An introduction to "The Handmaid's tale"

A) Read the text and complete exercise A of your worksheet

Washington D.C. in the Republic of Gilead.

The Washington Monument has been replaced by an enormous cross.

« The Handmaid's tale » is a novel written by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood in 1985. It has also become a popular television series, the first season broadcast in 2017, with season four on the air in 2022.

The novel is a dystopia. The story takes place in the fictional republic of Gilead which has replaced a large part of the USA. Gilead is a theocratic and totalitarian society governed by an elite group of men called « The Sons of Jacobs » and their designated « Commanders ». This group has taken power in Washington D.C. by force (the President was assassinated and the government members banished, imprisoned or killed).

The new government justified the « Coup d'Etat ». The leaders said that the USA « had turned away from God ». Excessive production and consumerism had provoked severe ecological problems and pollution. Furthermore, the United States (and the rest of the world), had started to experience a fertility crisis. More and more women were unable to have children. The government of the Sons of Jacob diagnosed this infertility as God's punishment for the pollution of the planet. The fertility problem was also blamed on increasing « immorality » and on « dirty women » who had made things worse by using birth control and having the right to abortion.

The government of Gilead promised to put the American society back on the right path. But their policies have created a society which has had a disastrous effect on the rights of women.

B) Listen to the audio and complete exercise B on your worksheet

Télécharger « Women in Gilead audio »