Deny None of It: A Biocultural Reading of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale

Abstract

Abstract Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has predominantly been read as a critique of patriarchy, a feminist dystopia. This article amends the feminist analysis by applying a biocultural approach to the novel, taking as its point of departure three problems that have troubled the feminist reading: Offred’s perceived passivity, the novel’s subtly critical stance towards its feminist characters, and the open ending. By taking into account the environmental context-a fertility crisis-the biocultural reading is able to analyze character in terms of survival and reproductive strategies. Recognizing that the characters are negotiating male and female mating strategies under extreme conditions leads to a deeper comprehension of the way the contrasting philosophies of radical feminism and sociobiology inform sexual politics in the Republic of Gilead.