handmaids tale context

american new right of the 1980s formed the basis for the gileadian regime - concerned by the right to abortion, the rise in divorce and the growth of gay rights movements 

sought to revert back to a society which revolved around conservative, puritan principles i.e. the view of the inferiority of women 

purtian women were forbidden from using combs and mirrors, and clothes were plain and functional - identical to the handmaids 'modesty garments' - no room for individuality

atwood used the genre of dystopia to communicate the 'utopian purtian ideals' , long for an oppressive and patriarchal society 

hmt could be perceived as a feminist novel - highlights the christian right-wing response to second wave feminism…