Kobiety i reżim. Opowieść podręcznej jako przestroga, wskazówka i podpowiedź

This article is devoted to the interpretation of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale. It depicts the changes that have taken place in the United States of America, where the political system has been transformed following a coup d’état and the seizure of power by religious fundamentalists. The writer devotes a great deal of space in the work to the situation of women, so the article uses the perspective of feminist criticism. This made it possible to describe the barbaric laws that particularly affected women. This optic opened up different levels of interpretation, such as the limitations of being a woman. Margaret Atwood’s take on the novel, however, not only undertakes a critique of the regime of power, but also points to the weaknesses of liberal democracy. Accordingly, the article devotes space to the issue of women’s economic oppression, an environmental issue. Furthermore, the diversity of women in terms of their position in the social hierarchy, age, sexuality or reproductive capacity is captured. It seems, therefore, that the writer takes an example from her female readers, which has been seen as a turn towards intersectionality.