What are the jobs of Handmaids, Aunts, or Marthas? Do they have the right to decide what kind of person they want to be? These were all terms that Margaret Atwood used a lot but never actually explained clearly. I was thinking that Handmaids are there to reproduce, and Aunts are to look over them. I never figured out what the Marthas are supposed to do.
If reproduction rates are so low, why are the Handmaids only allowed to be with the Commander? The Commander is too old and may be infertile. Also, why is it the woman's fault if they cannot reproduce? It should not be the Handmaids' fault if they can not get a baby, because it might be her partner's fault. I think this system is too unfair.
I think The Handmaid's Tale is kind of like The Left Hand of Darkness in that there are so many unfamiliar terms. They both are also set in an unknown setting in the future, where there are different governments and different ways of living.
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Anthony, both books are definitely FULL of neologisms. Why do you think Le Guin and Atwood invented so many words? Do you think they could have avoided doing so? What does this tell us about the genre of science fiction?
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