The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel which was published in 1985 and written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. Among other things Atwood's novel addresses the inequality faced by women. Similarly to other dystopian novels, The Handmaid's Tale takes a very real issue in the modern day, such as sexual inequality, and enhances it to show the reader the possible outcome of not addressing that particular issue.
The novel is written from the narrative of the character Offred who has been forced into the regime of Gilead and is being used a child bearer. The women being used as child bearers are deemed "Handmaid's" and their sole purpose as part of the regime is to reproduce. The house in which Offred lives is completely run by women who do the cleaning, cooking and teaching. Through this Atwood is making the point that during the time the novel was written people didn't assume women could do much else apart from look after a household.
Although Offred doesn't seem to realise the importance of feminism until it is too late, other characters in the novel such as her mother and best friend Moira are far more active. For example, Moira is also forced into the role of a 'handmaid' but unlike Offred she rebels from the beginning by breaking out of the house. Moira also has the belief that living solely with women would solve the problems women were currently facing. Furthermore Offred's mother from a time before used to be actively involved in marching on abortion rights and pornography (two of the issue's raised in second wave feminism in the 1970's.) Offred's mother used to argue with Offred's boyfriend Luke over the rights of women and lecture her daughter about being complacent about rights. These actions used to embarrass Offred however the regime of Gilead provokes feminist spirit inside Offred. Through this Atwood makes the reader see a lack of rights can completely change ones perspective.
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