Feminism in The Handmaid's Tale Feminism as we know it began in the mid-1960s as a women's liberation movement. Among its chief proponents is the idea of ​​female empowerment, the idea that women are capable of and should be allowed to do everything that men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They support the idea that women are inherently as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. Many writers have embraced the cause of feminism in their work. One of the best-known writers dealing with feminist issues is Margaret Atwood. Her work is clearly influenced by the movement, and many literary critics, as well as Atwood herself, have identified her as a feminist writer. However, one of Atwood's most successful books, The Handmaid's Tale, stands in stark contrast to the ideas of feminism. Indeed, the female characters in the novel are portrayed in such a way that they directly conflict with the idea of ​​women's empowerment. On the surface, The Handmaid's Tale appears to be feminist in nature. The point of view character and narrator is a woman and therefore we see the world through a woman's eyes. There's much more to the story, though. Atwood doesn't show us our world. It shows us a newly created world where women lack the freedoms they currently take for granted. This dystopian society is completely controlled by men. Of course, the men have help from their aunts, a team of brainwashers who run re-education centers and teach handmaids how to be slaves. These characters really don't speak well of the female gender for two reasons. First of all, it's hard to say who their real-life counterparts are, assuming that this... middle of paper... early writers. It's obvious that Atwood intentionally set herself apart from these writers with The Handmaid's Tale. Sometimes he seems to disagree with them entirely, such as when he displays pornography favorably. At other times, she portrays feminists themselves as the powerful women they would like to be seen as, but always with full disclosure of their human frailty. Atwood never criticizes feminism. Instead, it shows both sides of it. Like everything else in the novel, feminism has good and bad elements. Even in Atwood's new world, there is no black and white. Sources Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1985. Moore, Pamela, Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid's Tale. Boston, MS: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Internetwww.wsu.edu:8000/~brains/science_fiction/handmaid.html