In The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood writes about a society that is based off of excerpts from the Bible. Women are assigned a role to play; some are Marthas, some are Aunts, some are Handmaids. Atwood has a powerful vision of an almost anti-feminist society. The reader sympathizes with the protagonist, Offred, and her struggle in this oppressive society. The other characters are realistic and interesting. However, I don't think that Atwood's vision is believable or realistic. In the novel, Atwood says that this oppressive government overthrow the old one without any resistance from the public. I think that people today would resist if the government started telling women that they couldn't have jobs and that everyone had to start living according to some Biblical principles. There is too much diversity and people love their freedoms too much to regress to such an oppressive society.
Though the novel has an ambiguous ending about Offred's future, Atwood does present some hope. Offred talks to Ofglen about the Mayday resistance. This shows that there are people in the Republic of Gilead that are fighting against this society. Also, Moira is almost successful in leaving the society. She talks about this "Underground Femaleroad" that helps smuggle women out of the country. The most obvious hope is the Historical Notes at the end of The Handmaid's Tale. The notes are set in the future from when the novel ends and are transcripts of a symposium that discusses this society. These notes show that the society does not last, although they are not clear about what happens to Offred.
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