Politics & Current Events
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Talk to me about The Handmaid's Tale
Would I like it or not?
After being called Ofadam on here for about four years now, I've avoided the book thinking it's just going to make fun of "people like me". But it seems like everyone here has read it and enjoyed it. My library has it available so I can pick it up on the way home from work.
I read The Year of Living Biblically after someone here recommended it and really liked it. It actually helped me sort out some spiritual issues. So I'm willing to try some books that you guys think I would like.
Re: Talk to me about The Handmaid's Tale
LOL @ Ofadam.
Did you like 1984? It's hard to describe really but I don't think it would offend someone with conservative religious views. It's not really about religion so much as it about what would happen if reproduction became rare - how would society respond?
I really liked it FWIW. Give it a shot.
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Gretchen Evie, born 7/8/2012 at 35w5d
It's not making fun of people like you. It's offering a vision of what men would do with their power in a patriarchy: sexual slavery, forced reproduction.
As for whether you'd like it... I'm not sure. A lot of us have liked it because it speaks to our our outrage at the lingering presence of patriarchy today. You don't summon the same outrage as we do.
Its other merits are that it's futuristic and intelligent, though, with good characterization and an interesting structure-- think "story within a story"-- I don't want to say too much to ruin it if you read it.
Definitely worth the read regardless of which way you lean. It certainly doesn't "make fun" of anything.
I re-read it last week for a book club and it was even more interesting to read in the context of what's going on now.
my read shelf:
The book doesn't judge people for their religion. It doesn't discuss religion that much, specifically. The premise is that there is a now a fundamentalist Christian theocracy in what was once New England/eastern Massachussetts. The book explains how it happened, pretty much at the beginning. The point is the conservative, hardcore thinking that treats women as inferior beings/"things." Not necessarily where that thinking comes from, just the fact that it exists.
Atwood actually used the conservative backlash of the Iranian Revolution as inspiration, so it can be extrapolated to any kind of reactionary thinking. In the novel, specifically, one of the main issues is the extremely orthodox interpretation of a specific passage - using God's order to Abraham to use Sarah's handmaid as a vessel for his offspring because of Sarah's infertility. And the fact that this is treated as more important than all/most other parts of scripture, so much so that it dictates how society is set up, and dissenting interpretations are not allowed.
I would really like to know what you think of the book, actually. I think that while you are one who holds perhaps some conservative beliefs, you are very tolerant and accepting of others. I've seen your transition to being politically "pro-choice" from being very "pro-life," so I know you think about things critically and openly.
40/112
Above Us Only Sky
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It opened my eyes to something about myself. The author said something about how the ritual in one way started to help him feel closer to God. I think that for some people ritual is tied to holiness and they need those rules in their lives in order to feel God's control. It helps them feel secure. I'm one of those people. But because I don't belong to a faith that doesn't have strict rules and tradition (Protestants differ so much in practice and dogma), a more literal translation of scripture that gives me rules to follow is appealing. Seeing this about myself helped me also see the appeal of Catholicism to some. I think it would be nice to have a regimented order of worship and an authority structure to create tradition - I just disagree with the theology of the church.
I also learned a lot about Judaism and why people do the things they do. It helped me interpret a lot of the NT. I was never aware that some Orthodox Jews put actual copies of the 10 Commandments on their hand and forehead in worship. It made the book of Revelation and the mark of the beast take on a whole new meaning for me. I think that as a Christian it is important to remember that the early church was made up of Jews and that it needs to be read with that in mind.
Anyways, I really enjoyed it. My only wish was that he would have dove a little deeper into Christianity, but his trepidation made sense considering that he is a Jew.
I'm not religious, but I do find a lot of comfort in the Episcopal service (i was raised in the epsicopal church--every sunday). Even though catholicism is similar I don't like the mass.
Above Us Only Sky
Is this true? I (vaguely) remember it as assigned reading in the late 80s and we discussed the rise in televangelism and a push towards the extreme right (Reagan) politically as more of a basis for what Wikipedia now calls her 'speculative fiction'.
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I'm not going to spoil the book for AW or anyone else but, yes, one of the factors that led to Offred's situation was the declining birth rates.
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Granted SBP. I'm really trying to not give away the entire plot because I hate when people do that. I think the declining birth rate was a big issue in the book. There is obviously a lot more going on but hey let's make a new thread then if you want to talk about it.
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I think the declining birth rate isn't the cause, but it's a sign of the lack of women's oppression. Just like the 700 club bemoans their demographic winter now. Women being subjugated/pregnant is the goal, but the rallying cry is the birthrate.
So, I 100% agree with what SBP is saying about the meaning of the book. I also think the birthrate is the kind of evidence the santorums of the world use to accomplish their goals.
AW should stop reading this thread.
I read the book in '87/'88, so take that into account.
To the best of my recollection, one of the reasons that the protaganist was chosen as a handmaid was her proven ability to have a child. I remember taking the fact of the declining birth rate in the book as a result of the poisoning of the environment and a measurable, human statistic from where the powerful right could launch their doctrine for the "greater good".
No more white majority by 2030! European countries have declining populations!
40/112
Yup. It's mandatory english class highschool reading here and I've read it 100 x.. But don't forget the fact that this particular society is demonstrated more than a few times as being cut off from others. Remember the spectators? Visitors? Women in skirts who stare at the hand maidens at the fences?
that's a part that's often overlooked when dismissing this book as entirely about a declining birth rate.
It's disturbing. That's for sure. But about state control of women, medical control, privilege, the politics of surrogacy, rape and policing of sexuality. Really good read. I love Margaret Atwood.
I want to say I read this in college as part of a class, but I can't remember. I think this thread has made me want to re-read 1984 and give this a shot as well.
ETA: On second thought, considering I can't have children, can anyone tell me whether this book will upset me?
Um I don't think so. It disturbed me somewhat as I read it while pregnant (back in December) and it might disturb you for similar and yet opposite reasons, but I don't think it will upset you. In some ways it boils women's worth down to whether or not they can reproduce - the handmaids that can are kind of "elevated" among the handmaid class - - since there is this perceived epidemic of infertility - but it's definitely not as simple or as black and white as that, actually for a lot of the reasons SBP described above.
so I say re-read it, and if it does upset you, it will probably make you think a lot too. Maybe if you and AW let the board know when you have read it we can have another big chat about it. I read it because it was suggested on this board and I felt left out of the conversations here hahaha.