Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit

Gilead Society
Using pages 3-40, fill in the following chart to organize what we know the different social groups in
Gilead.
Group Name & Members Names
Handmaids

Aunts

Wives

Commanders

Marthas

Other?

Color

Details of Function/Lifestyle/Speech etc.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit

Margaret Atwood:
The Handmaid's Tale has often been called a "feminist dystopia", but that term is not strictly
accurate. In a feminist dystopia pure and simple, all of the men would have greater rights than all
of the women. It would be two-layered in structure: top layer men, bottom layer women. But
Gilead is the usual kind of dictatorship: shaped like a pyramid, with the powerful of both sexes
at the apex, the men generally outranking the women at the same level; then descending levels of
power and status with men and women in each, all the way down to the bottom, where the
unmarried men must serve in the ranks before being awarded an Econowife.
Directions: In and around the triangle, label the social roles from The Handmaids Tale based on
Atwoods quote (above). Below the triangle, predict why Atwood organized the society this way.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________