The Handmaid’s Tale
An introduction
,
, Key Facts about The Handmaid’s Tale
● Full Title: The Handmaid’s Tale
● When Written: Early 1980s
● Where Written: West Berlin
● When Published: 1985
● Literary Period: Feminist
● Genre: Speculative Fiction* / Science Fiction / Dystopia
● Setting: Cambridge, Massachusetts under the dystopian government of the Republic of Gilead,
which has replaced the United States.
● Climax: The Eyes, or maybe the Mayday Resistance, come to pick up Offred
● Antagonist: Though the Commander, Serena Joy, and Aunt Lydia seem to be Offred’s enemies,
the real antagonist is the Republic of Gilead itself.
*Atwood insists on the label speculative fiction for the novel, since she
● Point of View: First person limited thinks its events could actually occur, whereas those of science fiction are
more far-fetched. This distinction has drawn debate and ire from science
fiction writers.
An introduction
,
, Key Facts about The Handmaid’s Tale
● Full Title: The Handmaid’s Tale
● When Written: Early 1980s
● Where Written: West Berlin
● When Published: 1985
● Literary Period: Feminist
● Genre: Speculative Fiction* / Science Fiction / Dystopia
● Setting: Cambridge, Massachusetts under the dystopian government of the Republic of Gilead,
which has replaced the United States.
● Climax: The Eyes, or maybe the Mayday Resistance, come to pick up Offred
● Antagonist: Though the Commander, Serena Joy, and Aunt Lydia seem to be Offred’s enemies,
the real antagonist is the Republic of Gilead itself.
*Atwood insists on the label speculative fiction for the novel, since she
● Point of View: First person limited thinks its events could actually occur, whereas those of science fiction are
more far-fetched. This distinction has drawn debate and ire from science
fiction writers.
