What inspired the outfits in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
Summary
Margaret Atwood based the outfits in her book "The Handmaid's Tale" on real historical events and images, including a 1940s cleaning product box. Her story reflects how totalitarian systems control women, drawing from her studies of government and power worldwide.Key Facts
- "The Handmaid's Tale" was published in 1985 and later adapted into a TV series.
- Atwood uses only real events as inspiration for her novels.
- The book's story was inspired by political changes in the early 1980s, including the rise of the religious right in the U.S.
- The red cloaks and white bonnets worn by the Handmaids were inspired by a 1940s Old Dutch Cleanser box image.
- Colors in the story have symbolic meaning: blue for the "Wives," red for the "Handmaids."
- Atwood studied totalitarianism and power while living in West Berlin during the 1980s.
- Harvard University is a key setting in the novel because it represents the heart of American liberal beliefs.
- Atwood dedicated part of the novel to Mary Webster, a woman nearly killed for witchcraft in 17th century New England.
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