Women in chaos: Gender in dystopian fiction

Women in chaos: Gender in dystopian novels

Recently I have read (and re-read) two wonderful dystopian novels that use gender as their central pivoting point which I found fascinating so I thought maybe you might too! The dystopian novel is always gripping. There is a kind of voyeuristic fascination in the spectacle of disaster especially when it is taking place in a world not too far removed from our own. I definitely prefer dystopian novels that stay closer to the real world for that reason. I still love a wee twist of the unreal or magical as a means to deconstruct and analyse present day society, but I’m less of a fan of things taking place in the very distant future or on other planets. They just don’t have quite the same bite to them for me. Onto the novels I loved about women in chaos; The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Power by Naomi Alderman. I really enjoyed reading these two one after the other, in fact finishing The Power is what made me want to re-read A Handmaid’s Tale. They’re at completely different ends of the spectrum in terms of the gender politics of their worlds, however both books are deeply concerned with the way women might operate in situations of extreme chaos and pressure. I always enjoy a book that makes you ask questions and interrogate your beliefs. Dystopian novels are almost always holding a mirror to society and inviting the reader to consider things from a different angle, making them an excellent genre to investigate gender in a recognisable but removed world. Let's get into the chat!

Margaret Atwood’s enduring masterpiece, The Handmaid’s Tale, needs no introduction, and in 2025, forty years after its publication, it is as incredible as ever. Set in a near future America (now called Gilead), where fertility has been badly affected, a religious and authoritarian government have taken control. They use the book of genesis as their guiding light and implement all rules to the letter. A strict class system divides society with lower class fertile women being made ‘handmaids’ for upper class families who cannot have children. Any dissidence is harshly punished. The book is told from the perspective of a handmaid called Offred in a quasi-diary narrative form. One of the best things about The Handmaid’s Tale was the fact that we see the process of the authoritarian society forming and how that can happen through Offred's memories. In doing that, Atwood brings a chilling tangibility to Gilead, as a reader you are confronted with this horrifying society and yet you can see exactly how it happened. How it could happen again and how it has happened all through history across the world just like that. In 2017, Margaret Atwood noted that everything in Gilead is taken from the Bible, the Salem Witch Trials and practices implemented by various dictators and authoritarian regimes. Knowing that all the horrors of Gilead are mined straight from the grimoire of history makes it all the more frightening. One of the key points that Atwood gets so spot on is how helpless you can become so quickly when cut off from other people. Offred is outraged and angry and wants to go to protests as the new regime begins to take shape but quickly resigns to the crushing pressure of Gilead. From my perspective that happens because she is so cut off from everyone. Unable to speak freely or hear any news or perspectives out of line with the regime she becomes powerless and lonely. A chilling warning of the potential for fascism to take hold that in my opinion, we should be listening to very closely. If you have never read A Handmaid’s Tale, you absolutely must. If you’ve read it before you should absolutely pick it up for a re-read. Depressingly relevant and scathing when you read it with current events in mind.

A more contemporary novel, The Power by Naomi Alderman uses something a little bit more science fictiony (but not tooo sciencey) as a means of investigating the delicate balance of gender and power in society. I was lucky enough to be an audience member for an episode of ‘The Big Scottish Book Club’ which featured Naomi Alderman where she discussed this fabulous novel. One thing she mentioned which I thought was fascinating, was that Margaret Atwood was her mentor which you can definitely see in her writing. It’s very tight and well thought out with very interesting framing, I don’t want to give any spoilers but the sequence of letters surrounding the main narrative completely changes your perspective on things! The main story follows the lives of different women and one man as an enormous change racks the planet. Starting with young girls and spreading fast, women discover the power to control and produce electricity. Bit by bit the systems of power that are held in place only by the belief that men should be more powerful begin to crumble. It is a fascinating interrogation into the gender and power dynamics that are the engines behind modern societies. I love Naomi’s careful consideration of women as individuals. How their backgrounds, personal experiences, cultures and moral compasses would impact how they responded to their power. It was almost eerie the way she leads you from being thrilled at the concept of women hoarding power and ballooning their autonomy, to being deeply afraid of the way extremist groups can rise to power. Naomi confronts you with the big question; how far is too far?  When it’s women escaping abusive partners or overthrowing an oppressive patriarchal regime you root for them without hesitation even when they use violence. It seems proportional and deserved. As The Power goes on however, we see instances of much more ominous and unprovoked behaviour. Confrontational is certainly a word I would use to describe The Power. It definitely subverted my expectations. I found this novel to be such a fascinating investigation into oppression and revolution, how long you can still claim to be the avenging underdog and what means justify the ends. The Power is a thrilling journey along the precipice of civilisation and anarchy which I would highly recommend!

I hope you enjoyed that wee chat! If you have read either of these let me know what you thought or have any similar recommendations please comment below:)

Love, Grace xx