8.1.2

Complacency

Test yourself

Atwood's Critique of Complacency?

Atwood may use The Handmaid's Tale to criticise complacency in society, and the act of turning a blind eye to what is happening in the world if it doesn't directly affect us.

Illustrative background for Blindness to sufferingIllustrative background for Blindness to suffering ?? "content

Blindness to suffering

  • The novel has been criticised for being too focused on the suffering of Caucasians.
  • But as Atwood constantly references past human rights infringements and atrocities, she may be suggesting that our 'blindness' to others' suffering will result in everyone becoming oppressed.
Illustrative background for Offred on complacencyIllustrative background for Offred on complacency ?? "content

Offred on complacency

  • In her flashbacks, Offred shares her own memories of complacency:
    • "The newspaper stories were like dreams to us, bad dreams dreamt by others. How awful, we would say, and they were, but they were awful without being believable. They were too melodramatic, they had a dimension that was not the dimension of our lives. We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories."
Illustrative background for __"Blank white spaces"__Illustrative background for __"Blank white spaces"__ ?? "content

"Blank white spaces"

  • By emphasising the "blank white spaces", Atwood may be suggesting that racial divides stop people from viewing prejudice and discrimination as a universal human problem:
    • Offred was happy in her privileged life and decided to ignore the warning signs until it was too late.
Illustrative background for __"Nothing changes..."__Illustrative background for __"Nothing changes..."__ ?? "content

"Nothing changes..."

  • "Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub, you'd be boiled to death before you knew it. There were stories in the newspapers, of course, corpses in ditches or the woods, bludgeoned to death or mutilated, interfered with, as they used to say, but they were about other women, and the men who did such things were other men."
Illustrative background for Importance of Historical NotesIllustrative background for Importance of Historical Notes ?? "content

Importance of Historical Notes

  • The Historical Notes take place in Denay, Nunavit (Deny None of it).
    • Atwood may be urging her society to start tackling problems that it currently ignores.

Jump to other topics

1Author Background

1.1Margaret Atwood

2Chapter Summaries

3Dedications & Epigraph

3.1Dedications & Epigraph

4Context

5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques

6Themes & Imagery

7Characters

8Readings

8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale

Go student ad image

Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring

  • Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home

  • Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs

  • 30+ school subjects covered

Book a free trial lesson