The roles of women in "The Handmaid's Tale". A comparison between the relevance of the novel then and the series now (PDF)

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,7, University of Freiburg, language: English, abstract: The aim of this thesis is to show that there is still a pressing relevance and a timely message behind the story of Margaret Atwood's novel in regard to the roles of women. This relevance is especially connected with the gradual takeover of Gilead highlighted in the be- ginning and the unawareness of the people.

The first chapter will provide a short insight into the story and the different categories of women presented in it. After that, the situation of women in the United States back in the 1980s shall be examined, in order to prove the topicality of the novel back then. In the next chapter, this thesis will move on to the series and take a look at the differences between the adaptation and the original. Having done so, the situation in the USA today will be taken into account. Thereby, it will be possible to show that the feminist background of The Handmaid's Tale still meets with today's society's approval.

Eventually, this paper will prove that The Handmaid's Tale is still relevant today, as it has been in the 1980s, because it makes the reader aware of the subliminal fear of a possible backlash concerning women's rights.