The deep meaning behind the story of 《The Handmaid's Tale》

楊馳瑜 李瀾西

Excerpt：There used to be sex， loneliness and the longing for something without name. I remember that longing. That's the hope for something that can happen at any time， but is always elusive and unreachable. It can never be as close to the eyes and touchable as the hands in the parking lot， or in the TV hall around our backs or other places on our bodies - the sound is turned down， only the picture flashes in front of the blood and ready to move body At that time， we yearned for the future.

Introduction：The story comes from the reality. Countless historical experiences tell us that the wheel of history is not always moving forward， but sometimes it will go backward to crush equality， justice and freedom. But if the story comes true one day， I hope each of us is not a poor frog slowly burned to death in warm water. It's a brave "mantis" who dare to hold up his weak arm to stop the dark and evil.

The main story is about a maid of the Republic of Gilead， Alfred. She is one of the few women in the country who can have children and is assigned to commander families who have no offspring to help them have children. Like other women in the country， she has no freedom of movement and is denied the right to property， work and reading. Except for some special days， the maids are allowed to go out shopping together only once a day， and their every move is monitored by the eyes. What's worse， in this crazy world， human beings not only have to face ecological deterioration， economic crisis and other problems， but also fall into a chaotic situation of mutual hostility， hierarchical differentiation and wanton killing. Women are not the only oppressed object in this catastrophe. Everyone is the victim of this seemingly absurd world.

Every word in this book has actually happened. Superficially， it is a feminist novel about women's demands for equality. In the era of the extreme oppression of women's rights and the extreme suppression of personal beliefs， people from all walks have made unremitting resistance. Today， countries worried about the aging population are forcing women to have children. Employers are harsher and harsher on women， and women are more and more difficult to find jobs， or the same job pays differently. Admission to schools also sets higher thresholds for girls. A man without money and power cannot marry a wife. Isn't it the omen of the world described in this book？

The requirement of gender equality is only a part. The works point more to the power mechanism which includes stratification， check and balance and absolute obedience， answering why it exists， how it works， and how it alienates people's existence. Everywhere is illusory， everywhere is real. Excellent novels of social consciousness wander between Utopia and anti Utopia.Diary style is a kind of interesting stylistic structure with mixed recollection and narration of self narration anti Utopian stories.

If people lack vigilance， it will be the present， or the future reality.The description of love， sexuality， family and life from the perspective of women is particularly delicate， but the calm and restrained narration is frightening： This is not a fantasy of the future American society， because such things are really happening in the current America.

References

[1] Zhang Qingqing. Analysis of Feminism in The Maid's Tale [J]. Digital Design （II）， 2018，（9）：266.

[2] Yu Yunling， Chang Mei. Unbearable Balance-A Study of Text Instability in The Maid's Story [J]. Foreign Language Journal， 2012，（3）：135-138.

[3] Unbearable Balance-Research on Text Instability in Utopia， Utopia， Brave New World and Maid's Tale [J]. Essays on British and American Literature， 2012，（2）：377-380.