★★★☆☆ Commentary disguised as a novel

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

I think I read The Handmaid’s Tale around 1986, when it first came out and became famous. I found it tedious. I have since looked at one or two other works by Margaret Atwood, and honestly, I have never enjoyed one. You have probably spotted my problem. It is that verb "enjoy". I read books for enjoyment. Not only enjoyment, but also enlightenment and information, and to broaden my mind. But I also enjoy those things, so the verb "enjoy" should not be taken to imply that I will only read a book that is a ball of fun fluff. (Indeed, if you care to peruse the list of books I have recently reviewed, you'll see a five-star review for Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos: With Applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering. Let me just state, for the record, that The Handmaid’s Tale is less entertaining than Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos. To me! Of course I speak only for myself.)

But The Handmaid’s Tale didn't work for me, because I didn't believe in the world it presented, or care about any of its people. Now, I will admit that, with the passage of years, The Handmaid’s Tale has proven prophetic in many ways. There is little doubt that many people (mostly but not exclusively men) think that the Republic of Gilead is the world as it should be, and indeed are making every effort to get us there, with distressing success.

There is, however, one way in which it is not. In The Handmaid’s Tale biology is the basis and justification for Gilead. The subjugation of women in Gilead is justified by widespread infertility among women. It has become difficult to produce children, and this fact is used to justify enslavement of the rare fertile women, such as the heroine of the story.

In fact, we now know (and indeed, always have known) that no such biological emergency is necessary for the subjugation of women. It is peculiar to me that Atwood chose to unnecessarily weaken her point in this way. She clearly knows better.

My main problem with The Handmaid’s Tale, though, is that as a novel, it failed to interest me. It was a tedious sermon. (One with which I agreed, but that if anything makes it more boring.) I didn't really care about any of the characters very much. It was a chore to read and to finish.

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