"On That Day We Will Be Free": Reflecting Women's Real Experiences in Joanna Russ's The Female Man and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale

Authors

Victoria A. League, University of Central FloridaFollow

Mentor

Ms. Farida Cato

Abstract

The feminist speculative fiction novels The Female Man (1975) by Joanna Russ and The Handmaid's Tale(1986) by Margaret Atwood mirror the real world by reflecting women's experiences. Speculative fiction, an umbrella genre that includes science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism, explores our world by discussing other worlds. Themes and events in each novel's fictional world reveal aspects of today's world, and the depictions and conditions of women in the novels illuminate heterosexist norms. Specific and clear parallels can be drawn between reality and these science fiction stories, showing that the novels critique and comment on our world's treatment of women by distancing themselves through the genre of speculative fiction. In addition to examining the realist truths of our world, the authors raise awareness about these patriarchal issues and spur change in our society.

About the Author

Victoria League is an English Literature major with a minor in Writing and Rhetoric and a minor in Dance, planning to graduate in Spring 2016. She works as an undergraduate Mentor Writing Consultant at the University Writing Center on UCF's main campus. Her main research interests are feminism, speculative fiction, and writing center growth. She plans to work in the publishing field after graduation.

Recommended Citation

League, Victoria A. (2014) ""On That Day We Will Be Free": Reflecting Women's Real Experiences in Joanna Russ's The Female Man and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale," The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 7: Iss. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/urj/vol7/iss2/4