"Nolite te bastardes carborundorum" - "Don't let the bastards grind you down". This has become my slogan now haha.
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I am sure you all know what this book is about. but here is my short introduction to what it is. A totalitarian Christian government takes over United States and it is referred to as the republic of Gilead where misogyny is at its peak, women can't be on their own anymore and they have no values except when they can breed (our worst nightmare), extremism prevails, humanity died, uniforms everywhere. Reminds you of 1984? Well, yes, you can take it as a female perspective of 1984.
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It's all about men in that world. Women are mere objects and they can't decide anything on their own. I will give you an example from a conversation between our protagonist, Offred (Of Fred), a handmaid who belongs to the commander Fred where the he says, "We’ve given them more than we’ve taken away, Think of the trouble they had before. Don’t you remember the singles bars, the indignity of high-school blind dates? The meat market. Don’t you remember the terrible gap between the ones who could get a man easily and the ones who couldn’t? Some of them were desperate, they starved themselves thin or pumped their breasts full of silicone, had their noses cut off. Think of the human misery. Now, this way, they all get a man. This way they're protected, they can FULFIL THEIR BIOLOGICAL DESTINIES IN PEACE. With full support and encouragement".
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And his view about love is this, "Was it really worth it, falling in love? Arranged marriages have always worked out just as well, if not better. Those days were just an anomaly. All we've done is return things to Nature's norm".
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All these things are perfect from a patriarchal perspective. What does women gain from it? Isn't it like going back to the bad old days? if not worse. Men aren't the problem in this republic of Gilead society but patriarchy. Although it was quite unbelievable at first because it is set place in U.S. where everything is moving ahead of time, it was more relatable when I saw it as a totalitarian government that could be ruling the whole world. But still it could have been better if Atwood had given a detail view in how things changed because it is not possible overnight like how she has portrayed but not to forget, dismissing women from job, transferring their money to their first male relative (husband/father/brother) was a dramatic change to begin with.
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I really loved how she classified women into different classes and how each of their duties were explained. Also, the names she has set for them was brilliant like Of-Fred, Of-Glen, Of-Warren, Aunt Lydia, Serena Joy (wife), Rita, Cora, etc.
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If one thing I didn't quite like about the book was 'A feminist perspective to clothes'. I think this is where most of the feminists slip from the actual point. Like, the fact that women have to cover their whole body in Atwood's world is difficult. But the way she has connected the length of the dress with going backwards in time doesn't sit on me well. So if they were all given Bikinis to wear, would they have viewed it as empowering? I doubt it. They will be still treated as dolls irrespective of what they are wearing. They will still get objectified if they were given Bikinis as uniform. The lack of choice of dress or anything of that matter was the problem, not the length of the dress. Wearing summer dresses, jeans, shirt and tank tops is not feminism. It is not freedom. It is choice. Freedom and feminism is much more than that.
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But Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a lot. I loved the writing style and choice of words. I read it word by word and annotated carefully. I can't wait for the next book. The ending left me with anxiety lol. And yes, I would definitely recommend this. Just read it. Especially if 1984 is your favourite classic.