Research Paper on:
Atwood's, The Handmaid's Tale and Female Anxieties

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
and desire to procreate. It is part of our instincts and as such is vital to the continuation of the human race. We are, in short, still creatures who are  designed to do little more than continue the species. In that we are not unlike any other creature or organism on the face of the earth. And, in that respect  we will always find that no matter how equal men and women become women will still want to inherently be mothers and bear life within themselves. In Margaret Atwoods  story "The Handmaids Tale" we are offered up a society wherein most women cannot bear life within themselves. They are sterile for the most part and any woman who can  reproduce is used solely for that purpose. In short, a womans only purpose is to create life and any woman who cannot do so is generally put out to work.  Atwood offers this story and indicates that the issues revolving around fertility, procreation, and maternity are put forth as a feminist nightmare and cultural catastrophe. In the following paper we  discuss this particular perspective. The Handmaids Tale First and foremost, as noted previously, women have been reduced to the position where they are only important for bearing children.  Clearly this essential theme is one that speaks of a cultural nightmare for the idea of feminism. Women today are women who understand that they have far more opportunities in  life aside from bearing children. This does not mean that bearing children is not important, for also as mentioned, women have an inherent need to create life. But, with a  society like Atwoods we are presented with a nightmare wherein women are only good for creation and nothing else. Or, if they are good for something else, the work is