Handmaids Tale Context Flashcards
(18 cards)
How can feminism be linked to the Handmaids Tale?
1975- Womens Liberation Movement addressed family abuse as it was seen as an acceptable act
-Second Wave Feminists and local law enforcement by 1982 had set up 300 shelters for the abused
-Roe vs Wade (1973) was a landmark decision which was overturned in 2022. The right to have an abortion is denied in Handmaids Tale as in Chapter 6, men are hanged for doing abortions by the regime which indicates Gilead is anti-abortion
-ERA (Equal Rights Ammendment)- Supported by Betty Freidan who wrote the Feminine Mystique about the anger of women at the time and lack of gender equality
-First Wave Feminists such as the Suffragettes who campaigned for the right to vote
-Third Wave Feminism focused on intersectionality through the works of bell hooks, indicated that all women face oppression but individually have different experiences
-Offred’s mother is a radical feminist shown through her burning pornography linked to the ‘Women Against Pornography Movement’
-Moira is also a feminist shown through her writing on date rape in Chapter 7 and throwing an ‘underwhore party’ in Chapter 10 in attempt to take back sexuality she feels like has been undermined and stolen from them, glamourised for a male gaze.
What context relates to Atwood as an author?
-She is Canadian. A common theme of Canadian Literature is Survival which links to Offred’s main purpose and guidance throughout the novel
-Her ancestors are Puritans and she studied Puritanism during her degree in Harvard. This links to the roots behind Gileadean teaching and morality
-Atwood is a strong environmentalist and advocate which explains themes of Ecocriticism apparent in the novel through the Colonies. She was brought up in Rural Canada so spent time in the countryside and with nature
-The Handmaids Tale is labelled as a ‘speculative fiction’ by Atwood as she focuses on real life contexts and uses the novel as a cautionary tale rather than science fiction commonly associated with Dystopias
What environmental issues can be linked to The Handmaids Tale?
-Radiation problems in the Colonies (Chapter 38) linked to Chernobyl and Soviet Union Gulags
-1980s linking reproductive health problems to environmental causes like pollution
-Oryx and Crake by Atwood looks at the critiquing of ecological and nature collapse
What other dystopian novels can be linked to The Handmaids Tale?
-1984
-The Hunger Games
-Divergent
-Fahrenheit 541
What are the common conventions of Dystopian fiction?
-Patriarchal rule
-Surveillance
-Censorship like Propoganda and Indoctrination
-Environmental destruction
-Loss of individualism
-Language control
What word did Atwood coin in relation to utopia and dystopia- what does it mean?
Ustopia- the combination of a utopia and dystopia. The imagined perfect society and its opposite
What is panopticism and how does it link to The Handmaids Tale?
Concept developed by philospher Foucault about the social control of self-policing due to constant surveillance. It links to ‘She is my spy, as I am hers’ in Chapter 4 as Ofglen is policing her although they are both of the same role. This further links to the Gestapo in WW2 as Hitler encouraged family members and friends to inform on any people talking negatively about his government ,Germany or him, later taken by the Gestapo to camps.
What context can be linked to Serena Joy?
-Phyllis Schlafly- Traditional family values, in opposition to feminists like Betty Friedan
-Tammy Faye Baker- Televagalism seen in Chapter 8
-Nancy Reagan- Say No To Drugs
-Effie in The Hunger Games- Serena Joy defies the ‘mother’ role seen with Effie and Katniss in the Hunger Games as she looks after and guides her. Combinations of factors such as envy and restrictions of the regime defy this role, seen more as a competition between the two where Serena Joy uses Offred to have power and authority- ‘scant power’
-Rachel and Leah (Offred) in the bible- how forced surrogacy is deemed acceptable and how Serena Joy is infertile so compared to Rachel
-Wears blue linked to the Virgin Mary as the Wives are seen to be pure and kind, maintaining all the family values
What context can be linked to The Commander?
-Reagan politics- both characters embrace family values and are of a specific demographic like straight, white, male older man.
-Jerry Falwell- in charge of the Moral Majority who combined Christianity with Republican values. It is the foundations of theocratic values in Gilead as it is a government that bases rule off religion
-Lebensborn program to control women to have more children and be congratulated for upholding family values. He enforces this as a ‘Commander’ of Gilead
-Judith Butlers- performative masculinity
-Male Gaze- Laura Mulvey
What context can be linked to Aunt Lydia?
-Phyllis Schlafely- upholding Conservative and traditional values
-Irma Grese- a guard in WW2 who brutalised women and was hated in camp
-Anti-feminist
-Puritan Moralism that deviation of normalised female behaviour was sinful
-Moral Majority
What context can be linked to Luke?
-Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey)
-Disenfranchisement of women- women dependant on male guardians like needing a husbands signature for credit in the 70s- this links to Ch28
What context can be linked to Nick?
-Romantic relationships like that with Four in Divergent used as an escape
-Similar to Peeta in the Hunger Games, he is used for survival
-Double agents like in WW2 with Gestapo and secretly helping Jewish Families
What context can be linked to the idea of forbidden relationships?
-Winston and Julia in 1984 in an affair
-Peeta and Katniss/ Gale and Katniss
-JFK in an affair- hypocrisy of those in power
-Tris and Four- their relationship is disproved as he is of higher power in her in Dauntless but they connect through their identities of both being ‘Divergent’- this highlights although regimes aim to separate through power dynamics, identity also plays a part in control
What context can be linked to Moira?
-WAP
-Take Back the Night
-Radical Feminism
-Betty Friedan- Feminine Mystique
-Deviant hero- Zimbardo
-Gay rights- AIDS crisis
-Playboy Bunny- Hugh Heffner in Chapter 38
What context can be linked to Offred’s mother?
-WAP
-Take Back the Night
-Rad Fem
What context can be linked to physical appearance?
-Biblical imagery like Serena Joy’s blue to be symbolic of Virgin Mary- highlights the performative presentation of the theocracy
-Nazi Germanys striped clothes for Jewish people- making them easier to spot, decreasing the chances of escaping and deindividualizing them
-Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment as the guards receiving uniform increased their sadistic and aggressive behaviour as they now had the authority shown through their uniform. This could be linked to the Eyes and the idea of appearance being associated with social roles
-Playboy Bunny- Hugh Heffner dressed girls up in costumes describing bunnies as a ‘sexy’ animal. It demonstrates the animalistic view of the Male Gaze and how women are presented physically to be of an attractive level for men. This is apparent in the Jezebel chapters 35-39.
-YUPPIES- The Commander links to the idea of men being of a certain attire, wearing suits and looking like business men in the time of economic gain
-FLDS- Traditional clothes, primary light blues linked to the Wives, aimed to show modesty and conformity
-Divergent as the different fractions represent different traits which shows the regime uses physical appearance to section people and create different groups. It creates a lack of individuality and enforces a higher chance of sticking to a social role
-Hunger Games- in the Capitol, the citizens wear extravagant clothing with vibrant colours as they are performative in their appearance and want to express their lavish lifestyle in comparison to the tributes who wear ‘survival’ gear, contrasting the two levels of purpose and who has the power in society
What real life scenarios link to the concepts of Gilead?
Decree 770 in Romanian- Abortion and contraception is banned due to a fear in the decreasing population, links to the ‘plummeting birth rates’ mentioned in the Historical Notes. Women were forced to see a gynaecologist each month which links to chapter 11 where Offred has to see a doctor
-New Jersey Handmaidens in the ‘People of Hope’- links to the Prayvaganza and the idea of arranged marriages. The proper noun ‘Handmaidens inspired Atwoods idea of Handmaids
-Canadian birth rates dropping and the idea of relaxed immigration policy. This links to Offred wanting to escape across the Canadian border and the theme of birth rates as an issue as it has been in places like Romania and Canada
-Stolen children like the ‘Indian Adoption Project’ where first nation children were kidnapped and given to other families. This links to Offred’s daughter who was kidnapped
-The Underground Railroad is the Underground Female road in the novel which Moira used to escape, explained in Chapter 38
-Idea of ‘Gender Traitor’ which Ofglen is named as links to during WW2, gay men were shot if discovered
-Public executions links to that of Witches in the Salem Witch Trials used for humiliation. Countries still have public executions like Iran, Sudan and North Korea- this links to Chapter 18 and the Salvaging chapters
-Prostitution rings like brothels in Nazi Germany where Himmler believed prostitution was needed for morale of the soldiers- this links to The Commander in the Jezebels chapters where he states ‘Everyone’s human’
-Hitler and the Nazis reflect Gilead as they stressed family values such as the Lebensborn program where mothers received medals for the amount of babies they had. The Hitler Youth movement links to in Chapter 4 when Offred states that the young ones are the most dangerous. Children of ‘undesirables’ were taken away from parents to be adopted by Nazi parents in WW2
-Maoist China/Communist- language was restricted except from the Little Red Book.
-Taliban is an ambiguous power in Afghanistan
-Language restriction like Russian being made to be learnt in Hungary schools until the 80s. Mountain Language by Harold Pinter
What politics can be linked to The Handmaids Tale?
-Phylis Schlafely
-Reaganomics- AIDS Crisis, Cold War- focused on giving money for machinery and weapons
-Theocracies such as Vatican City and Iran
-Marxist Theory- shows the exploitation of labour and class divide- shown through ‘Econowives’
