Religion in The Handmaid's Tale: A Brief Guide

by Colette Tennant

Overview

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale captivates readers with its disturbingly prescient vision of the future and haunting insights into the world as we know it. Religion—especially elements of the Christian faith—pervades every inch of the world as Atwood imagines it. Gilead's leaders use perverse forms of Christianity to sustain their authority and privilege, making understanding religion an integral part of understanding Gilead. In the face of the inextricable role of religion in the novel, readers are left to puzzle out religious references and allusions on their own.

From the significance of names to twisted uses of religion to the origins of the Ceremony, this book answers all the questions you might have about religion in this prophetic novel. For anyone who's ever googled a biblical precedent or religious phrase after encountering Atwood's dystopia, this essential guide explains it all and gives readers a fascinating look into the novel and its world. Read it and understand The Handmaid's Tale like never before.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506456300
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	130
Sales rank:	425,344
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Colette Tennant received her PhD in English from Ohio State University. She is the author of Reading the Gothic in Margaret Atwood's First Seven Novels and the poetry books Commotion of Wings and Eden and After. She is an English professor at Corban University, where she teaches literature and creative writing.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Reading The Handmaid's Tale in the Twenty-First Century
Chapter One: Significance of People and Place Names in The Handmaid's Tale
Chapter Two: Biblical Allusions in The Handmaid's Tale
Chapter Three: Religion Gone Awry in The Handmaid's Tale
Chapter Four: Gender Roles and Politics in The Handmaid's Tale
Chapter Five: The Handmaid's Tale on TV - How the Hulu Series Adapts Atwood's Novel
Appendix: Further Reading

Editorial Reviews

07/08/2019

Tennant (Eden and After), a poet and English professor at Corban University, offers a revealing guide to the Christian and biblical language, allusions, and themes in both Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and the Hulu series based on it. Tennant divides her study into five chapters, covering the biblical origins of people and place names, biblical allusions, signs and symptoms of Christianity “gone awry,” gender politics and religion, and Christian content specific to the screen adaptation. Rather than religion in The Handmaid’s Tale, however, Tennant’s analysis focuses narrowly on Christianity—often with reference to specific biblical passages. For instance, she explains how the greeting “blessed be the fruit” finds its origin in Luke 1: 42, and how the name Serena Joy “reflects two of the gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians” and draws attention to the fact the character is neither serene nor joyful. In the most intriguing chapter, Tennant makes the point that abandoned churches in the dystopian setting reinforces the ways in which Gilead’s leaders are “using religion for political control but lacking actual faith... churches have become museums.” Christian fans of Atwood’s story will find much use in this easily browsed handbook of scriptural references. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"A revealing guide to the Christian and biblical language, allusions, and themes in both Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985) and the Hulu series based on it...fans of Atwood's story will find much use in this easily browsed handbook of scriptural references." —Publishers Weekly

"This helpful guide will equip readers to appreciate the rich layers of irony in Atwood's dark, timely dystopian vision. It invites deeper reflection on the emotional and social complexities of gender roles, uses and abuses of power, and the dangers of misreading." —Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, Professor of Medical Humanities UC-Berkeley-UCSF

"In this careful examination, Tennant offers a steady and clear companion that identifies and explains Atwood's rich subtext of biblical metaphor, orthopraxy, idiom, euphemism, and naming." —Gina Ochsner, Writer in Residence, Corban University; Winner of the Flannery O'Connor Short Story Award and the Oregon Book Award

"You can read the novel (or watch the series) without this guide, but what Colette Tennant offers here will greatly deepen your appreciation." —Penelope Scambly Schott; Winner of Oregon Book Award

"I did not truly comprehend the layering, nuance, and symbolism of Atwood's astute social commentary until I read Tennant's masterful discourse, which bridges the religion gap between novice and professional in a comprehensive, intelligent, logical way." —Laura LeHew, MFA, author of Becoming and Willingly Would I Burn.

"Tennant's close reading and insightful connections reveal the intricacies of Atwood's story for binge-watcher and book-lover alike." —Stephanie Lenox; Winner of the Colorado Prize for Poetry

From the Publisher