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Theme Of Symbolism In The Handmaid's Tale

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Symbolism in “The handmaid’s tale” by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is a Canadian-born writer who is famous for her novels, poems and short stories. She was born in 1939 in Ottawa, and studied at Victoria College at the University of Toronto. Atwood has received several prizes on her literature works which most characteristic is the depiction of stories about strong women, who have to go through difficult situations. Her novels mainly describe political chaos and societies in which women are oppressed and abused. This can be seen in one of her most renowned novels: “The handmaid’s Tale”, published in 1985 and which portrays the life in Gilead, a new society which emerged after a group of rebels assassinated the President. This is an oppressive society, which controls the life of all its citizens, and especially the life of women. As a result of a decline in birth rates, the government decided to designate some fertile women to men of the high society, in order to have children for them and their wives. The novel is a clear example of a dystopian world, in which people have no freedom; individuality is erased, and those who are against the ruling class are murdered. The author presents various themes throughout the novel, using different motifs and symbols.
In first place, the colour red is the most important motifs since it appears at various times during the story: Atwood uses this color in order to represent fertility and sexual sin. Red can be seen as a representation

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