1.1.1
Margaret Atwood
About the Author: Margaret Atwood
About the Author: Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is one of the most acclaimed and honoured authors of modern times. She has won numerous awards for her range of novels, poems, non-fiction and children’s literature.
Interpretations of The Handmaid's Tale
Interpretations of The Handmaid's Tale
Atwood’s writing, especially The Handmaid’s Tale, centres around the key themes of gender, politics, language, climate change and environmental issues, religion, myth and identity.
Canadian identity - key theme?
Canadian identity - key theme?
- Atwood has always been interested in Canadian identity. Many critics have argued that The Handmaid’s Tale could be viewed as the relationship between Canada (the Handmaid) and America (Gilead).
- Atwood may resist this interpretation. She is well known for avoiding labels or the restrictive limitations of genre.
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
- Similarly, when Atwood was asked if she classed The Handmaid's Tale as a part of the Science Fiction genre, she claimed that The Handmaid’s Tale was a work of "speculative fiction".
- She was quoted as saying that Science Fiction was all "monsters and spaceships" whereas speculative fiction, like The Handmaid’s Tale, "could really happen".
The Testaments
The Testaments
- In 2019, the much-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale was published: The Testaments.
- The novel takes place 15 years after Offred's story in Gilead.
- The novel won Atwood the 2019 Man Booker Prize.
1Author Background
1.1Margaret Atwood
2Chapter Summaries
2.1Chapter 1: Night I
2.2Chapters 2-6: Shopping II
2.3Chapter 7: Night II
2.4Chapters 8-12: Waiting Room IV
2.5Chapter 13: Nap V
2.6Chapters 14-17: Household VI
2.7Chapter 18: Night VII
2.8Chapters 19-23: Birth Day VIII
2.9Chapter 24: Night IX
2.10Chapters 25-29: Soul Scrolls X
2.11Chapter 30: Night XI
2.12Chapters 31-39: Jezebel's XII
2.13Chapter 40: Night XIII
2.14Chapters 41-45: Salvaging XIV
2.15Chapter 46: Night XV
2.16Historical Notes
3Dedications & Epigraph
3.1Dedications & Epigraph
4Context
4.1Setting
4.2Literary Context & Genre
4.3Political Context
4.4Historical Context
4.5Parallels: Read World & Gilead
4.6Religious Context
5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques
5.1Narrative Structure
5.2Literary Techniques
6Themes & Imagery
6.2Imagery
7Characters
7.1Female Characters
7.2Male Characters
8Readings
8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale
Jump to other topics
1Author Background
1.1Margaret Atwood
2Chapter Summaries
2.1Chapter 1: Night I
2.2Chapters 2-6: Shopping II
2.3Chapter 7: Night II
2.4Chapters 8-12: Waiting Room IV
2.5Chapter 13: Nap V
2.6Chapters 14-17: Household VI
2.7Chapter 18: Night VII
2.8Chapters 19-23: Birth Day VIII
2.9Chapter 24: Night IX
2.10Chapters 25-29: Soul Scrolls X
2.11Chapter 30: Night XI
2.12Chapters 31-39: Jezebel's XII
2.13Chapter 40: Night XIII
2.14Chapters 41-45: Salvaging XIV
2.15Chapter 46: Night XV
2.16Historical Notes
3Dedications & Epigraph
3.1Dedications & Epigraph
4Context
4.1Setting
4.2Literary Context & Genre
4.3Political Context
4.4Historical Context
4.5Parallels: Read World & Gilead
4.6Religious Context
5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques
5.1Narrative Structure
5.2Literary Techniques
6Themes & Imagery
6.2Imagery
7Characters
7.1Female Characters
7.2Male Characters
8Readings
8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale
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