Article:
The Handmaid’s Tale as a Palimpsest: Biblical (Re)Imaginings in Margaret Atwood’s Novel

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dc.creatorJeffers, Ann
dc.date.accessioned2024-05-27T11:39:58Z
dc.date.available2024-05-27T11:39:58Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractThe Handmaid’s Tale inhabits an imaginary space defined by biblical narratives at a time set in the near future when low fertility has reached a critical point. The solution provided by the Bible-based totalitarian regime in place in Gilead is to offer “handmaids” as surrogate mothers to members of the ruling elite. The biblical basis for this is chillingly re-enacted through the set reading of Genesis 30:1-3 preceding and legitimising the ritual rape of the household dedicated handmaiden. While this text clearly provides the rationale for addressing issues of fertility in Gilead, I will focus more specifically on how the book of Judges (specifically Judges 19-21) is marshalled to provide an implicit framework for The Handmaid ’s Tale. The paper will analyse the complex ways in which the Bible is used and abused in both the novel and the fourth series, using literary and feminist lenses. It will be argued that both narratives, the Book of Judges and Atwood’s tale contain elements of subversion and deconstruction.en
dc.identifier.doi10.25364/05.10:2024.1.3
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/22114
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/article/view/383
dc.identifier.urihttps://mediarep.org/handle/doc/23506
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherSchüren
dc.publisher.placeMarburg
dc.relation.isPartOfissn:2617-3697
dc.relation.ispartofseriesJournal for Religion, Film and Media
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 4.0 Generic
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
dc.subjectBiblical Receptionen
dc.subjectPalimpsesten
dc.subjectFeminist Readingen
dc.subjectBook of Judgeen
dc.subject.ddcddc:800
dc.subject.personMargaret Atwood
dc.subject.workTHE HANDMAID’S TALE
dc.titleThe Handmaid’s Tale as a Palimpsest: Biblical (Re)Imaginings in Margaret Atwood’s Novelen
dc.typearticle
dc.type.statuspublishedVersion
dspace.entity.typeArticle
local.coverpage2024-05-28T02:37:49
local.identifier.firstpublishedhttps://www.jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/article/view/383
local.source.epage63
local.source.issue1
local.source.spage47
local.source.volume10
local.subject.gndhttps://d-nb.info/gnd/118646168
local.subject.gndhttps://d-nb.info/gnd/4460070-7
local.subject.wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183492
local.subject.wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1541914

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