Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, The Handmaid's Tale, demonstrates how the protagonist's demise illuminates the reality of feminism.
Offred, the protagonist, has a hard time trying to handle her new life as a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. There are flashbacks of her wearing bathing suits and thinking, "I don't want to look at something that determines me so completely." (Atwood 63) Society expects women to get pregnant and not have any other value than their fertility. Women are deprived from activities done in the past because all that is important now is conceiving a baby. Once a month she has sexual intercourse with the Commander because, "There wasn't a lot of choice but there was some, and that is what I chose." (Atwood 94) She begins to realize that she must conceive a baby soon or there will be no reason for her to be alive. The person she once was starts to diminish causing her to become a piece of property with no worth. There are moments when Offred longs someone to speak to because, she feels "so alone" (Atwood 195). Sometimes she is in her room thinking of ways to commit suicide and have all of the pain simply vanish by ending her life. Loneliness didn't describe her previous self but it does now. In the end, the story seems to not have a definite ending. However, the reader can conclude that the only way Offred can be happy is if the feminism and dystopian society ends.
One must not let others determine one's state of mind. There will always be circumstances where life doesn't seem to be fair, but it is up to the individual to determine the outcome.
