer or lotion – forbidden, and many times Offred saved her butter from her dinner in order to use it on her dry skin. Also, each class of women is forced to dress in uniforms, Offred’s class, subjected to wear red robes with an odd habit obstructing the wearer’s view and masking the appearance of a Handmaid’s face.
Friendship between anyone is not only frowned on, but also hard to achieve because of these conditions. For example, Offred is only allowed to go to the market with the handmaid next door. All the while they are under surveillance and even conversations between the two handmaids are forced to ritualistic, having each woman scared to step any beyond the boundaries because one might turn the other in. Every move made is watched by the secret police and if you were to make one step away from the republic, you could be shot and displayed by being hooked on The Wall as an example.
Until Offred is acquainted with others who bend the rules of the republic at their own risk, she is alone in the world. For comfort and to remain sane, she remains friends with her memories and the way she lived life before life was supposedly changed in order to help protect a better life for women.
Recommendations
Once I picked up this novel, I could not put it down. As a woman of the 21st century this book was terrifying to read. Not only did I find myself so involved in Offred’s first person narration, I wanted to know if she would escape and find the happiness she and the rest of the Republic deserved in life. Although I enjoyed the questions this book made me ask about women’s rights and freedom, I also wanted to hurry and finish this book due to its dark and depressing subject matter.
I recommend this book to mature adults because of the sexual content and deep philosophical ideas. If you have enjoyed books like Orwell's’s Animal Farm and 1984 or Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 you will probably enjoy The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Above all, this is a novel that you have to experience yourself because no amount of explaining it in a review can encompass all it has to offer and make readers think about.
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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