Commentary The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood.

In 1985, Margaret Atwood saw her novel The Handmaid’s Tale published. The latter is considered as a science-fiction novel in the republic of Gilead, where utopy can’t be reached. We should add that this imagined society subjugate women by men : women’ bodies represent objects used for a « better » world. They are called handmaids and they bear barren couples’ children with the aim of rising reproduction rates and improve Gilead policy. What’s more, the narrator, Offred, had to take the role of a handmaid and this excerpt focuses on her relationship with her Commander : we found it interresting to show how a woman can reach a wayout to submission. To show that, we’ll first underline that control gives place to complicity. Then, we’ll highlight the twofold consequences of imagination : first we’ll present restrictive memory and finally the wayout to dystopia.

To begin with, Offred doesn’t manage to get out of submission alone : her Commander shows an important interest towards the former. We can see that he first wants to offer her a Vogue magazine « I have a little present for you »(l.1), then, contrary to what we were expecting, he seems very kind and nice with his « sexual slave » : « he smiled a little » (l.2), « I thought you might like look at it »(l.18). Moreover we can notice a complicity between them whereas there is no comprehension between the Commander and his wife « She wouldn’t understand. Anyway, she won’t talk to me much any more. We don’t seem to have much in common, these days »(l.43). Finally, we should not omit that this brief interview was allowed thanks to the secret « behind this particular door, taboo dissolved. »(l.22), when the wife is absent the Commander tries to see secretly his handmaid, we can deduce that he wants some affection from her or he wants her to be attracted by him. Above all, we could see that even if they are under this government, the