Adaptation and Original in the EFL-classroom
An Analysis of Different Versions of The Handmaid's Tale
Carmen Toubia
English for Subject Teachers, 61-90 credits Individual project (15 credits)
Atumn2020
Supervisor: Zlatan Filipovic
Examiner: Maria Bäcke
Adaptation and Original in the EFL-classroom: An Analysis of Different Versions of The
Handmaid's Tale
Abstract
This qualitative study aims to examine the differences between Margaret Atwood’s novel and Bruce Miller’s adapted version of The Handmaid’s Tale by the application of adaptation, as well as, feminist theory. An additional aim is to investigate the didactic potential of using both the original version and the TV series adaptation in the EFL-classroom, this in relation to the
Curriculum for English at upper secondary level. The two research questions addressed in
this study were: What are the main differences between the adapted version and the original version? and, in relation to the EFL-classroom and the subject English 7, what can be gained by working comparatively with the original version and the TV series adaptation? The essay is examined by using adaptation theory and feminist theory. The findings of the analysis presented in this study show for example that the television adaptation features a more feminist portrayal of the female characters than the original story. In addition, the findings of this study suggests that by using both texts in the EFL-classroom, one can get the opportunity to highlight prominent themes within the two media which were discovered in this study. For example, discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. Therefore, by comparing the two texts, students may become aware of differences between how the two texts are able to portray such indifferences as mentioned above. In an educational setting this is useful since by working with questions which aims to compare both texts in the EFL-classroom, students also get the chance to deal with various living conditions and attitudes in relation to both the historical and contemporary English-speaking world (Skolverket 2011, p. 4).
Keywords: The Handmaid’s Tale, EFL-classroom, Original, Adaptation theory, Feminist theory, The Swedish Syllabus.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction...1 2. Previous Research...3 2.1 Theoretical Framework...5 2.2 Adaptation Theory...5 2.3 Feminist Theory…...63. Aim and Research Questions...8
4. Method and Material...9
5. Analysis of The Handmaid’s Tale...11
5.1 Removing One’s Identity...11
5.2 The Character Offred...14
5.3 The Character Ofglen...15
6. Discussion...17
7. Conclusion...20
1. Introduction
Based on the first aim of comparing the two texts, this essay also aims to investigate the didactic potential of working with both texts in the EFL-classroom at the upper secondary level. The novel and the TV series adaptation will therefore be analyzed in relation to the Syllabus for the course English 7 (Skolverket 2011) and the core values stated in the
Curriculum for the Upper Secondary Level (Skolverket 2013). The core values used will be
individual freedom, gender, and equality.
Written texts have long been of great importance in the classroom. However, students
nowadays grow up in a society and a school system where television, games, movies, and the Internet are a part of their everyday life. Furthermore, the concept of a text itself has
experienced changes. Books and written texts are not the only sources considered being texts today. Nowadays, this category also includes films, pictures, and other media. The works of prominent authors have been an unlimited resource for adaptations in various media; today more books are adapted for the screen, and many of the classics can now be found on film. Therefore, this study aims to explore the differences between Margaret Atwood’s written novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and the American TV series adaptation with the same title,
The Handmaid’s Tale (2017), created by Bruce Miller. In addition, another purpose of the
study is to investigate the didactic potential of using above mentioned texts in the Swedish EFL-classroom.
The reason behind that the fictional story The Handmaid’s Tale was selected is because the story takes place in a dystopian future, where a totalitarian, theocratic government controls the Republic of Gilead, the former United States, destroyed by civil war. Due to severely low reproductive rates in Gilead, handmaids are assigned to bear children for privileged couples that have trouble conceiving. None of these handmaids have their freedom left, and they are entirely controlled and watched by the Eyes, Gilead’s secret police force Thus, The
Handmaid’s Tale was considered suitable for a study based on feminist theory. Thus, the novel The Handmaid’s Tale and its TV series adaptation contain several aspects that are fruitful to
approach from a gender point of view, seeing as the women in the novel and the adaptation are treated with no rights, and that the society is patriarchal and hierarchal.
There has been a lot of previous research conducted on both the novel and the TV series version of The Handmaid’s Tale from a gender point of view. While some theorists have focused on the matriarchal issues of the novel and TV-series from a feminist approach, others have investigated the differences in the character portrayals in regard to adaption theory. Based on the fact that the curriculum for English at the upper secondary level mentions that students should be given the opportunity to learn about various living conditions and attitudes in the English-speaking world (Skolverket, 2011), it was considered suitable to make use of the themes identified in the novel, as for example unequal rights for men and women in order to complete this learning goal. Furthermore, students also should be able to comment media in various forms, a goal which also can be obtained by using this teaching approach in an EFL-classroom setting.
Since the last few decades of the 20th century, during the time which Atwood’s novel first was published, dystopian literature has been of great importance as political commentary.
Dystopian literature was first recognized as dark themed literature for adults; however, in the 1980s and 1990s, dystopia switched its focus to younger readers. Because of the various film adaptations made from dystopian literature, the dystopian genre has become the frontline of “teen reading” (Ryan 2014, p. 2). Ryan states (ibid. p. 3), that the roots of the word dystopia hark back to Ancient Greece, dys-and -topia meaning “bad” and “place” respectively. Moreover, he continues by mentioning that a “bad place” is a soft way to define the significative meaning of dystopia, since the denotational meaning is darker and contains numerous features such as social injustice through different forced activities, preventing individual freedom and identity (ibid.). As Burnett and Rollin state: “Dystopias use leisure as a means of retaining power of the elite by regulating identity, suppressing individual thought, manipulating self-sufficiency and moderation, providing distraction and requiring non-voluntary and often vicious forms of leisure” (Burnett & Rollin 2000, p. 79). The authors describe the worst of all possible societies. Usually, the author exaggerates contemporary social trends and offers significant social criticism (ibid, p. 77).
The Handmaid’s Tale is a prime example of modern dystopian fiction since the story features
an oppressive government and political issues. As a future teacher of English at upper secondary level, the task of teaching fundamental democratic values can at times be
amongst students at the upper secondary level. A dystopia is a society characterized by poverty, public suspicion, mistrust, oppression, and other issues. These upsetting and miserable futures illustrated are meant to impart social criticism on current ways of living (Ryan 2014, p. 6). This will help students to reflect on the dystopian world and find solutions and parallels within their own lives, which is one of the genre’s essential purposes (ibid.). The novel and the TV-series adaptation will, therefore, be suitable to compare in this essay since the process of highlighting for example gender discrimination or female character portrayals both can be investigated within, and compared between, the two. To compare different types of media is within adaption theory, according to Sanders (2006), a fruitful approach to illuminate interpretations and even provide an original story with a greater relevance to modern day people. Thus, the comparative approach used in this study might result in insights regarding the didactic potential of combining the two media in an educational setting which in turn would fulfill the second aim of this essay.
2. Previous Research
The novel The Handmaid’s Tale and its TV series adaptation contain several aspects that are fruitful to approach from a gender point of view, seeing as the women in the novel and the adaptation are treated with no rights, and that the society is patriarchal and hierarchal. Therefore, there is a lot of research on The Handmaid’s Tale from a gender point of view. Alanna A. Callaway’s “Women Disunited: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as a Critique of Feminism (2008)”, focuses on Atwood’s novel and its relation to patriarchal control and “traditional” misogyny. Moreover, Callaway also studies the matriarchal network, namely, women’s hatred of women. The author concludes that the success of patriarchy depends on female collaboration. The women of Gilead are trained to place their fidelity to men before their fidelity to women. To succeed with this, the republic of Gilead depends on the household hierarchy. As a result, The Handmaid’s Tale portrays the lack of female solidarity and the failed feminist revolution (Callaway 2008, p. 68).
Olivia Hershman (2018) explores various contemporary issues seen throughout Miller’s TV series adaptation The Handmaid’s Tale and the results are investigated through the lens of feminist theory. Her study examines the way the TV series portrays female oppression and
acts as a call for action to modern society to end oppression of women. Hershman states that the TV series adaptation further develops Atwood’s novel, by showcasing a society in which there is hope for oppressed people and a space for those oppressed peoples to resist their oppressors. Additionally, the TV series adaptation uses the characters stories to promote resilience, grit and hope and inspires audience members to resist the unjust and remain hopeful that the future can change for the better (Hershman 2018, p. 5).
Furthermore, this essay will not be the first one to analyze and compare The Handmaid’s Tale original novel and the TV series adaptation. “Under His Eye” A Comparison of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale and the Television Series Adaptation (2018)” written by Jonna Kurikkala, is a master thesis appropriate to address in this study. Much like this essay, Kurikkala’s focus is to compare and find differences regarding the novel and the TV series adaptation. In her study, she uses feminist theories, adaptation theory, and multimodal
discourse analysis to support her examination of the two media. The author examines political themes found in the novel and the TV series adaptation. Moreover, like this essay, the
depiction of the protagonist Offred was examined in relation to the two media. The result of her study shows that the television series adaptation is more radically feminist in its approach than the original story as the portrayal of the heroine is considered as more feminist in the television series than in the original one, which conjoins to what the present study also finds. Another study similar to Kurikkala’s thesis is Laure Menuier’s (2019) dissertation “Do Not Let Them Grind You Down: A Comparison of the Protagonist’s Assertiveness in both Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and Bruce Miller’s TV series Adaptation (2017)”. The author’s focus is to examine the protagonist Offred in both media. A thorough analysis of the protagonist’s relation to herself and the people around her was carried out. The author concludes that in the TV series adaptation, Offred’s emotions are acted out and her rage is directed towards the regime, while the novel tends to silence her character’s anger (Menuier 2019, p. 86). Moreover, unlike Kurikkala’s and Menuier’s study, this essay will be studied in relation to exploring the didactic potential of working with both the novel and the TV series adaptation in the EFL-classroom. It was difficult to find any previous research on using the two texts in an EFL-classroom setting. Hence, there is a gap to be filled, which this study aims to do to some extent.
One can find previous research on literary adaptations of other novels that have been done based on the EFL-classroom perspective. In an essay by Sven-Göran Karlsson, “The Book was Better Than the Movie (2010)”, he investigates the relationship between novel and film in education. Through interviews with upper secondary school students, Karlsson examines if there were any differences in their reception of the two media. Karlsson concludes that many of the students seem to think that they learn more from reading books and that the teacher prefers that the students read. However, the students still choose films over books. Therefore, according to the students in this study, film adaptations were generally better received than the texts (Karlsson 2010, p. 36).
Additionally, in his essay Karlsson introduces the book Novel to Film: An Introduction to the
Theory of Adaptation, by Brian McFarlane (1996). According to Karlsson, McFarlane argues
that there is an interest among audiences to see the book visualized (Karlsson 2010, p. 13). Furthermore, readers construct their mental descriptions of the world and the characters described in the novels. They are also interested in comparing their descriptions with those produced by the film-maker. However, in their comparison, they may not find what they hoped for, since the adaptation is someone else’s interpretation. Readers are often critical to adaptations that are not true to the original story, since they have a strong attachment to books which they like. McFarlane relates this to the “fidelity issue” meaning, the desire to evaluate how reliable the film adaptation is to the original version. He states that fidelity is a necessary and relevant critical approach to understanding adaptations (ibid.), and even though this is not the primary focus of the present study, it is taken into account in the discussion chapter, following the presentation of the results from the present study. Furthermore, Karlssons perspective on adaption theory is important for the present study since it can provide
additional understanding of student’s reader response when using the novel and the TV series adaption of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) in an EFL-classroom setting.
2.1 Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of this essay will be based on adaptation theory and feminist theory and will be presented in this part. The theories will be used as tools in the analysis.
2.2 Adaptation Theory
Adaptation theory helps us understand the adapted work in relation to the original work. In Julie Sanders’ book Adaptation and Appropriation (2006), she defines the term adaptation as being “a transpositional practice, casting a specific genre into another generic mode, an act of re-vision in itself. It can parallel editorial practice in some respects, indulging in the exercise of trimming and pruning” (Sanders 2006, p. 18). Sanders implies that there is an added value of comparing two media, such as a book and a movie, as the adaptation is not merely a repetition. She continues to mention that adaptation is often involved with offering an
interpretation of a source text. Furthermore, Sanders observes that adaptation can also attempt to make texts “relevant” or easily understandable to new viewers and readerships via the process of “proximations”; when a novel is turned into an adaptation, a movie for example, the adaptation can provide some specific clues to a novel’s possible implications and its cultural meanings, intended or otherwise (Sanders 2006, p. 19). Hence, as this study aims to compare the novel The Handmaid’s Tale and the TV series, adaptation theory becomes vital in this study, as it is essential to understand the connection between the two works. Moreover, adaptation theory provides a framework for examining the interrelation between the two works and helps motivate the comparative approach and its didactic potential.
2.3 Feminist Theory
“The feminist literary criticism of today is the direct product of the ‘women’s movement’ of the 1960s. This movement was, in important ways, literary from the start, in the sense that it realized the significance of the images of women promulgated by literature, and saw it as vital to combat them and question their authority and their coherence” (Barry 2003, p. 123).
Feminist theory asks us to examine the ways in which our personal identity is formed by our culture’s definitions of what it means to be a man or a woman. From a feminist perspective, our experiences depend on our gender and how we are socialized in society from a gender perspective, where women should be feminine and men masculine (Tyson 2011, p. 139). Furthermore, Tyson continues by stating that a society’s conventional gender roles cast men as strong, coherent, protective, and essential, while they cast women as weak, irrational, nurturing, and submissive. These traditional gender roles have been used to explicate discriminations, which still occur today, such as declining women from equal admission to
leadership and decision-making positions both in the family as well as in the social and political world (Tyson 2006, p. 85).
Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949) is an essential book of feminist theory in the twentieth century. This section will discuss some of the features which de Beauvoir mentions. These are for example, patriarchal structures in the society, the second sex, and the other; as the these features also provide the tools for the analysis. de Beauvoir famously claimed that “one is not born, but rather becomes a woman” and that “social discrimination produces in women moral and intellectual effects so profound that they appear to be caused by nature” (de Beauvoir 2008, p. XVI). In other words, de Beauvoir argues that behavioral and physiological differences have social, rather than biological origins. Particular social experiences shape women into who they are, how they act, how they treat others, and other treats them.
Moreover, the world always belonged to men and still holds the form they have imprinted on it. de Beauvoir’s states that what the society considers as masculine or feminine are constructs that are willingly or unwillingly created by our society. Society looks at women as the second sex; they are dominated by men who have more power in society (ibid 2008, p. 26). The patriarchal structures that de Beauvoir depicts are explicit in both the novel and the adaptation, thus, it is of relevance to apply the mentioned features in the analysis.
Furthermore, de Beauvoir mentions that: “A woman is nothing other than what a man decides;
she is thus called ‘the sex’, meaning that the male sees her essentially as a sexed being…He is the Subject; he is the absolute. She is the Other” (de Beauvoir 2008, p. 7). de Beauvoir mentions that gender is separated into binary opponents, where the male is “the One” and the female is “the Other” (ibid, p. 7). This statement refers to the patriarchal structure of society. “Man is subject, woman is object, other, second, irremediably so; man is culture, woman is nature, prisoner of her physiological condition, of this womb that subjects her to her destiny, maternity” (ibid 2008, p. XXI).
Feminist theory becomes essential in this particular study, since feminist issues are much prominent in The Handmaid’s Tale. These issues are for example the woman being ‘the second sex’ and ‘the other’, themes which are of high relevance in Atwood’s novel and Miller’s TV series adaptation.
3. Aim and Research Questions
The purpose of this study is to compare Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaids Tale and Bruce Miller’s TV series adaptation. Furthermore, the study also aims to examine the didactic potential of working with the two media in the EFL-classroom at upper secondary level. This will be made in relation to the core values for the subject English 7, as stated in the Swedish
Curriculum for the Upper Secondary Level (Skolverket 2011). In order to examine the
purpose above, the following questions will be addressed:
What are the main differences between the adapted version and the original version?
In relation to the EFL-classroom, core values and the subject English 7, what can be gained by working comparatively with both the original version and the TV series adaptation?
4. Method and Material
The original novel by Atwood and the first season of the television series adaptation are the primary sources for this qualitative study. The first season is the only season that is based on the novel and, therefore, only this season will be analyzed. Furthermore, the method applied in this study is a critical close reading of both versions of the narrative. That is since critical close reading is a reflective, well-organized reading of a text which focuses on significant specifics in order to reveal the depth of a text (Nordquist, 2018).
In addition, this essay will be based on adaptation theory and feminist theory. These theories will be used as tools for the analysis of the two texts. This means that while conducting a close reading of both the novel and the TV series, a feminist, as well as adaptation theory approach is applied. However, feminist theory forms the basis for the analysis, and therefore, this theory will continuously be related to the analysis and comparison. Moreover, feminist theory is suitable for the study since the novel and the TV series focus on women’s position in society. Thus, feminist theory will be beneficial to use when answering the research questions in this essay. Simultaneously, adaptation theory is appropriate for the analysis of the relation between the two medias. As adaptation often is involved in an interpretation of a source text, there is an added value of comparing two media, as the TV series is not merely a repetition. With the help of these two theories and the analysis of the novel and the TV series, I will be able to investigate the didactic potential of working with both the original version and the TV series adaptation in the EFL-classroom at the upper secondary level.
In addition, since the study aims to investigate the didactic potential of working
comparatively with both texts at the upper secondary level, the Swedish Syllabus for English 7 will be used extensively in the study (Skolverket, 2011). The decision to delimit the study to the subject English 7 was made based on the fact that the novel and its TV series can be used to fulfil aspects of the core content only mentioned in the part regarding English 7, such as for example that students should be given the opportunity to develop their understanding of society as a whole. More specifically, this means that students should for example, be provided with knowledge about cultural, historical, political and social settings, as well as ethical and existential questions, in a number of contexts and parts of the world where English
is spoken (Skolverket, 2011). By the use of both the novel and the TV series The Handmaid’s
Tale, the results in this study suggests that above mentioned educational goal can be achieved.
In addition to above description of how this study is aligned with the curriculum, the core values which will be applied to the analysis is individual freedom, gender, and equality (Skolverket, 2013). That is, since everyone who works in any educational setting, such as schools, should contribute to developing students’ sense of solidarity and promote equality of individuals and groups (ibid. p. 10). Furthermore, education should be “carried out in
accordance with fundamental democratic values and human rights, covering the inviolability of people, the freedom and integrity of the individual, the equal value of all people, gender equality and solidarity between people” (ibid.). Thus, as The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a society in which gender equality and solidarity between people do not exist, the democratic values that the school should represent, such as human rights, freedom, and integrity, are things that can be examined in relation to The Handmaid's Tale.
Finally, the comparison of the works will be made in relation to characterization. The purpose of applying this perspective is to highlight female characterization in both versions, based on the feminist approach which is applied in this study. A characterization is a literary tool that is used in literature to highlight and describe the details about a character in a story. It is the process by which the writer discloses the personality of a character. Characterization contains both descriptions of a character’s physical features as well as personality. Characterization is disclosed through direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization occurs when characters in a story are described by the first-person narrator, who describes these based on their thoughts, feelings, physical appearance and motivations. Indirect characterization means that the reader must draw conclusions about the character based on clues provided by the narrator (Reams 2015, p. 4). The main focus in regard to examining characterization in this study, is on how the genders of Offred and Ofglen are constructed, as well as the differences and similarities between the gender processes of each.
5. Analysis of The Handmaid’s Tale
The novel and the TV series adaptation will be analyzed and compared in this section.
Although the TV series has been adapted based on the novel, there are significant differences. This section will examine changes such as character developments and adapted events of the story.
The loss of one’s identity plays a significant role in both the novel and the TV series
adaptation. Therefore, in the first part of the analysis significant aspects on identity loss will be analyzed. The significance of the characters’ names will be compared. Furthermore, Offred, who is the protagonist and the narrator of the story, will be analyzed and compared in relation to some vital scenes in the novel and the TV series, which change the depiction of her. Her participation in the protests and her behavior throughout a ritual called “Salvaging” will be looked into and analyzed.
Finally, the character Ofglen will be examined based on her portrayal in the novel and the TV series. The selected character Ofglen has a larger role in the TV series. Consequently, there are a number of differences to analyze in relation to the character Ofglen. The analysis of Ofglen will be carried out by presenting some significant scenes in the novel and the adaptation. Further, the comparison will continue by analyzing her relationships with other inhabitants in Gilead, and additionally, her punishment because of her relationship. At last, the analysis will be made with reference to the scene where Ofglen fights back during a visit to the farmers’ market.
5.1 Removing One’s Identity
The handmaids’ enforced names have no relation to themselves. Their names are instead related to the commanders in charge of them; the of becomes an addition to the commander’s first name, hence, Ofglen belongs to a commander named Glen and Offred belongs to the
commander Fred. This renaming is both identity-concealing and suppressive and turns the handmaids into objects. The previous history and personality of the handmaids are removed as they are deprived of their personal names, the handmaids’ new names become their new identity, which makes them a property of their commanders.
My name isn’t Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it’s forbidden. I tell myself it doesn’t matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter (Atwood 1985, p. 94).
In the novel, Atwood does not uncover Offred’s actual name. The narrator attempts to distance herself from her new name which the regime of Gilead has given her. Throughout their training, at the Red Center (which is a place where the handmaids are trained by Aunts to obey their masters), the handmaids are brainwashed and oppressed to become submissive servants. However, at the Red Center Offred and the other handmaids learned to lip-read their name: “We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other’s mouths. In this way we exchanged names, from bed to bed: Alma. Janine. Dolores. Moira. June” (Atwood 1985, p. 14). Throughout the novel, all characters’ personal names are mentioned and revealed, except two names: Offred, whose original name is June and Ofglen, whose original name is Emily. When the narrator Offred meets Ofglen for the first time, she says, “Her name is Ofglen, and that’s about all I know about her” (Atwood 1985, p. 29). An important part of the novel is not to disclose Offred’s and Ofglen’s actual names. In an essay written by Atwood, she states that “so many people throughout history have had their names changed, or have simply disappeared from view” (Atwood 2017). The handmaids’ real names are essential features that make them subjects, which is something that the
commanders want to erase. Equally to what de Beauvoir states “[m]an is subject, woman is object, other, second” (de Beauvoir 2008, p. 8), the loss of the handmaids’ name becomes a part of their loss of identity and belonging, which makes them the object. The nondisclosure of Offred’s and Ofglen’s real name implies their previous life as useless in Gilead and
endorses their position as objects for breeding. Once they get their new name, the handmaids identity becomes a part of Gilead and is powerfully bound to their commanders.
However, during the first episode of the adaptation, Offred looks back, stating, “I had another name, but it’s forbidden now” (Miller 2017, 00.05.40). In addition, the last sentence of the first episode ends with Offred revealing her real name: “My name is June” (Miller 2017, 00.56.04). All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its fundamental goal to change the world by promoting women’s equality (Tyson 2006, p. 92). As previously stated, feminist theory asks us to examine how our personal identity is formed by our culture’s definitions of what it means to be a man or a woman. As feminist criticism has its goal to promote women’s equality, revealing Offred’s and Ofglen’s real names can be a statement of keeping their former individuality and identity. By disclosing the handmaids’ real names, the regime of Gilead fails to some extent to make the handmaids forget their former lives and their life values.
In both texts, the handmaids have been described in terms of their female self and their capacity to have and bear children. When being abducted and brought to Gilead, the handmaids first end up at the Red Centre, which is a place where all the handmaids are prepared for their future homes as handmaids. Aunt Lydia, who is a teacher at the Red Centre mentions: “You are special girls, fertility is a gift directly from god…you girls will serve the leaders of the faithful and their barren wives. You will bear children for them. Oh, you are so lucky! So privileged!” (Miller 2017, 00.37.47). Aunt Lydia’s speech is a representation of the In the novel and the TV series adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale respectively, the handmaids lose their freedom and right over their bodies since their body has been alienated from them and now belongs to their commanders and their wives. This can be seen during the ceremony, a monthly ritual where the handmaid is raped. In the TV series adaptation, the handmaid is raped by her commander, while the wife is sitting behind the handmaid, holding her hands (Miller 2017, 00.25.43). The difference between the scene in the novel and in the TV-series is that in the latter, the explicitness of the rape-scene is the result of one, or a few,
interpretations. Viewers cannot change the interpretation. Therefore, they cannot refuse to accept the images of the violent abuse, since they cannot censor what they have already seen. In turn, they cannot refuse the feelings that might evoke within them as a reaction. To
experienced readers, such a scene might be just as vivid in their minds as it is on the screen. However, students today who are not as used to reading as young people once have been, might not get the same experience from reading the scene, as they might get from watching it.
In comparison to the TV series adaptation, in the novel, this rape scene involves the entire household, from start to finish: “They need to be here, the Ceremony demands it. We are all obliged to sit through this, one way or another” (Atwood, 1985, p. 91). The torture and rape of the ceremony is terrifying in both media. The women are in both texts only considered as “Two-legged wombs” (Atwood 1985, p. 146). They are just as de Beauvoir (2008, p. XXI) states, imprisoned because of their physiological condition, which determines their destiny, maternity. Yet, by having an audience during this horrible ceremony, Offred is further objectified and humiliated, as other individuals participate in this humiliating instance. According to Tyson (2006, p. 90), patriarchy treats women like objects. According to her, women will exist and be used by the patriarchy without any regard to their feelings,
perspectives, or opinions; this is indeed something that goes together with Emily’s and June’s new names, “Ofglen” and "Offred" and them being slaves in the Republic of Gilead.
However, to some extent the patriarchy fails to fully objectify the handmaids’ in the TV series, even though they are abused, raped and silenced, as they actually reveal their real names to each other and therefore keep their former individuality alive.
5.2 The Character Offred
The novel The Handmaid’s Tale is written from Offred’s viewpoint, just like the TV series adaptation. Offred is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She is the main character in the story and has only one function: to breed. In the novel and the TV series The Handmaid’s
Tale, one follows Offred’s present life as a handmaid, and also her life before the development
of Gilead. Offred was before Gilead a liberated woman, working and living with her husband Luke and their daughter Hannah. Throughout the beginning of the story, Offred and her family try to escape Gilead, but Offred is arrested and becomes a handmaid for Gilead, serving the commander Fred and his wife, Serena.
In the novel, Offred is a submissive protagonist and a somewhat fragile woman. When the régime prohibits all employment for women, Offred does not participate in the protests that emerged against the new regime (Atwood 1985, p. 131). However, in the TV series, Offred is a protagonist that is rebellious and who later on participates in the protests. When women were deprived of their work and money, Offred joins a protest with her best friend, Moira
In another part of the novel, the régime permits handmaids to assault and murder men suspected of sins, such as rape; this ritual is named Salvaging. In the novel, Offred is in this scene not able to participate in this activity during the Salvaging: “I know that whatever he’s done, I can’t touch him….I keep back, try to stay on my feet” (Atwood 1985, p. 291-292). Offred is not capable of hitting the accused man, as the other handmaids during this scene are; she takes one step back and is disturbed by the event going on. However, in the TV series adaptation, the scene has a different tone to it. During this event, Offred is the primary
handmaid to hit the accused man (Miller 2017, 00.46.28). Once again, the viewer witnesses a glimpse of Offred’s rebellious side, she is willing to fight for her survival. Moreover, she is portrayed as an active woman who wants revenge on the accused man. Therefore, she is the first one to take action.
Furthermore, one feature in which Offred’s forceful behavior is much more evident in the adaptation, is in her relationship with Ofglen. Offred is as previously stated, portrayed in the novel as being a character who is scared of her actions; she only wants to survive, not rebel. Furthermore, in the novel and the TV series adaptation, initially, she does not trust Ofglen. However, in the two media, when Offred discovers that she is a member of the resistance movement called “Mayday”, she starts to trust Ofglen. Her relationship to Ofglen plays out different in the novel than in the TV series; in the novel, Offred is always afraid of
participating in the resistance group, therefore she does not collaborate with Ofglen. After Ofglen suddenly disappears, Offred is scared of what the regime will find out about her. However, when she finds out that Ofglen hanged herself, she thinks to herself, “She is dead, I am safe…I feel great relief” (Atwood 1958, p. 298). In comparison, in the TV series, Offred stands by Ofglen’s side and joins the movement, to help herself and other handmaids. Offred is more raging towards her persecutors. In her thoughts she is angry; however, in her action she is obedient. Sharing her thoughts Offred mentions: “Nothing can change, it all has to look the same” (Miller 2017, 00.53.12). Moreover, in the novel, Offred is afraid of participating in the resistance group. However, in the TV series she, the protagonist, intends to participate in the resistance group. She lets her enslavers think that she is obeying, that she agrees to their conditions. However, her ultimate goal is always to regain her individual freedom.
Ofglen is a character in The Handmaid’s Tale. She is friends with Offred and discovered to be a member of a secretive resistance called Mayday. In the novel, she is a handmaid assigned to commander Glen, yet, in the TV series, she is assigned to a commander named Deeds. In comparison to the novel, one follows the story of her background and previous life. The character Emily or Ofglen, as she is referred to, plays in relation to the novel, a superior role in the televisions series, where the character is developed with numerous scenes. In the adaptation, we early on learn that Ofglen has a wife and a son who escaped to Canada (Miller 2017, 00.49.36).
Tyson (2006, p. 85) describes, as previously stated, that the traditional gender roles in literature portray the men as strong and important, while the women are represented as weak and submissive. These traditional gender roles apply to both the novel and the adapted TV series version. The men have the dominant role, and the women have no power and are portrayed as submissive. However, one can also note that the TV series presents the character Ofglen as more independent and a stronger person.In the novel, the narrator reveals Ofglen as being "(a) little plumper than I am. Her eyes are brown...She walks demurely, head down, red-gloved hands clasped in front, with short little steps like a trained pig's, on its hind legs" (Atwood 1985, p. 29). The character Ofglen and all the other women in the novel are consistent with Tyson’s description of the traditional gender roles. Ofglen is portrayed as weak and shy in the novel, and at the end of the novel, the reader finds out that Ofglen hanged herself when detecting that the secret police of Gilead were coming after her in their vans (Atwood 1985, p. 297).
In comparison to above description of Ofglen’s faith in the novel, in the TV series, her circumstances are different. In the TV series, Ofglen, is rebellious and a “gender traitor” (Miller 2017, 00.22.55). She is punished for having a relationship with a Martha, who is a servant in Gilead but also a woman. As a punishment and since she is a fertile woman, she is punished and forced to go through female genital mutilation. When awakening in the hospital room Aunt Lydia states: “I know this is a shock for you Emily….You can still have children of course, but things will be so much easier for you now” (Miller 2017, 00.50.14). By taking away her ability to actually enjoy sex, the ruling people of Gilead entirely transform Ofglen into an object. However, despite Ofglen having her female body mutilated, she remains dedicated in her faith to battle the oppression of Gilead.
Furthermore, from a feminist critical perspective, patriarchal ideology proposes that women only can have two identities (Tyson 2006, p. 89). If the woman accepts the traditional gender roles and the patriarchal rules, she is a “good girl”. However, if a woman does not accept these roles and rules, she is seen as a “bad girl”. The “bad girls” disobey patriarchal sexual standards. Still, it is the men that will decide whether a girl is “good” or “bad”, this so the sexuality of men cannot be threatened in any way (ibid.). In the adaptation, Emily or Ofglen is, according to the patriarchal society, a threat to men’s sexuality and is, therefore, a “bad girl”. During a stopover at the farmers’ market, with the other handmaids, Ofglen speaks to Offred: “Mayday can’t use me anymore, but you can help them….They’re fighting back, find them” (Miller 2017, 00.41.02). In this scene, she also reveals her real name to Offred: “My name is Emily”. Later on, she steals a car at the market and drives around in circles, before murdering a guard. Comparatively to the novel, in the adaptation Ofglen is rebellious, she fights back and disobeys the patriarchal sexual standards; she does not accept the traditional roles and rules, and threatens, therefore, the sexuality of men in Gilead.
6. Discussion
All individual students should be able to use books, library resources and modern technology as a tool in their search for knowledge and learning (Skolverket 2013, p. 8). By letting the students read the novel and watch the TV series adaptation, they make use of books and modern technology as tools for their knowledge and learning. By applying both texts in the EFL-classroom, the students can become capable of viewing the same story in a different version, which allows them to search for differences and similarities in relation to character development and different events between the two texts. Moreover, according to Karlsson’s study, some of the students considered that when they read, they get to use their imagination to make up pictures of their own, while others mentioned that they need to see things visually to understand the story (Karlsson 2010, p. 23). Therefore, from a didactic perspective, the most beneficial is to use both media in the EFL-classroom, since students by this are given the opportunity to develop their own knowledge and creativity.
“Individual freedom” (Skolverket 2013, p. 4) is one value that the education should represent. It is important to mention that both versions show a society where individual freedom,
integrity, and equality do not exist. However, the adaptation version shows a society where women are more eager to fight for their rights, freedom, integrity, and equality. Therefore, in
relation to the English 7 subject, by working The Handmaid’s Tale in the EFL-classroom, students get the opportunity to compare and reflect on different societal issues of individual freedom. When reflecting and comparing different societal issues, students also get the chance to deal with various living conditions and attitudes in relation to both historical and
contemporary conditions of the world where English is used (Skolverket 2011, p. 7).
Furthermore, since students in English 7 should be able to comprehend, summarize, interpret and discuss texts in various forms, letting the students both discuss the themes as they are presented in the novel, compare them to the TV series version, and discuss their own interpretations in comparison with others’, these skills can all be exercised.
Moreover, while examining the novel in relation to the TV series adaptation, the feminist aspect seems to be further highlighted in the TV series adaptation. Comparatively to the novel, the TV series adaptation makes the audience see Offred’s and Ofglen’s strengths and rebellious sides when fighting for their rights and standing up against the patriarchy of Gilead. The handmaids are more raging towards their persecutors in the TV series adaptation. By using both media in the English 7 course, the students in the EFL-classroom can compare one world where women are more afraid of the patriarchy, and one world where women are more eager to fight the patriarchy. In relation to this, students will get the opportunity to argue from different feminist perspectives and to apply, investigate, and give reason for their views. This in turn both provides the students the opportunity to develop their English proficiency, mainly but not strictly in regard to communicative strategies and linguistic competences, as required by the curriculum for English at upper secondary level (Skolverket 2011, p. 12).
As Sanders states (2006, p. 19), an adaptation can supply specific clues to a text’s possible meanings and its cultural influence, it can become more “relevant” or easily comprehensible to new audiences and readerships. Based on this, it can be adequate to use both versions together at the upper secondary level. Since the real names of Offred and Ofglen are not revealed in the novel, their identities are only associated with their current names where they are seen only as handmaids and nothing else. However, in the TV series viewers are given the opportunity to know the real names of the characters, which shows that the handmaids have had other purposes than just being handmaids. Furthermore, by discovering and comparing identities in relation to the characters, students can discuss their own and others’
students to discover their own identity and make them actively participate in the life of society (Skolverket 2013, p. 5). As a teacher in the EFL-classroom, by using the two texts
comparatively, one can discuss and compare the importance of one’s name in relation to one’s identity. By using both texts together, one can show how identities can be created and
developed in relation to the society. Based on this, students get the chance to develop the ability to reflect on both their own identity and different identities, which as a result, guides them in understanding life in different societies.
Moreover, in the English 7 subject, students should develop different strategies for drawing conclusions, and to understand the implied meaning of spoken language or a text (Skolverket 2011, p. 11). If students find it difficult to draw conclusions about the narrative based on information given in the novel, the TV series can be a much suitable tool for them in comprehending the narrative, by filling individual knowledge gaps which can relate both to linguistic, as well as general, inexperience. That is, considering that English is not the native tongue of the students regarded in this study, and since Gilead is a fictional world, they may need additional input, such as in the shape of a TV series, to fully be able to appreciate the narrative and important issues prominent within it. Thus, the didactic potential of working with both media in the EFL-classroom can therefore be beneficial, since the students get the opportunity to develop strategies for drawing conclusions and understanding the implied meaning in the two texts.
“The school should promote understanding of other people and the ability to empathies. No one in school should be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of gender…and sexual orientation” (Skolverket 2013, p. 4). Moreover, unlike the original, the adaptation portrays Ofglen’s previous life being married to a woman. She is also called a “[g]ender traitor” and is punished for having a relationship with a Martha who is a woman. As sexual orientation is further portrayed in the adaptation, The Handmaid’s Tale promotes discussion on diverse gender roles and norms. Therefore, by applying the TV series adaptation in the EFL-classroom, one can learn about different sexual orientations and gender roles. However, by using the novel in the EFL-classroom, students can critically review a society that is fully based on a heterosexual norm and traditional gender roles. By working with both the novel and the TV series, a teacher can highlight issues such as discriminations against gender and sexual orientation and promote an understanding of all people, despite their differences. Therefore, it can be beneficial to work with both texts comparatively in the EFL-classroom.
Furthermore, based on the observations addressed above, one can see that both versions are relevant in the course English 7. The two versions complement each other, which in turn provides the student with additional input. For example, it can deepen the students’
understanding of living conditions for women in an oppressive regime. An additional possible gain for students may be that by both reading the novel and watching the TV series, the two could possibly develop the student’s linguistic abilities; both in regard to expanding
vocabulary and reading between the lines. Furthermore, student’s self-image of themselves as readers and their interest in reading could also possibly be encouraged by this method.
Therefore, in relation to the EFL-classroom, the students would benefit from reading and watching both texts.
7. Conclusion
This study aimed to compare the original version of The Handmaid’s Tale and the adapted TV series version in order to examine the didactic potential of working with both the novel and the TV series adaptation, in relation to the EFL-classroom. The core values stated in the
curriculum for English at upper secondary level (Skolverket, 2011) were thus used to analyze
this didactic potential. In this study, the results suggest that learning goals stated in the curriculum can be exercised by using both the novel, and TV series-version of The
Handmaids Tale. Such learning goals are for example to develop reading comprehension,
linguistic abilities, and strategies for communicating. Moreover, adaptation theory and
feminist theory provided the theoretical framework for the analysis. This final section presents the findings of this study in accordance with the order of the two research questions.
In my study, the first research question addressed was: What are the main differences between the adaptation version and the original version? This analysis has allowed the reader to comprehend that they are in some ways similar, and in other ways, relatively different. While examining the novel in relation to the TV series adaptation, the feminist aspect seemed to be further highlighted in the TV series adaptation. The novel and the TV series adaptation The
protagonist Offred is scared and afraid of taking action against the Republic of Gilead. However, the TV series reflects and portrays women who are not afraid of being rebellious to reach gender equality and to have their voices heard. Furthermore, as the novel does not disclose Offred’s and Ofglen’s actual names, they are fully bound to Gilead and their commanders. The TV series adaptation, however, reveals the characters’ previous names. Hence, the loss of identity was more visible in the novel than it was in the TV series
adaptation. Lastly, in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, the traditional gender roles were further emphasized as the characters were portrayed as submissive and weak in relation to men. However, Ofglen being in a relationship with a woman showed the audience that the TV series adaptation had different traditional gender roles and sexual orientations.
The second research question addressed was: In relation to the EFL-classroom and the subject English 7, what can be gained by working comparatively with both the original version and the TV series adaptation? The results in this study suggests that there is didactic potential in using both the novel and the TV series adaptation. By using both media, the EFL-classroom allows students to find differences and similarities in relation to, for example, characterization between the two versions. Furthermore, when reflecting on and comparing different societal issues, the students would also get the chance to deal with different living conditions and attitudes in both historical and contemporary conditions. That is, by comparing the themes within the fictional works to reality, students could for example learn about the female rights movement or religious practices around the world. Therefore, the results showed that it would be beneficial to use both media, as the students would get the chance to develop different strategies for drawing conclusions about, and developing their comprehension regarding, the two texts by discussing such differences between the two texts as has been discovered in this study. (Skolverket 2011, p. 11).
Finally, both the novel and the TV series portrayed traditional gender roles; however, the adaptation portrayed different sexual norms and orientations. By using both media, the teacher can get the opportunity to highlight issues such as discriminations against gender and sexual orientation which is stated in the core values (Skolverket 2013, p. 4).
For future research, it may be interesting to analyze and compare further perspectives such as religion, power, and different political themes in the two works. These are important themes of The Handmaid’s Tale as well as relevant parts of the Swedish Syllabus.
8. Reference List
Atwood, Margaret. (1985). The Handmaid’s Tale. London: Random House UK, 2016.
Atwood, Margaret. (2017). “Margaret Atwood on What ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Means in the Age of Trump”. Retrieved from:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/books/review/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-age-of-trump.html
Barry, Peter (2017). Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Callaway, Alanna A. (2008). ”Women Disunited: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid‘s Tale as a Critique of Feminism”. Dissertation, Scholar Works. California: San Jose State University. Retrieved from: scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3505.
CTL. Director. (2018). “Critical Reading”. New Zealand: Massey University. Retrieved from: http://owll.massey.ac.nz/study-skills/critical-reading.php
Gulnaz, Fatima. (2015). “Political Dominance and Wrecked Identity: Reading Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale in a Changing World”. Scholar Critic. 3(2), 18-23. Retrieved from: www.scholarcritic.com
G. Wesley Burnett & Lucy Rollin. (2000). “Anti-leisure in Dystopian Fiction: The Literature of Leisure in the Worst of all Possible Worlds”, 19(2), 77-90. Retrieved from: 10.1080/026143600374761
Hershman, Olivia. (2018). “Oppression, Storytelling, and Resistance in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale”. Digital Literature Review, vol. 5, pp. 55–66. Indiana: Ball State University. Retrieved from:
http://bsuenglish.com/dlr/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/04/Olivia-Hershman-Essay.pdf
Meunier, Laure. (2019). ”Do Not Let Them Grind You Down: A comparison of the protagonist’s assertiveness in both Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and Bruce Miller’s TV series adaptation (2017)”. Belgium: Université catholique de Louvain. Retrieved from:
file:///home/chronos/u-a144ea637d771678a35b3faf3eba00f1300da064/MyFiles/Downloads/MEUNIER_576514 00_2019%20(1).pdf
Ryan, Devin. (2014). Emerging Themes in Dystopian Literature: The Development of an
Undergraduate Course. Michigan, Kalmazoo: Western University. Handmaid’s Tale, season 1, The 2017 [TV series] MGM Television, USA.
Karlsson, Sven-Göran. (2010). ”The Book was Better than the Movie”: A Study of the Relationship between Literature and Film in Education”. Sweden, Halmstad: Halmstad University.
Kurikkala, Jonna (2018). “Under His Eye”: A Comparison of Margaret Atwood’s Novel
The Handmaid’s Tale and the Television Series Adaptation”. English Philology: University
of Oulu.
McFarlane, Brian. (1996). Novel to Film: An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Print.
Nordquist, Rickard (2018). “What You Need to Know About Close Reading”. Retrieved 27/12/2019: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-close-reading-1689758
Reams, Jack. (2015). “Characterization in Fiction”. Texas, San Marcos: Texas State University. Retrieved 27/12/2019:
https://digital.library.txstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10877/5627/Reams %2CJacksonFinal.pdf?sequence=1
Sanders, Julie. (2006). Adaptation and Appropriation: The New Critical Idiom. London: Routledge.
Skolverket (2011). Läroplan, examensmål och gymnasiegemensamma ämnen för
gymnasieskola 2011. Stockholm: Skolverket.
Skolverket (2013). “Curriculum for the upper secondary school”. Stockholm: Skolverket. Retrieved 24/4/2019: https://www.skolverket.se/getFile?file=2975
Stam, Robert & Raengo, Alessandra (red.), Literature and Film: A Guide to the Theory
and Practice of Film Adaption. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005.
Tyson, Lois. (2006). Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 2.ed. New York: Routledge.
Tyson, Lois. (2011). Using Critical Theory: How to Read and Write About Literature. 2.ed. New York: Routledge.
