Abstract
While a dystopian novel may not seem like the obvious choice for a sociology course, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale offers an opportunity for students to apply both critical thinking and their sociological imaginations to a story still as relevant today as the moment it hit the shelves. As Laz wrote for Teaching Sociology in 1996, “Despite its status as fiction, SF [science fiction] is ‘truthful’ because it is consistent with reality. It is not ‘real’ in the sense of being actual, concrete, and verifiable, but it is ‘true’ because it corresponds or conforms to that which is real, actual, and verifiable” (Laz 1996:54). Atwood always referred to this book as “speculative fiction” (Barajas 2019), meaning that it envisions a possible future. The book was written in 1985, a time when conservatism in the United States took aim at women’s reproductive rights. The connection between the events in the novel and the political climate of the times proved salient. Now in 2019, we find ourselves in similar circumstances. Women’s reproductive rights stand under assault, with many states now requiring mandatory waiting periods, in-person counseling sessions, and invasive ultrasounds (Guttmacher Institute 2019). These bills are signed into law by majority-male legislatures and governors. As climate change accelerates and scientists warn us that time to reverse it is quickly evaporating, our government openly denies climate changes and rolls back Environmental Protection Agency protections rather than taking steps to address our impending doom (Popovich, Albeck-Ripka, and Pierre-Louis 2019). Our vice president’s anti-LGBT beliefs are well known, and the freedom of the media to publish the truth is under attack. For students with sociological backgrounds, reading this book within a class context should enable an unpacking of its themes and ideas beyond simple entertainment.
The novel details the events following a coup that kills the president of the United States and most of Congress. A radical religious group takes control of the government, and in short order it renders the Constitution null and censors the newspapers. Before long, the radical religious group curtails women’s rights so that women can no longer handle money, own property, read, or write. This new government renames the United States the “Republic of Gilead,” then declares all divorces null and void. Thus, the Republic of Gilead declares any woman now married to a man previously divorced as an adulteress and a “wanton woman” and declares her husband now still married to his ex-wife. The book’s narrator, Offred, a name given to her by the Republic of Gilead because she is assigned to a man named Fred, explains that during an attempted escape to Canada with her family, she became separated from her husband, Luke, and was captured. As a result, her daughter was given to a loyalist family. Once the Republic of Gilead confirms Offred’s fertility, she becomes a handmaid for the Commander, a man of the ruling class. The purpose of handmaids is to provide children for the commanders and their wives. The Republic of Gilead bases this practice on the biblical story of Rachel and her handmaid, Bilhah, who is impregnated by Rachel’s husband, Jacob, at Rachel’s request so that she could have a child “through her” (p. 88). The handmaids represent women living with a complete lack of autonomy. Further, they endure punishments, ritualistic rape at the hands of the commanders and facilitated by their wives, and hateful treatment.
The book consists of an introduction, 15 sections containing 46 chapters, and a final section called “Historical Notes.” The story is told in the present interspersed with flashbacks explaining how Offred’s current situation came to be and detailing the dynamics of her interpersonal relationships. The Historical Notes section imitates a symposium on Gileadean studies. This section explains that the preceding chapters came from a series of cassette tapes recovered and the attempts to verify the information presented.
The themes of this book lend themselves to analysis within many sociology courses, including courses dealing with gender, family, power, social problems, and even introductory courses. Power plays heavily throughout the novel. The Republic of Gilead is an obvious and visible form of power. However, the book showcases other forms of power, as well. Moira, Offred’s longtime friend, displays power in her repeated acts of resistance to the Republic of Gilead. From her refusal to conform and show respect to those in power to her repeated attempts at escape, Moira serves as a symbol to the handmaids that perhaps they, too, can resist what is happening to them. However, when Offred encounters Moira at Jezebel’s, the unofficially sanctioned brothel designed to meet men’s needs, she discovers Moira has given up. After being captured and given a choice between being sent to do hard labor in the Colonies, areas contaminated by radioactive waste, or serving as a prostitute, Moira has grown apathetic. Some handmaids kill themselves in a final act of power. Offred becomes aware of her power as a woman and finds enjoyment in watching the effect her body has on the men around her.
Feminism stands as a strong theme of this book. Moira and Offred’s mother serve as representatives for feminist ideas. For example, Offred’s mother marched for women’s rights, an activity that previously embarrassed young Offred. Looking back from her current situation under the Gilead regime, Offred realizes she took her rights for granted. Prior to the Republic of Gilead takeover, Offred did not identify as a feminist; however, Moira did. Moira goes so far as to suggest that a society composed solely of women would alleviate many of the problems women face.
Another prominent theme of the book is sexuality. The Republic of Gilead works hard to control sexual behavior. From the execution of LGBT individuals and abortion doctors, to the destruction of pornography and sexy clothing, to the development of the “Ceremony,” a highly ritualized event where a commander rapes a handmaid in the presence of his wife, the Republic of Gilead genuinely views sexuality as a danger to social order. Yet the presence of Jezebel’s, which the Commander tells Offred is unofficially sanctioned, tells the reader that the Republic of Gilead realizes, on some level, it cannot fully stamp out sexuality. Offred demonstrates the power of sexuality when she takes tremendous risks to continue her sexual relationship with Nick, a guardian assigned to the Commander’s family. Their sexual affair begins under the arrangement of the Commander’s Wife, who hopes it will bring about a pregnancy, thus ending the need for the Commander to continue sexual intercourse with Offred. Ultimately, no matter how much the Republic of Gilead tries to punish sexual behavior out of existence, ordinary people will risk a great deal to enjoy sexual acts with the hope of connection and perhaps even love.
The book offers many other themes worthy of discussion and analysis in sociology courses on gender, power, family, social problems, or introductory courses, such as gender conflict, the needs of society versus the needs of the individual, love, control over women’s bodies, patriarchy, and freedom. Examples of gender conflict can be seen when the Commander explains that under the new regime, life is better for men and admits that as a consequence, things are worse for women. He states, “We’ve given them more than we’ve taken away. . . . Think of the trouble they had before. Don’t you remember the singles’ bars, the indignity of high school blind dates?” (p. 219). In addition, Offred’s husband fails to register the importance of the early changes of the new regime. Offred reflects, “I didn’t go on any of the marches. Luke said it would be futile and I had to think about them, my family, him, and her” (p. 180).
An example of the needs of society versus the needs of the individual is illustrated when the Republic of Gilead puts the problem of its declining population over the rights of the individual (specifically women). The concept of love, in various forms, is pervasive throughout the book. For example, love helps preserve Offred’s sanity and drives Nick to help her escape. Control of women’s bodies is also central to the book. For example, in the positioning of women’s bodies as vehicles for reproduction above all else, Offred observes, “It’s my fault, this waste of her time. Not mine, but my body’s, if there is a difference” (p. 81). An example of hypocrisy is shown in Offred’s trip to Jezebel’s. The commanders use prostitutes to escape the realities of a system they created. Finally, the concept of freedom is shown most clearly by Moira, who risks everything for freedom multiple times. Each of these themes provides rich opportunities to apply sociological concepts and ideas as well as to compare the book’s events to present-day circumstances and policies.
This book is appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate courses. The best approach to teaching this book would be to have students read the entire book. Since the story is revealed through both present action and flashback, it would be difficult to pull out sections for students to read without the context of the full book. The writing is very strong and clear, and the book draws the reader in quickly. Since the details of Offred’s situation and how it came to be are leaked out through flashbacks interspersed with present events, the reader hungers to learn more. Some readers may see the nebulousness of the ending as a weakness of the book. At the end of the book, Offred is unsure of whether she is being saved or has fallen into enemy hands. However, the Historical Notes indicate that Offred was indeed saved by the rebel group, Mayday. Despite this, the ending is not wrapped up nicely, and exactly what happened to Offred afterward remains unclear.
The book could easily be used in an introductory sociology class, Sociology of Gender, Sociology of Sexuality, courses on the family, Sociology of Deviance, Self and Society, and courses on popular culture. Aside from the obvious themes of the book, the book opens the door for rich discussions on many sociological concepts, including stigma (e.g., Gilead creates stigma around divorce and having a child out of wedlock), social institutions (e.g., the violent overthrow of the existing social institutions is the first step of the establishment of the Republic of Gilead), socialization (e.g., most schools have been shut down and transformed into the Red Center, a place that socializes handmaids to the expectations of society), social control (e.g., the aunts at the Red Center use cattle prods to control the masses of handmaids; the regulation of sexuality exists as social control in this society), deviance (the Republic of Gilead regards anyone who deviates from the expectations as deviant, which casts them as “other,” e.g., LGBT folks, those who are divorced), rebellion (e.g., Moira rebels against the Republic of Gilead throughout her stay at the Red Center), patriarchy (e.g., women are not allowed to work or access money), groupthink (e.g., while at the Red Center, the handmaids are forced to chant “her fault” at a woman who confesses she’s been raped), and impression management (e.g., Offred engages in impression management throughout her tenure as a handmaid to ensure her safety).
Instructors could certainly pull in the Zimbardo Prison Experiment and Milgram obedience experiments to a discussion. Instructors could draw on the behavior of the subjects in those experiments, specifically the ways participants engaged in behavior they perceived appropriate to their role, despite knowing their role was assigned and they could just as easily have been assigned the other role. Commanders’ wives enact their roles knowing all the while that they could have just as easily been in the role of handmaids.
Additionally, the book offers an opportunity to discuss the political, social, and historical context during which the book was written, including the antifeminist backlash of the 1980s (Armstrong 2018). Given the environmental and economic concerns outlined in the novel, teaching this book provides opportunities for discussions of present environmental and economic concerns. In an introduction course, instructors would want to place the reading of the novel toward the last third of the semester in order to permit students to gain the skills necessary for a critical reading and analysis. An instructor could easily pair the reading of the novel with viewing the Hulu television series of the same name or the 1990 film. Watching a production of the book could make the concepts more salient for students. Additionally, while the Hulu series stays faithful to the novel’s themes, it also updates to reflect today’s world. For instance, the show features more characters of color and LGBT characters. The show also features today’s technology, such as smartphones, and we see the main character attend a women’s march. The film, in contrast, does not rely on Offred’s narration to tell the story, which changes the feel of the piece entirely. Additionally, the tremendous reluctance from Hollywood to create the film (which led to many changes in the script) can be pulled into a discussion of the differences between the film and the novel.
The book could also be paired with “Haunted by The Handmaid’s Tale,” an essay by Margaret Atwood (2002), as well as the interview conducted by Vintage Books (2018) with Margaret Atwood called “The Handmaid’s Tale Is Being Read Very Differently Now,” which is available on YouTube. The first provides the background, context, and inspiration for the book. The second provides more context for Atwood’s intention and mindset while creating the book and delves into the ways the book has been received when it came out and today. Other readings to pair with this book include Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s (2018) “Why The Handmaid’s Tale Is So Relevant Today,” which explains the parallels between the novel and the world we live in today, Sophie Gilbert’s (2019) “The Challenge of Margaret Atwood,” which details an interview with Atwood where she discusses the TV show, and Roohollah Roozbeh’s (2018) “The Handmaid’s Tale through the Lens of Marxism,” which analyzes the book through the lens of Marxism.
The Handmaid’s Tale offers an interesting and rich way to delve into important sociological discussions. The novel’s themes and questions remain relevant to society. Inspired by the events of the 1980s, the book endures as an important text through which students can examine and apply important sociological concepts and consider today’s social and political landscape. As Laz (1996:55) explains, “Because novels entail extensive development of character, setting, and plot (read: individuals and groups, society and culture, and interaction), they help students develop their sociological imaginations.”