Body Discourses in Atwood’s the Handmaid’s Tale

Abstract

In the gripping dystopian narrative of The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood skillfully weaves together a tapestry of societal despair and resilience. Within the bleak backdrop of a Gileadean republican society, where infertility plagues the land due to environmental pollution and the consequences of unchecked promiscuity, a glimmer of hope emerges. The remaining fertile women are transformed into "handmaids," unwillingly coerced into servitude, tasked with the sacred duty of bearing children for the ruling elite. These women become mere pawns, their bodies manipulated for socio-political gain, reminiscent of the biblical handmaid Bilhah, who found herself in a similar predicament at the side of her master, Jacob. Atwood deftly borrows the term "handmaid" from Genesis 30.1, using it as a scathing commentary on the theocratic society of Gilead and the anguish of barrenness that pervades it. Yet, amidst the oppressive coercion, a paradoxical transformation unfolds. Atwood's masterful exploration delves into the complexities of oppression and resilience, ultimately illuminating the transformative power that can emerge even in the darkest of circumstances.