NOLITE TE BASTARDES CARBORUNDORUM: UM OLHAR SOBRE AS RELAÇÕES FEMININAS EM O CONTO DA AIA, DE MARGARET ATWOOD

Abstract

The current popularity of The Handmaid’s Tale, by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood coincides with the recent return of conservative values and also the 4th feminist wave. Being written in a time where the feminist movement was going through a theorization and demand reevaluation moment (TOLAN, 2007), the dystopic world of The Handmaid’s Tale demonstrates the difficulties of women who live in a society where power is directed towards men; many common traits can be established given the present time. Thus, the following paper has as its main goal to analyze some of the female relations that take place in the book, observing the magnetism of these relations and the mechanisms used to perpetuate male power. Therefore, the research will have as a theoretical framework the texts written by Daly (1970), Schulder (1970), and Rich (1980); concerning the relationship between women and the Catholic Church, how this relationship was approached in the law at the time, heterosexuality as an institution and lesbian continuum.