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Utopian fiction & The Handmaid's Tale

Utopian fiction and utopian programs have been written for centuries, and it seems likely that there is something in the human soul that seeks the perfect society. There are two reasons for this--a perfect society would fulfill the promise of humankind on earth rather than humanity having to wait for the City of God in heaven, and the society in which human beings do live is seen as seriously flawed. The word "utopia" can have a specific meaning or a broader meaning. A utopia is a society that offers a perfect form of government, at least according to the individual who has developed it. The word is of Greek origin, a play on the Greek word eutopos, meaning "good place." Many writers have seemed convinced of the idea of and the inevitability of progress, and yet the reality has often seemed to belie this belief with periods of economic troubles, social unrest, and other ills. At various times, this has produced a reaction in the form of utopian literature suggesting how to correct the ills of society by reshaping it from top to bottom. Jean Pfaelzer writes of a spate of such writing at the end of the nineteenth century,

The popularity of this generation of utopian fiction lies partially in its incorporation of various explanations for the recurrent industrial depressions and suggestions for their cure. Progressive, pastoral, and feminist utopias subscribed to class analyses and cooperative remedies, while conservative, dystopian, and apocalyptic utopias realized the promises of "trickle-down" theories, which held that the community prospers where industry prospers (Pfaelzer 8).

Dystopian fiction is that which suggests a utopia that does not work, and the underlying failure may be in economic and social terms and often includes a critique of gender roles in society in terms of both performance and power. A recent example is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

The novel is narrated by its protagonist, a young woman...

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Utopian fiction & The Handmaid's Tale. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 16:45, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1682579.html