Resumo de The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood?s riveting novel, The Handmaid?s Tale, explores issues affecting women. Within the world of the novel, located in a mythical, secular fascist state, women are no longer allowed personal freedom, are restricted by an enforced class system, and are forbidden to read or write. They exist in an environment devoid of much sensory stimulation, except for forced communal events, which they are required to attend and participate in. Tightly written, the bleak world of Gilead illuminates truths, both great and small, through the narrative of the narrator of the tale, a handmaid called Offred. Offred (Of Fred, since handmaids are designated as the temporary property of a particular male), who once possessed her own name, contrasts the world in which she finds herself with the society of which she once was a part, and which existed prior to the military coup which established Gilead. In the world of Gilead, more intimate personal crimes between individuals have been eliminated. The void has been filled by purges of different groups of individuals, eliminating dissidence in the society by establishing submissiveness to the regime. As sometimes happens in real world military coups, the elder segment of the population whom had encouraged certain events, which paved the way for the establishment of Gilead, these individuals become immediately disposable by members of the new regime. Due to declining birthrates, children are abducted from their natural parents and given to those with status within the regime. Those women capable of reproduction are forced to create babies for the regime or lose their lives. Escape is nearly impossible, but there are whispers of a network seeking to help some individuals escape from the regime. Mayday is the code word used. In French, the expression means ?Help me?. As the narrative ends, the fate of the narrator is uncertain. What follows is a historical perspective of the Gilead period by academics, who have, supposedly, unearthed The Handmaid?s Tale as an archaeological artifact. In the society which follows Gilead, life has become more democratic and relaxed, representing a different ethnic mixture than had existed in Gilead. The discussion explains the history of some of the characters in the story, as well as offering an explanation as to what happened to them, following the conclusion of the tale. Margaret Atwood?s familiarity with poetry renders the linguistic images in The Handmaid?s Tale both startling and rich. The Handmaid?s Tale was originally published in 1985 and was immediately declared a classic by critics.

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