Just started A Handmaid's Tale. Questions!

[Bluewavescrashing]

Beginning of episode 2,series 1.

1. Why were all the people outside the hospital praying when Offred gave birth to Hannah? Why does the midwife say Praise Be that Hannah is healthy? Why are babies dying? I saw the Aunt's chart in episode 1 about underpopulation but why?

1. If babies are now so precious because of underpopulation (what's the reason for this?) why are only 1 in 5 babies born healthy? Lack of antenatal care can't be the reason. What's happening to the babies?

1. I understand the hierarchy and organisation of society but presumably there must still be factories, farms etc to produce food and uniforms. Where are they and who works there?

1. There has been a nuclear war and the fertility of the population has plummeted as a result. The birth of a healthy baby has become a rare thing.

1. Effects of radiation.

1. Not sure.

Stick with it, all will become clear! Fertility is so low and live births so rare because of pollution (and I think STDs?) The econo-people are the working classes (I think!) We are just seeing the upper class city people.

I think you need to keep watching It’s all a bit of a mystery at first but part of the joy of it is understanding it all as you go along..!

Thank you! It is gripping

With the handmaids being passed around in their postings wouldn't there be more chance of STDs?

What do the children in pink do- are they in some sort of institution?

Enjoy! As others say, it all becomes clear.

When you get to season 3, have a very close look at Commander Lawrence’s bookshelf, there are a lot of explanations in the titles of the books. You won’t meet Commander Lawrence until later on, so I won’t say any more.

Where can I find season 3 to watch?! I just finished 2!

Pollution/radiation for both 1 and 2.
There are agricultural colonies where prisoners are sent to do farm work. There is also a class called Econopeople, so everybody who has not been assigned into any of the other classes.

I watched it earlier this year, when it was on channel 4. Don’t know if it’s still on 4OD.

Children in pink are daughters of commanders. They go to school where they learn skills required to become commanders' wives. They don't learn to read or write.

Ah that makes sense as the pink children are all girls. Thanks.

What happened to the children like Hannah who were born before the war/ revolution/ political change?

If their parents were Econopeople, the children could normally stay with parents. The children of 'not worthy' people, like unmarried mothers, who later became handmaids, were taken away from them and adopted by commanders.

I think lower class women who are not fertile end up in the factories and such like

@bluewavescrashing

Hannah was adopted/stolen by a commander and his wife. This story is developed further in the series. It’s what happened to “unwomen’s” children, if they didn’t manage to escape Gilead.

Just pondering who I would rather be.

Can't decide! It's all horrible!

@bluewavescrashing

A refugee in Canada?

But what would happen to a refugee in Canada?

Handmaid-- clearly not the best option to be one as you are repeatedly raped and treated like an unwanted animal

Commander's wife-- if you are fertile this could be a decent ish life, but no books or entertainment. Infertile - you have to watch your husband shagging the handmaid.

Aunt- having to train women to accept rape and forget their former selves- awful. Who became an aunt?

Econowife- so you get to work and not be bored, and keep your own children? Could be the best.

I'm mid 30s,married with 2 children in real life. What would happen to me?

What happens to the first Ofglen when she is put in the prison cell? Is she used as a baby machine in there?

@bluewavescrashing

You’d be an econowife.

Unless you or your husband have been married before, as that would make your current marriage invalid and you would be an unwoman - a handmaid if fertile, or sent to the colonies if not fertile.

Unless your husband was a high rank in the Sons of Jacob, in which case you would be a Commander’s wife.

www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2019/sep/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-testaments-real-life-inspiration/

Interesting article on Margaret Atwood’s inspirations for THT.

Would I keep my children?

Aunt- having to train women to accept rape and forget their former selves- awful. Who became an aunt?

If you read The Testaments (sequel to Handmaid's Tale, came out this year) you will learn what happened to Aunt Lydia and why she made the choices she did.

@blue

Yes if you were a well behaved econowife.

Yes if you were a Commander’s wife.

No, if you were deemed an unwoman.

We get to see more about how the econopeople live in series 2.

Is season 1 on somewhere?

It's on sky.

Interesting. I have PCOS so I'm not sure how fertile I am now (no more kids for us). Maybe I'd be an unwoman and sent off to die in the radiation fields 😱