Context Flashcards
(14 cards)
Where did the name of Handmaids’ come from?
A Christian fundamentalist group called ‘The People of Hope’ in 1975, where the women were called “The Handmaidens of God”
Decree 770
A law passed in Romania 1967 which banned contraception and enforced monthly gynaecological check-ups. The number of births doubled but it caused an increase in orphanages and school demand.
Radiation
In the novel, ‘Un-women’ must clean up radioactive spills in the Colonies.
The Soviet Union forced manual labour in uranium mines, exposing workers to extreme radiation and roughly 5000 men died there.
+Love Canal (1942, discovered in 1970s)
+3 Mile Island (1979)
+Chernobyl (1986)
Dropping Canadian Birth rates and Immigration
Birth rates were dropping due to women entering the workplace.
Canada has a relaxed immigration policy, it is predicted that the population will be mostly immigrants by 2035.
Stealing Children
Offred mentions an increase in kidnapping in the time before.
The Indian Adoption Project (1958): First Nation children were kidnapped from their parents and re-homed even if there was no proof for parental abuse
Racism
In the novel, African Americans are called ‘Children of Ham’ and are being transported in Chpt.14, linking to the apartheid in South Africa (1948-1994)
Enslavement
Handmaids are assigned names in Gilead, which happened to slaves who were not allowed to keep their ‘non-white’ name and it got changed into something more traditional like ‘John’.
Underground Female Road in the novel links to the Underground Railroad which allowed escape for slaves in the deep south, many led by Harriet Tubman.
Dress codes
1600’s, Puritan women had to wear long dresses with dark fabric as a symbol of modesty.
Forced surrogacy
The Ceremony links to the Genesis verse in the Epigraphs with Racheal and Leah (The RED Centre- Racheal and Leah Centre)
Theonomy
A society run by religion which was a coin term by Thomas Aquinas in the 1200’s. The USA Constitution has a mandatory separation of church and state.
Homosexuality
In Gilead, gay men were considered ‘gender traitors’.
Before Clintons ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ it was legal for gay men to be discharged from the military.
Homosexuality was still illegal in 14 states in 2003.
Secret Prostitution Rings
Nazi soldiers used to go to secret brothels where women were forced into prostitution.
Heinrich Himmler stated prostitution was necessary for keeping the morale of solider high. 1930’s brothels became state regulated.
+The Playboy Mansion
Pornography
May Day
