Riley Thomas (Temple University)
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down” – Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Since her first book of poetry was published in 1961, Margaret Atwood has challenged readers to look critically at the world and the inner workings of society. Her more dystopic works introduce the reader to terrifying settings, showing near futures devastated by bioengineering or totalitarian regimes, while other works—like The Penelopiad (2005) and Alias Grace (1996)—call for a recentering of the female voice by focusing on historical and mythical women from the past.
Off the pages, Atwood’s most famous novel, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), has found its place in contemporary protest movements. On May 3, 2022, Politico leaked the Supreme Court majority decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Shortly after this announcement, a group of pro-choice demonstrators adorned in red cloaks and white bonnets forged their way to the homes of some of the conservative Supreme Court justices, suggesting that Atwood’s fictional world of Gilead was eerily paralleling some of the decisions being made in the U.S. today. In May 2023, the women of Israel similarly donned the iconography from the novel to combat a series of judicial “reforms” brought on by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. From paper to television to contemporary protest movements, Margaret Atwood’s works have had a huge impact on our understanding of the world.
This session invites proposals exploring themes of revolution and evolution in Margaret Atwood’s texts, adaptations, and real-life crossovers. In what ways has Atwood’s works sparked revolutionary change—or not? What role does evolution play in her texts?
This session, sponsored by the Margaret Atwood Society, invites proposals for 20-minute papers exploring themes of revolution and evolution in Margaret Atwood’s texts, adaptations, and real-life crossovers. In what ways has Atwood’s works sparked revolutionary change—or not? What role does evolution play in her texts?