Context
- A writer of her time
- “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them”-Magaret Atwood
- Feminism was looked down on for some time
- First wave of feminism in the 1910s-1920s (voting rights)
- Second wave started in 1960s
- Invention of the contraceptive pill
- Gave them control and power
- “Feminine mystique” was published
- Showed the struggles of stay at home mothers’
- 1980s came with a lot of backlash
- These ideas threatened several religions
- There was a rise of conservative views
- The book was written during this time
- Televised evangelism
- Mob mentality
- Brainwashing
- Reaching out to people through TV
- Christian
- PTL club (hypocrisy w/ preaching certain values but then having sexual scandals)
- Serena Joy is from PTL
- The republic of gilead would be the evangelical Christian right if no one stopped them, there was no checks or balances and they have absolute power/authority
- 1979-Iranian revolution
- Extreme Islamic revolution
- Liberal to conservative
- Crusade against western pollution
- Western pollution: freedom for women
- Seen as going backwards in society
- Resisted the freeing of women from their traditional roles as housekeepers, wives and mothers
- In the US religious fundamentalism is becoming increasingly politicized
- Trump used to be pro-choice but changed his values to fit the conservative ones
- He isn’t Christian but pretends to be
- 1970’S
- Political suspicion and unease
- 1980s
- Ronald Reagan was president
- Economic rationalism
- Increased defense spending
The Republic of Gilead is a THEOCRACY
All the rules are rooted in religion/ the Bible
There are frequent allusions to the Bible
Large support from Christians
Speculative fiction
