The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margret Atwood encapsulates a time where women were perceived as property and their values and lives were controlled within the Gilead patriarchy. The protagonist Offred journeys through a series of traumatising and debilitating events that portray a story of what it was like to be a ‘Handmaid’ (Atwood 1985.) In regards to Intertextuality; the theme, events and issues addressed within the tale are relevant to modern society as a whole. The issues of men controlling women’s bodies, their sex lives, and their reproductive rights, are still evident but in a modern context; through politics, media and general society. The themes of religion, racism, war, equal rights and patriarchy are also, unfortunately, still evident in recent times. This is emphasised and portrayed across many forms of text within the media, literature, films such as ‘The Help’ (2009) and television programs. Offred’s stories of Gilead bring forth common themes used across a wide range of literature, regarding; values in society that can alter a situation or story (Salaini 2003) violence, religion and the control of women’s rights.
The reader is left to ponder not only what happened to Offred but how society has progressed and our views of women now. The reader can relate the themes and motifs within the text to modern societal issues and topics that are present in the media, magazines, films, television and general society. The broad topics of feminism, women’s rights, racism, violence and religion still surround the reader in todays society and could thus affect the readers perceptions of these issues.
Response 2:
The "Handmaids Tale" by Margret Atwood was written at a time in history were women were predominately seen as property for men to be used for selfish purposes. The text encapsulates what it meant to be a handmaid during that time and the themes, events, and challenges which came with that. Unfortunately, in some cultures the dominating role of men in both relationships and families has had a negative impact upon how we see ourselves as individuals and our role in today's society. This has become increasingly evident through politics, media, and the internet as we become conditioned by society to believe that we should have certain roles and responsibilities as men and women within our society today.
I would argue as the text clearly does, that the domination of men over women is an increasingly dangerous and potentially violent social construct we have allowed to fester. Thus, from a reader's perspective we can clearly see the correlation between the themes and ideas presented in the text and what our society has become today. I do believe this domination of women by men can be changed for the better but we all collectively as a need to be willing to take and accept responsibility for the society we have created.
Response 3:
Margaret Atwood weaved many literary echoes throughout her novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ which assist in depicting an image of characters and the society in which the protagonist, Offred, lives. At the beginning of the text Atwood has written three epigraphs, two biblical references and one Sufi proverb. The effect of an underlying biblical tone throughout the narrative will vary depending on the reader’s religious views but in any case, readers will understand the system of unbreakable rules and regulations present in the world in which this narrative is set. In order for Atwood to deliver a sense of foreboding and instil tension in readers she has made textual references to the fairytale ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ when Offred views herself in the mirror, descending the stairs, as ‘some fairytale figure in a red cloak, descending towards a moment of carelessness that is the same as danger’ just as Little Red descended into the forest into the home of the Big Bad Wolf. Atwood also alludes to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel ‘The Scarlet Letter’ a little more subtly through the blood red attire forced upon the Handmaids, who are seen by the puritans in this narrative as sinners, just as the red letter ‘A’ is forced upon Hester Prynne after her adulterous acts. Each of these textual echoes sets the scene early in the story and allows readers insight into the tone of the narrative.