“Margaret Atwood on What ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Means”: Her New York Times essay contradicted by what she previously said about her creative process.

Previous Atwood posts (search “Atwood”) include the following two comments she made in a published interview about her creative process:

“I don’t ‘get an idea’ for a novel…I usually find that I have collected a number of compelling images or that a voice starts operating, somebody starts talking, and I want to know more about him, find out about him…” (1, p. 164).

“…when I do go back and read things I’ve written a long time ago I’m often surprised…I can’t remember having written them” (1, p. 169).

One of the least credible things in the Times article is her explanation of why the protagonist is nameless:

“Why do we never learn the real name of the central character, I have often been asked. Because, I reply, so many people throughout history have had their names changed, or have simply disappeared from view. Some have deduced that Offred’s real name is June, since, of all the names whispered among the Handmaids in the gymnasium/dormitory, “June” is the only one that never appears again. That was not my original thought but it fits, so readers are welcome to it if they wish” (2).

But why would one Handmaid be nameless if other Handmaids have names?

For a general discussion of this recurring literary issue, search “nameless” and “namelessness” in this blog.

In short, I think that Atwood’s account of how she wrote The Handmaid’s Tale is mostly a plausible reconstruction, not her actual creative process.

1. Earl G. Ingersoll (Editor). Margaret Atwood: Conversations. Princeton NJ, Ontario Review Press, 1990.
2. Margaret Atwood. “Margaret Atwood on What ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Means in the Age of Trump.” New York Times, March 10, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/books/review/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-age-of-trump.html