21st Century Dystopia

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In a modern Canadian society where one has the ability to do almost anything they desire, freedom of action and opinion is often taken for granted. Indeed, despite the inequalities we still face, we are extremely lucky to be able to think our own thoughts and define our own destiny. Our privileged situation only becomes more apparent upon reading Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, which brings on further reflections about what it means to be truly free, while simultaneously warning us to stay aware of our living situation as to not wake up in a totalitarianism regime, as the women of Gilead did. Essentially, in Atwood’s dystopian world, characters are forced into positions where they must serve the republic, the women often ending up having the most undesirable roles. Indeed, the way Offred is treated in chapter 11 demonstrates how the patriarchal tyranny to which the women in Gilead are submitted strips one from independence and individuality, contrasting with the sexist discrimination women still face in our very own 21st century world. 

To begin, women are forced to depend on men for all aspects of life. They have no individual power, and must respond to the men’s wishes. As a matter of fact, Offred’s existence literally depends on the men surrounding her. She needs to bear children in order to survive in the dystopia that is her life, or else she will be deemed as useless to the state and sent to the colonies to her death. She even says: “Give me children or I die.” (68) However, reproducing takes both sexes, rendering her useless without a male. Similarly, when she is told that “[she does not] have a lot of time left” (69), meaning her life will come to a halt if she doesn’t meet her function as a Handmaid, the (male) doctor inspecting her offers his help to get pregnant, saying that “I’ve helped others” (68). The power of men over women is simply highlighted here, as whichever decision she takes, whether it is to accept or deny his “offer”, she runs the risk of being sent to her death. Evidently, if she refuses, the doctor could mark her as infertile, or having cancer, terminating her life as “valued” member of society. However, if she does agree, she might be found out, and be blamed for her actions, for which the punishment is capital punishment. These situations Offred must accept are comparable to the situation women still face today, namely in Saudi Arabia, where “every woman must have a male guardian [...] who has the authority to make a range of critical decisions on her behalf.” (Human Rights Watch) These decisions include applying for a passport, getting married, studying abroad, and more. All to say, for a novel that takes place in a near future, some values are without a doubt very archaic, not to say completely sexist and discriminatory. 
Furthermore, not only are women forced to respect the men’s views on how society must be administered, they must also receive the blame for men’s shortcomings. Indeed, women are obviously the source of the problem when there is no conception. In fact, the word “sterile” is banned in the Republic of Gilead and “there is no such thing as sterile man anymore, not officially. [...] There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren.” (68) This shows that men are never responsible and even have no punishment for a situation that could send a woman to her death. As a matter of fact, if a woman was found to be infertile, she would get sent to the colonies to die, while men can continue to enjoy their ideal life. Even though this concept seems extreme, it is present in our “modern” and “equal” society. Women continue to be blamed for men’s faults and lack of control, especially when it comes to sexual assault. Indeed, there is what is called “rape culture”, where victims of such acts are told they were assaulted because of the way they dressed, or how intoxicated they were, instead of blaming the men who committed the crime. In brief, when analysed, it is obvious that this dystopian world of Atwood is not so far from our own, both in times and in culture. 

 All in all, the effects that the sexist autocracy of Gilead have on Offred’s life and liberty, as shown in chapter 11 of The Handmaid’s Tale, bring to attention the injustices happening in our own reality. Like the women in this invented dystopia, we are subjected to bigoted men’s views of how we should behave, and must live with their shortcoming being attributed to the wrong people. In short, it is quite clear that Margaret Atwood is trying to make a statement through her writing, warning us that “nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it.” (63)



(Disclaimer: all mentions of men and women in regards to The Handmaid’s Tale refer to cisgender men and women, for biological sex equals gender in said novel)