In Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale, the human spirit has evolved to such an extent that it cannot be tamed by complacency. Atwood shows Gilead as an extremist state with strong religious overtones. We see the result of the reversal of women's rights and a totalitarian government based on reproduction. Not only is the government oppressive, but we see that female roles support and enable the oppression of other female characters. “This is an open-ended text,… aware of the possibilities of deconstruction, reconstruction and reinterpretation… Atwood engages in metafictional commentary… in his narrative and by the time the reader arrives at the text, Atwood has already told and told the history, questioned and covered up, changed the context, deconstructed and reconstructed the narrative (Univ of Toronto)“The history of women is the history of the worst form of tyranny the world has ever known; the tyranny of the weak over the strong . It is the only tyranny that lasts.” - Oscar WildeThe climate during the 1980s was repression of women, The Handmaid's Tale illustrated the political climate of the times. The book is based in part on the authors' travels to Soviet socialist countries people didn't talk to anyone for fear of retaliation from the Soviet government. In 1980, the women's movement was in its infancy and the Soviet Union was still deeply rooted in patriarchal tradition. Feminist Tatyana Mamonova, forced into exile by the Soviet government for her feminist activities, said that “communication between women is still very difficult, very conspiratorial. In school we are taught that we are already emancipated, and therefore there is really no sense of feminist consciousness…this…middle of paper…quarterly. Summer 2006. vol. 75 Issue 3. p 857.Paul, Sarah. “Soviet Feminist Speaks Out for Russian Women's Rights.” Cambridge: 1980. The Harvard Crimson. Network. www.thecrimson.com“The golden glow of Reagan's legacy lacks luster for feminists.” National Organization for Women. Domestic national timetables. Fall 2004. Web. www.now.org Pollock, Thomas. “The totalitarian feminist state”. The men's stand. 1999. Network. www.menstribune.com Staels, Hilde. "Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale: Resistance Through Narrative." English Studies 76.5 (1995): 455. Academic research completed. Stein, Karen. "Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale: Scheherazade in Dystopia." University of Toronto Quarterly 61.2 (1991): 269. Academic research completed Zuhlsdorf, p. John. “The University of St. Thomas requires freshmen to read Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.” Minneapolis: 2007. Web. www.wdtprs.com