Reading – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

I found a battered old copy of The Handmaid’s Tale in my daughter’s bedroom and thought it was about time I revisited Canadian author Atwood’s tale of a dystopian, patriarchal future where laws are based on some twisted version of Christianity. Of course The Handmaid’s Tale has been adapted into a hugely successful Hulu TV series starring Elizabeth Moss as June, the Handmaid. Atwood is an adviser on the series and even appears in Season One during a particularly troubling scene (although, let’s be honest, there are endless troubling scenes). There is also a 1990 film adaptation starring Natasha Richardson. In 2019 Atwood published a long-awaited sequel called The Testaments which provides some answers to readers pondering the fate of Offred.

In Atwood’s book we don’t actually know the Handmaid’s real name, she is now known only as Offred. At the beginning of the story some characters are mentioned and fans of the book deducted that June was our heroine. The story is set in Gilead, formerly in North America where, due to nuclear accidents, AIDS and Syphilis, fertility is at an all time low. Handmaids are the only remaining women who have viable ovaries. These young women are forcibly taken away from their own lives and sent to be trained at the “Rachel and Leah Centre” under the watchful eye of the brutal sadist Aunt Lydia and her cohort of collaborators. The Handmaids are then situated with a high-ranking family, usually a Commander and his infertile wife and forced to partake in a mating ceremony. Any babies born to the Handmaids are given to the Wife and the Handmaid has to repeat the whole process with another couple. The Handmaids are renamed as property of their Commander, Offred is so named because her Commander is called Fred. The whole set up is based on an Old Testament story and, because there is biblical precedent, it is acceptable in Gilead.

Women in Gilead are ranked, there are the Wives who are married to high ranking officials, the Marthas who are now domestic staff, the Unwomen who are send to The Colonies to clean up radioactive waste, a task which is sure to kill them within a year or two and then there are the Econowives who live in poverty on the outskirts of the cities probably working in factories. Human rights are a thing of the past, especially for females. People can be executed for the most minor transgression and their bodies displayed on The Wall which formerly was part of Harvard University. The women all dress according to rank, Wives wear Blue, Handmaids, red etc. All former items of clothing have been burned along with books and magazines. Women are not permitted to read or write unless they are an Aunt.

Offred is chronicling her story, on cassette tapes rather than paper, in the hope that she may be reunited with her young daughter who was taken away when they were captured. She wants her to read the account in the future. She knows that her daughter is alive because the Commander’s cold-as-ice wife, Serena Joy, allows her to glimpse a blurry photo. Offred’s husband, Luke was shot during the capture and she doesn’t know if he is alive or dead. The hope that they will all be reunited is what keeps her going. The former, deceased resident of her tiny bedroom up in the eaves of the Commander’s house carved into the closet wall, Nolite te Bastardes Carboround, a latin phrase which roughly translates into don’t let the bastards grind you down, the illicit words gives Offred courage. The Offred of Attwood’s book is less spirited and fiesty than the Offred of the TV series but as we learn more about her own mother it males sense that she would adapt to life in Gilead and join the resistance. The Handmaid’s Tale is an absolute must-read in my opinion.

Watching – Deconstructing Karen on Amazon Prime Video

This is a very thought provoking documentary about racism in America. The setting is a dinner party where ten white women sit around a table and are immediately asked by the hosts, activists Regina Jackson and Saira Rao , whether they are racist. A few raise their hands to admit they are and one utters the phrase “I don’t see colour, we all bleed red”. The woman could not have said anything more incenditory. If you don’t see colour how do you know we all bleed red asks Jackson. You are erasing brown people says Rao. This evening is part of an initiative called RACE2DINNER by campaigners Jackson and Rao to spread awareness amongst liberal white women about the role they play in upholding racism and white supremacy in the USA. The idea is for women to host a dinner like this for friends, who pay around $250 to attend, then they all examine their own bigotry and ideas around race.

So what is a Karen? If it were my name I would be mightily hacked off by the modern appropriation of it, ditto Becky. A Karen is one of those white women who you may see loudly complaining about a junior member of staff at the supermarket. They typically try to get somebody with less privilege than themselves into trouble. There are multiple videos on YouTube of screaming Karens trying to get innocent black people into trouble, sometimes with the police. Something that has been happening for centuries, often with deadly consequences. Jackson cites multiple examples of innocent black men being lynched because of false claims of rape by the Karens of the time.

Deconstructing Karen is a very confrontational documentary. Rao and Jackson do a lot of finger jabbing and eye rolling. Personally I think their hostility may have made some of the women reluctant to engage in the conversation. Hardly any of the participants agreed to a follow up interview. Rao is understandably angry about the state of things in the US, even her young children have been threatened because of her campaigning. Some of the violent and vile messages she has received beggar belief. Jackson, the ancestor of slaves and seventy years old is clearly disappointed with how little progress towards ending racism has been made during her lifetime. At the end of the evening the guests are asked once again whether they are racist and every single one of them raises their hand .

Listened To – Simon Mayo’s Confessions podcast on Apple Itunes

Simon Mayo is now on Greatest Hits radio but, when he was on the BBC, he had a hugely popular segment on his show where listener’s would send in their “confessions” and Mayo would read them out. He and his co-presenters would then decide whether the listener was forgiven or not. Most of the stories are hilarious and very relatable. The show is back and you can now listen on the podcast of the same name. I thoroughly recommend it if you have a school run to do with a monosyllabic teenager, they are guaranteed to laugh along with you. My reading and watching subject matter this week was heavy-going so a little comic relief was very welcome.

Thanks for reading

Samantha

Cover Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash