Review: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood’s book is incredibly well-known, and at first I was reluctant to add my voice to the thousands of others who have expressed opinions on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ I had a myriad of prejudices before reading this book, but nothing could prepare me for how hard-hitting, brutal, and real this book is- and how much it would affect me. This is one of those books that will stay with me.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is set in the dystopian world of the Republic of Gilead. The book follows Offred, a handmaid, whose sole purpose is to breed. Handmaids are given to male members of society or, in Offred’s case, to elite, ruling families who cannot have their own children. The Republic of Gilead has strict rules and customs, and those who break the rules are killed.

This is a place in which men dominate, and when the Republic first comes to power (killing the president, Congress, and halting the U.S. constitution) the new government puts in measures to repress women, making them reliant on their husbands in every way.

It was the passage where Atwood described the measures gradually put in place by the government that shocked me the most. I was reading a fiction book, and yet the way in which men dominated and managed to cleverly create this patriarchal society seemed all too close to reality.

“They’ve frozen them, she said. Mine too. The collective’s too. Any account with an F on it instead of an M. All they needed to do is push a few buttons. We’re cut off.

But I’ve got over two thousand dollars in the bank, I said, as if my own account was the only one that mattered.

Women can’t hold property any more, she said. It’s a new law.”

The rules of the Republic of Gilead are all aimed at creating a ‘better’, more moral world. Sexual desire is prohibited, and the handmaids are used solely for increasing the population, which has reached an all-time low due to the amount of contraception readily available to young women. Divorce isn’t permitted, and those who have remarried have their children taken off them.

Everyone has a specific function- from the Marthas, who do the cooking and cleaning, to the Aunts, who keep the women in check. Handmaids are re-named after the man for whom they breed (hence Of-Fred) and they are not allowed any freedoms, speaking only when spoken to, and wearing a specific outfit. Abortions in Gilead are strictly prohibited, with doctors who used to administer them in the pre-Gilead world being treated as war criminals, often killed, along with any dissenters.

“These men, we’ve been told, are like war criminals. It’s no excuse that what they did was legal at the time: their crimes are retroactive. They have committed atrocities, and must be made into examples, for the rest. Though this is hardly needed. No woman in her right mind, these days, would seek to prevent a birth, should she be so lucky as to conceive.”

Although men are also repressed in this new system, it is the oppression of women that Atwood clearly wanted to put forward in this book. She paints a bleak world where women are dominated by men, given no choice over their decisions, body or thoughts, with reading and writing even being an offence in this new world of no questioning, and limited knowledge.

This is a world in which women are punished for aborting children which have been forced on them through rape. A world where women are blamed when they are the victims of violent crimes, due to the clothes they were wearing, or the way they acted….Wait, hold on? As much as I didn’t want to, the Republic of Gilead certainly had some similarities with the modern world, and it was hard not to draw similarities between the handmaids in the book, and the fate of many women now.

“It’s Janine, telling about how she was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion… But whose fault was it? Aunt Helena says, holding up one plump finger.

Her fault, her fault, we chant in unison.

Who led them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us.

She did. She did. She did.

Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen?

Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson.“

Atwood wrote this book in 1985, and so, if we go by her novel, we are probably living in the Republic of Gilead right now. A scary thought, and one that made this a realistic, and all the more terrifying book, despite ultimately being a dystopian novel. I can see now why women dressed up as handmaids in order to protest against illegal abortion. It certainly made a loud and blatant point.

Men are not blamed for anything in this world. If a woman cannot have a child, it is her fault, and to suggest a man is sterile is treason. In fact, to speak out of turn at all is treason, particularly if you’re a woman.

Throughout the book, Atwood also presents a very negative view of religion, showing the way in which it can become something which controls society, and incites fear, rather than love, in the name of creating a ‘pure’ and ‘moral’ world.

The new religion kills all those who disagree with its principles, and it’s clear that Atwood has based this book on historical examples of religious fervour going wrong in the past. In fact, in an interview, Atwood stated that the examples of punishment and deaths she uses were based on actual cases from religious groups in the past.

“I almost gasp: he’s said a forbidden word. Sterile. There is no such thing as a sterile man any more, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren, that’s the law.”

I absolutely loved this book, as horrifying and disgusting and scary as it was. It was written in such a hard-hitting, straight-forward way, and the prose wasn’t too descriptive or over-embellished. I really liked the character of Offred, and I thought her story was written in an engaging and compelling way.

I could really relate to her thoughts and feelings throughout the book, and I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to go from having every liberty as a modern woman, to being placed under constant supervision. Never being able to read or write anything, or even speak to who you wanted.

If anything, the book was too hard-hitting in its brutality, and the way in which Atwood drew similarities between the anti-feminist attitudes in today’s society, and the society of Gilead. And the increasing power and control of religious groups was also scary to read. This really was a tale of when men gain total control, and was too close for comfort as a female reader.

I really liked the ending of this book. It was so clever, I really didn’t expect it, and I thought the way Atwood showed the ignorance of modern men towards the Republic of Gilead. While the whole book made me so so so so angry and so so so so so terrified about the path society could take without much change, it also really made me think. Atwood is definitely a fantastic writer.

When I finished this book, I was physically shaking. Through anger, anxiety, shock? Who knows. All I know is that this book reiterated the importance of not taking anything for granted. The Republic of Gilead came into power so gradually that no one even noticed the changes, until suddenly women were devoid of any power, and their husband (or next male of kin) controlled everything. And then even more changes came in, and suddenly the world was a different place entirely. And this idea really scared me.

“I avoid looking down at my body, not so much because it’s shameful or immodest, but because I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to look at something that determines me so completely.”

I am not a fan of saying that a book is a ‘must-read’, because I don’t think anyone should ever be forced to read a certain book, reading should be for pleasure! However, I think with this book, policy-makers should definitely read it.

This should be required reading for those in power, or those considering going into power. In fact, most people should read this book. Because as much as those in power are to blame for the way in which society becomes so male-dominated, the men don’t exactly do much to fight against it.

Even Luke, Offred’s husband, doesn’t seem to really understand how bad it is for Offred, when she loses her job and her money and becomes his property. He seems blasé about the whole thing- and I worry this would be the case for many men in modern society. I never want to find myself in the Republic of Gilead.

Have you read ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood? Does it cover topics you’re interested in, or that really rile you up? Would you consider reading it in the future?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

Can’t get enough of Margaret Atwood? Check out a great article about her and her books here.

Happy reading x

Picture credits here

45 thoughts

  6. I’ve revisited this book recently after watching the mini-series, I’m a huge Atwood fan and it’s one of her best novels. Mini-series works in its own way, but I love how the novel restricts its perspective to its main character.

    Though personally I don’t find it as scarily relevant as many seem to. Yeah, a drastic change in how the human race operates could potentially bring out a totalitarian new world and science fiction is great for exploring this sort of scenario. But the whole premise of women’s drastic decline in fertility (which is the catalyst for the whole thing) doesn’t seem like something we’ll be worried about soon, if anything it’s population growth that’s the pressing issue.

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    1. The narration of the novel certainly makes it a good read! Hmm, that makes sense, I suppose we definitely aren’t headed to that crisis, but I suppose the relevance comes when you consider the treatment of women in certain passages. Thanks for dropping by 🙂

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  7. I have the book in my cue and your touching & deeply felt review has made me even more anxious to get going with this tale. A very nice job of reviewing this well-known book and making it personal. I watched the first season on Hulu as a judge for the SAG awards and nominated Elisabeth Moss for lead actor in a TV series, although all of the actors do outstanding work. A scary story right out of today’s headlines #metoo.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, that really means a lot, I appreciate it ❤ I would really like to watch it some time… And I completely agree, something straight out of the headlines, for sure. Thank you so much for dropping by 🙂

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  8. Great review! There tends to be a consensus that adaptations are rarely as good as the source material but I honestly find Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale to be one of the very few adaptations that was just as good, albeit in a very different way, and will always be thankful to the TV show for introducing me to Atwood’s book. When I read it I had to take a lot of breaks and couldn’t go through it in long sittings. The material was so hard hitting and depressing, that even though we live in a much better world I was unable to keep myself in it for long.

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    1. Ah, I really need to check it out, I’m hearing a lot of good things about it! I can understand that. I really ‘enjoyed’ the book, but not because it was easy to read (although the writing style was) but because it was so hard-hitting and important- I’ve never read anything like it before.

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  9. I’ve read it twice… I don’t think I will read it again, too traumatising! But I agree it’s a really important book which everyone should read if they can. I couldn’t watch the TV series, it was too scary.

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  14. Great review. I’ve always heard amazing things about it, but was always intimidated by it and I’m just afraid of not liking a modern classic that everyone adores. But from your review, and the snippets of the book that shows the amazing writing by Margaret Atwood, I’m definitely interested to pick it up soon!

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  16. First, I think you are one of the best book reviewers on WordPress and I’m learning so much from you.
    While I didn’t enjoy the book as much I wanted to because it was restricted to Offred’s perspective, I think this is probably one of the best discussion books there is and not only should be mandatory for decision-makers, but for schools too. I don’t know how much men will understand though if even Luke struggled to understand and sadly that really does seem to be the case with most men. I am now thinking that perhaps if the script was reversed and we were to see men undergo the same oppressive measures women face in literature, it would help them understand better. Such is life, people only understand when it happens to them. And I also think that it helps that Offred’s perspective feels restrictive because that IS the point after all, it helps us to feel restricted. This really hit home. I don’t think it is entirely down to religion though, but rather its distorted interpretation which ultimately became cultural norms instead.

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    1. Wow, thank you, that means so much ❤️I completely get what you mean- the fact that Luke is even confused is so worrying about mankind and their ability to realise the problems women face. Yes, imagine a book where men lose all their rights, and women are the decision makers- it would make for some hard hitting stuff, and would suddenly be considered of importance! It’s just like with mentalities to rape and abuse- men don’t understand it, even if they care or are loved ones… it’s so hard to understand anything until you go through it. Yes, the restriction to Offred’s point of view can be limiting at times, but I guess that’s the point like you say! Thank you so much for dropping by, and for your kind comments. This definitely is a book which warrants discussion.

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  20. Such a great review! I’ve watched the first season of the TV series but the book is on my TBR. It’s scary how many similarities you can see compared to life today, I didn’t realise it was written so long ago tbh!

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    1. Thank you! I know, I had to check half way through to see when t was published, it scares me that we’re living in the time Atwood was talking about! Thanks for dropping by, I hope you enjoy the book 🙂

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