What is The Handmaid’s Tale about?

The Handmaid’s Tale is a popular American TV show based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name. The show 1st aired on Hulu on April 26, 2017, and quickly became a huge hit, receiving a lot of praise. The show is made by Bruce Miller. It follows the story of June Osborne, a handmaid who fights to escape and resist the oppressive system. The show is set in a dystopian future where a dictatorship called Gilead has taken over the United States.

The series has been praised for its storytelling and performances. The show has won many awards, including 5 Primetime Emmy Awards, 3 Critics Choice Television Awards, 10 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and 2 Golden Globes. The show has 5 seasons and 56 episodes and the 6th season will air on April 8, 2025. The Handmaid’s Tale explores themes of power, resistance, and survival, making it both gripping and thought-provoking.

What is The Handmaid’s Tale about?

The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian drama set in the near future, where the United States has been replaced by a dictatorship government called Gilead. Due to environmental disasters and diseases, birth rates have dropped noticeably, and many women can no longer have children. To solve this issue, Gilead’s leaders make a strict social system where remaining fertile women, known as handmaids, are forced to give birth to children for high-ranking officials and their wives. These women are stripped of their identities, renamed after their male masters, and subjected to harsh treatment. The society of Gilead is built on strict religious beliefs, with leaders using belief as a way to justify their oppressive rules.

Women are divided into different classes, each with specific roles. The Wives, who are married to powerful Commanders, are expected to maintain a respectable household but have no political power. Marthas are servants who cook and clean, while handmaids are forced to give birth to children that they will never raise. Any woman who refuses to follow Gilead’s rules is punished, often in violent ways, including exile to the toxic wastelands known as the colonies.

The show mainly follows June Osborne, a former wife and mother who is captured and forced to become a Handmaid. Despite the brutal conditions, June refuses to accept her fate and secretly works against Gilead. As the show progresses, June’s fight for freedom becomes more intense, leading to shocking twists and emotional moments. As June’s journey unfolds, The Handmaid’s Tale also explores the personal struggles of other characters in the show.

Is The Handmaid’s Tale a true story?

No, The Handmaid’s Tale is not a true story, but it is inspired by real historical events and social issues. The novel by Margaret Atwood was written as a warning about the dangers of dictatorship, gender discrimination, and the loss of individual freedoms. Atwood has stated that many elements of Gilead is based on real events from history, including strict religious societies, oppressive laws against women, and real cases of forced childbirth. These influences make the story feel realistic and relevant, even though it is fictional.

In an interview with Penguin in 2019, Margaret Atwood told how she did the research for her novel. She said, “I didn’t even research it. There was no Internet then; you couldn’t just go online and put in a topic, so this is just stuff I came across when reading newspapers and magazines. I cut things out and put them in a box. I already knew what I was writing about, and this was backup. In case someone said, ‘How did you make this up?’ As I’ve said about a million times, I didn’t make it up. This is the proof – everything in these boxes.”

While the events in the show have not happened exactly as shown, the themes it explores are based on real struggles that people have faced in different parts of the world. In the same interview, she talks about all the clippings she had collected. She said, “My intention was just to document what I was doing and had done. As somebody on Twitter put it, ‘How do you come up with this shit?’ As if I invented it. Here’s one from 1985, which is when I was finishing The Handmaid’s Tale: ‘What causes the high rate of infant death in the US? Especially among black people?’ That is still being written about. ‘Battle of the sexes rages on as Soviet women gain clout,’ ‘Overworked mothers and frustrated career women,’ ‘Rights gains imperilled,’ ‘Missing children,’ ‘Baby stealing,’ ‘Disappearing children.’ Gives a pretty vivid picture of what was on people’s minds then, doesn’t it?”