The Handmaid's Tale
This study guide will help you analyze the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. You can also find a summary of the text, as well as inspiration for interpreting it and putting it into perspective.
Presentation of the text
Title: The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
Author: Margaret Atwood
Genre: Novel
Margaret Atwood (b. 1939) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and poet. She has published 18 novels, as well as many books of poetry, short stories, and non-fiction. Much of her work centers on themes of feminism, identity, and power. She is also interested in science fiction writing and dystopian settings.
She is best-known for her 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, which is set in the United States of America in a dystopian future where the country is controlled by a strict puritanical government.
The book was turned into a popular television series in 2017, starring Elisabeth Moss as Offred. The adaptation was so successful that it was followed by three more series, going beyond the story told in the novel and developing it further beyond Atwood’s cliffhanger ending. The novel has also been adapted into an opera by composer Poul Ruders, which premiered in 1998.
Extract
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