Is Atwood’s novel ultimately a feminist work of literature, or does it offer a critique of feminism? (400-500 words)
The second wave feminism existed from the 1960s to 1980s and sought to gain equality for women within the household, working environments, and education. There was also a focus on women’s liberation and how women were represented in the media. Magaret Atwood is widely viewed as a feminist writer and The Handmaid’s Tale presents a complex view of feminism. The Handmaid’s Tale is a feminist novel because it creates a dystopian vision of a patriarchal caste system. Furthermore, it also highlights the schisms within feminism where there are several feminist positions at odds with each other. Atwood critiques this by creating a dystopia where women are a key part of their sisters’ subjugation.
In Gilead, most women have very little contact with men. Women are expected to support one another through times of birth, death and sickness. Women even teach each other about this new regime. In addition to this, within a household, women work together to achieve the characteristics of their gender. The Handmaid’s sole purpose is to have baby’s with the commander, the Marthas main purpose is to be a household servant – ranking higher than that of a Handmaid. The Aunt is the highest working women role and their job is to educate other women about the regime. Lastly, the role of the commanders’ wife is mainly to stand behind the commander as a prop/accessory and take part in “ceremonies”. One of the most important beliefs in The Handmaid’s Tale is the idea that living solely with women would solve many of the problems women were currently facing.
It is important to note that before Gilead, Offred didn’t really consider herself a feminist. This is because she feared feminism would alienate and separate herself from men. Now there is a sense that Offred is beginning to understand that feminism only forces women to recognize their natural alienation from men.
On page 67 Offred mentions that “we live in the gaps between the stories” this is largely referring to how articles and news stories will discuss the many issues of the repression of women and the power imbalance between the genders and domestic politics, yet nothing is ever really done about it. Often times, when people read things about these problems if it has nothing to do with them they will tend to move it to one side and ignore the issues that are present. Hence, going back to the idea that Atwood’s main intention, as a widely viewed feminist writer, is to critique feminism through the lens of The Handmaid’s Tale.