Handmaid's Tale and Woman on the Edge of Time: Both Show That Gender is at the Heart of the Healing the Future
With the state of political, social, and civil rights as they are, the notion of possible futures haunts nearly everyone. Potential political realities in the present and not-so-distant future are examined in Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale and Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time. These novels have become modern classics precisely because of their poignant relevance to real-world social and political affairs. Although both Atwood's and Piercy's novels are at least in part set in future times, both tales are devoid of any significant characteristics that distinguish them from the present day reality. Thus, both The Handmaid's Tale and Woman on the Edge of Time eerily depict life in modern-day America even as they bridge gaps in time. In particular, issues related to gender and to political power are salient in both books. Through the core elements of their narratives, The Handmaid's Tale and Woman on the Edge of Time reveal that male-dominated social structures are potentially devastating and that females are in a unique position to forge more positive futures.In Woman on the Edge of Time, the protagonist has been systematically beaten down by her family, by her society, and most importantly, by the social and political st
Furthermore, both Connie and Offred confront matters related to their physical bodies, especially reproduction. In both books power over a woman's body becomes the most immediate, most basic, form of political power. Connie witnesses the connection between political power and reproductive rights most poignantly in Mattapoiset; Offred experiences the connection first hand as a handmaid. Offred's job as a handmaid explicitly illustrates the importance of reproduction to politics. Offred has lost one of the most fundamental rights of any human being: the rights to her body. Other people tell her when to have sex and with whom, and her sexuality becomes the property of those in power. The powerful experience of childbearing becomes devoid of its emotional and spiritual significance in such a world, and instead becomes a clinical and cold procedure. Childbirth as a clinical and cold medical procedure is a theme visited by Piercy in Woman on the Edge of Time too. In Mattapoiset, the genderless beings do not mate in moments of pure passion. Childbirth occurs not through the sacrifices of the willing mother but in the artificiality of the laboratory. Everyone in Mattapoiset is a test-tube baby, and bonds with the biological parent are meaningless. State-controlled reproduction is thus a central thematic element of both Woman on the Edge of Time and The Handmaid's Tale. Both Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time suggest that we are headed down a dangerous road both politically and socially. Connie's personal experiences with mental illness and her hospitalization put her into contact with a human society of the future, and she therefore straddles two worlds. Through her communications with Luciente, Connie obtains a sense of power: She is able to influence possible futures
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Approximate Word count = 1218
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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