In the following essay, Howells discusses the presentation of female self-identity, memory, sensual experience, and Offred's resistance to patriarchal authority in The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following essay, Feuer discusses ways in which Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale both partakes of and extends the dystopian genre, focusing on Atwood's questioning of certainty and truths in the novel.

In the following essay, Staels examines modes of resistance and creative self-expression in the language and poetic imagery of Offred's narrative in The Handmaid's Tale. According to Staels, “In a society that censors aesthetic speech, Offred's poetic discourse reactivates the lost potential of language and the conditions for the production of meaning.”

In the following essay, Mahoney examines how women challenge male authority and inherited gender stereotypes in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Vlady Kociancich's The Last Days of William Shakespeare.

In the following essay, Filipczak examines the significance of the Bible as a tool of institutionalized oppression and the biblical parallels and interpretation as seen in The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following essay, Finnell examines Atwood's subversion of traditional quest themes and narrative structures in The Handmaid's Tale. “Atwood's strategy,” writes Finnell, “challenges the notion of the quest based on the conquest of identity achievable through mastery of speech, language, and subject.”

In the following essay, Raschke examines the function of language as a tool of oppression and the objectification of opposing strategies of deconstruction and multiple interpretation in The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following essay, Harris examines parallels between Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, asserting that Atwood's novel is a critique of George Orwell's treatment of women in his works.

In the following essay, Freibert provides an analysis of satire, Western patriarchal stereotypes, and the application of French feminist theory in The Handmaid's Tale. According to Freibert, “In satirizing, and thereby demystifying, Western phallocentrism in the worst of all possible contexts, Atwood also tests the viability of French feminist theory.”

In the following essay, Feuer discusses gender, essentialism, and ambiguity in The Handmaid's Tale, noting parallels with George Orwell's 1984. According to Feuer, Atwood's ironic presentation of a totalitarian “woman's culture” reflects schisms in contemporary feminist theory.

In the following essay, Templin examines the significance of symbolic, generic, and biblical names in The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following essay, Stein suggests that Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale can be interpreted as a cautionary but hopeful dystopian vision of women's struggle to reclaim language from the patriarchy.

In the following essay, Hammer discusses Atwood's use of satire and ironic appropriation of male literary convention to portray female domination and the dynamics of social control in The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following essay, Rubenstein examines the use of nature imagery and symbolism to portray female sexuality, reproduction, and maternity in The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following essay, Ketterer examines the cyclical structure and historical perspective of The Handmaid's Tale. According to Ketterer, Atwood breaks from traditional dystopia conventions by juxtaposing present and post-dystopia contexts.

In the following essay, Davidson examines the significance of the “Historical Notes” epilogue in The Handmaid's Tale, stating, “what Atwood has written is not just a history of patriarchy but a metahistory, an analysis of how patriarchal imperatives are encoded within the various intellectual methods we bring to bear on history.”

In the following review, Stimpson offers a positive analysis of The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following review, Davidson offers a favorable analysis of The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following review, O'Brien cites flaws in the plausibility of Atwood's dystopia as depicted in The Handmaid's Tale.

In the following review, Gray offers qualified praise for The Handmaid's Tale.