The Handmaid's Tale

The Downfall of Gilead

Provide an insightful explanation for why Gilead had fallen at the end of the novel. Consider the different aspects of the political system or everyday life that could have led to it's downfall.

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There are many different aspects to the Gilead. I'm going to touch on one but you can find more at the GradeSaver link below. One of the major problems with this reasoning is that as a theocracy, the Gilead regime's reasoning is not always as coldly logical as it needs to be in order to solve its problems. The Gileadeans decide that fertility is always a problem in the woman, never in the man, as was the case in the Bible. As a result, the regime wastes many fertile handmaids on clearly infertile Commanders. This reasoning drives handmaids to violate the sexual mores of the new society and make use of doctors or other accessible men to get pregnant. In order for the Gileadean society to effectively fix their birth-rate problem, they need to take a more scientific perspective on the issue. Ultimately, the Gileadean leaders place their religious beliefs over the rights of the individual or the survival of the group.

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http://www.gradesaver.com/the-handmaids-tale/study-guide/major-themes