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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
Unlock the more straightforward side of The Handmaid’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, which follows a young woman named Offred (the Handmaid of the title), who lives in the repressive Republic of Gilead and whose sole role is to conceive children for the powerful Commander she has been assigned to. Thanks to her friend Ofglen, she is introduced to the underground resistance movement, but soon discovers that escaping her position will not be easy. The Handmaid’s Tale was nominated for the 1986 Man Booker Prize (Atwood has been nominated for the award on numerous occasions, and won it for her 2000 novel The Blind Assassin ), and has recently been adapted into a critically acclaimed television series.
Find out everything you need to know about The Handmaid’s Tale in a fraction of the time!
This in-depth and informative reading guide brings
•A complete plot summary
•Character studies
•Key themes and symbols
•Questions for further reflection
Why choose BrightSummaries.com?
Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.
See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, which follows a young woman named Offred (the Handmaid of the title), who lives in the repressive Republic of Gilead and whose sole role is to conceive children for the powerful Commander she has been assigned to. Thanks to her friend Ofglen, she is introduced to the underground resistance movement, but soon discovers that escaping her position will not be easy. The Handmaid’s Tale was nominated for the 1986 Man Booker Prize (Atwood has been nominated for the award on numerous occasions, and won it for her 2000 novel The Blind Assassin ), and has recently been adapted into a critically acclaimed television series.
Find out everything you need to know about The Handmaid’s Tale in a fraction of the time!
This in-depth and informative reading guide brings
•A complete plot summary
•Character studies
•Key themes and symbols
•Questions for further reflection
Why choose BrightSummaries.com?
Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.
See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!
28 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 24, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 31, 2023
1) The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
2) The Testaments (2019)
I recently read these books and I am proud to say that these are must-read books by another brilliant Author!
Let me take you on the journey of Gilead.
But why do you need to read about it? Because if you are into fiction then, believe me, you would not want to miss this dystopian fiction for the world! (Pardon being sexist here) more so if you are a woman or feminist! The credibility of the content could be garnered from the facts that a) the book-based series called “The handmaid’s tale” on Amazon Prime has won eight Prime-time Emmy awards and Numerous golden globe awards, be it for best drama series or best actress. b) It’s written by amazing Margaret Atwood, the Canadian Author, I would highly recommend visiting her official website.
Let the journey begin…
These books are based on the fictional town called Gilead where, because of drop-in fertility rates owing to STDs and environmental pollution, people have succumbed to the Handmaid system. So, in this system,
a) Women are deprived of any major roles in finances, education and are not even allowed to read and write. Only the “Aunts” (post-menopausal or the ones who vouch for celibacy) are allowed to read “certain books” (yeah “the edited bibles”). Women cannot do any jobs and cannot take any independent decisions in their life.
b) Fertile Women are enslaved as “Handmaids” (Please google/Wiki for “Bilhah” to know more about this) and are provided to elite ruling families as serving women. Women selected for being handmaids are the ones previously involved in adultery, multiple marriages, divorced, single/unmarried ones. What handmaids are made to do is holy crap!!! During every ovulation cycle, they are subjected to religiously ritualised and orchestrated rape by the husband in presence of his wife…. till the woman gets pregnant. Women do not hold any right over the child. After the delivery, the woman is transferred to the other family to bear another child and the cycle goes on… this is just the start.
So many handmaids’ revolts but one of them succeed in kicking the shit out of Gilead!
2) The Testaments (2019)
I recently read these books and I am proud to say that these are must-read books by another brilliant Author!
Let me take you on the journey of Gilead.
But why do you need to read about it? Because if you are into fiction then, believe me, you would not want to miss this dystopian fiction for the world! (Pardon being sexist here) more so if you are a woman or feminist! The credibility of the content could be garnered from the facts that a) the book-based series called “The handmaid’s tale” on Amazon Prime has won eight Prime-time Emmy awards and Numerous golden globe awards, be it for best drama series or best actress. b) It’s written by amazing Margaret Atwood, the Canadian Author, I would highly recommend visiting her official website.
Let the journey begin…
These books are based on the fictional town called Gilead where, because of drop-in fertility rates owing to STDs and environmental pollution, people have succumbed to the Handmaid system. So, in this system,
a) Women are deprived of any major roles in finances, education and are not even allowed to read and write. Only the “Aunts” (post-menopausal or the ones who vouch for celibacy) are allowed to read “certain books” (yeah “the edited bibles”). Women cannot do any jobs and cannot take any independent decisions in their life.
b) Fertile Women are enslaved as “Handmaids” (Please google/Wiki for “Bilhah” to know more about this) and are provided to elite ruling families as serving women. Women selected for being handmaids are the ones previously involved in adultery, multiple marriages, divorced, single/unmarried ones. What handmaids are made to do is holy crap!!! During every ovulation cycle, they are subjected to religiously ritualised and orchestrated rape by the husband in presence of his wife…. till the woman gets pregnant. Women do not hold any right over the child. After the delivery, the woman is transferred to the other family to bear another child and the cycle goes on… this is just the start.
So many handmaids’ revolts but one of them succeed in kicking the shit out of Gilead!
May 2, 2020
It’s been decades since I read a book summary, but I wanted a detailed refresher on “The Handmaid’s Tale” because I am currently reading “The Testaments” and this was really helpful for that purpose.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews