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Atwood's influences
What perhaps influenced Atwood's dystopian novel?
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✍Atwood's influences
Atwood had travelled extensively and spent time in both Berlin and Afghanistan, and
chose to set the novel in North Eastern US.
The rise of Christian right during the 70s and 80s.
Contemporary too - Once, the book was banned from high schools in Texas on
the ground that it was anti-christian and excessively explicit about sex.
For example, prescribed ritual speech handmaids must follow when greeting
each other. 'Blessed be the fruit' 'may the Lord open' 'praise be'. Restricts
communication and fosters a religious discourse whereby the religious nature of
their new destiny is enforced.
Religious right taking power - influenced by Nicolae Ceausescu's preoccupation
with boosting female birth rates in Romania 1967, leading to policing of pregnant
women and ban on abortion and contraception. Decree 770
Islamic revolution in Iran, 1979
Both republics, Gilead and the very real Islamic republic of Iran, share common
threads of patriarchy, violence and misogyny.
The freedom of the female is heavily restricted in the Gileadan regime in all
aspects. They are forced to partake in systematic rape as their main purpose of
the society is to reproduce. This aspect is also prevalent in the
current theocratic regime of Iran - it's almost impossible for women to find
contraceptives. Women of Iran are also walking wombs with no sexual freedom -
even within marriage.
Another parallel is clothing. In THT, the handmaids must remain modest, wearing
white habits and long red gowns which conceal their appearance. In Iran,
women's appearance is regulated through the enforcement of headscarfs and
modest clothing. Those who challenge this policy are publicly shamed, much like
in the novel.
Afghanistan
Atwood's influences 1
, Atwood acknowledged the symbolism of clothing. Both the importance and
identity defining aspect but also the negative aspects.
Travelled there several weeks before the Soviet–Afghan War broke out .
Mary Webster & Puritans
17th century Puritans: They formed and identified with various religious groups
advocating greater purity of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and corporate
piety.
The novel is dedicated to Mary Webster
Possibly Atwood's ancestor, from a Puritan town in Massachusetts
Witchcraft accusations
'Under strong suspicion of having familiarity with the devil, or using witchcraft'
Neighbours tried to hang her, but unsuccessfully. She hung, dangling from a
tree, all night. When they came to cut the body down, she was still alive.
The legacy of witch-hunting still seems to be an enduring American blight. For
example, Trump's vilification of Hillary Clinton lead to websites that claim that
Hillary was actually a Satanist with demonic powers.
In a photograph taken the day after the Inauguration, at the Women’s March on
Washington, a protester held a sign bearing a slogan that spoke to the moment:
“make margaret atwood fiction again.”
Regimes which have their echoes in Gilead:
Rapid change into extreme brutality from an apparently civilised society - eg, the
massacre of Bosnian muslims by Serbs in the former Yugoslavia in 1995 -
shows Atwood's awareness of how easily lives can at any time be horrifically
transformed.
Giving babies to ruling class - influenced by military junta seizing power in
Argentina, 1976, where approx 500 children 'disappeared' and were placed with
selected leaders.
Hitler and the Nazis
Hitler rise to power, 1930s, reflected in Gilead:
Atwood's influences 2
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