The Art and Politics of Rewriting. Margaret Atwood’s Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale
Among the many frameworks of interpretation that Margaret Atwood’s dystopia (or ustopia, as she calls it) The Handmaid’s Tale allows, a particularly challenging one is its reading in/as palimpsest. Choosing not to favour an attempt at hierarchizing the narrative construction and the fabula contai...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Casa Cărții de Știință
2019-10-01
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Series: | Cultural Intertexts |
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Online Access: | https://b00e8ea91c.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/4fb470e8cbb34a32a0dc1701f8d7322d/200000351-ed98ced98e/171-181%20Praisler_Gheorghiu%20-%20The%20Art%20and%20Politics%20of%20Rewriting.%20Margaret%20Atwood%E2%80%99s%20Historical%20Notes%20on%20The%20Handmaid%E2%80%99s%20Tale.pdf |
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author | Michaela PRAISLER Oana Celia GHEORGHIU |
author_facet | Michaela PRAISLER Oana Celia GHEORGHIU |
author_sort | Michaela PRAISLER |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Among the many frameworks of interpretation that Margaret Atwood’s dystopia (or
ustopia, as she calls it) The Handmaid’s Tale allows, a particularly challenging one is its
reading in/as palimpsest. Choosing not to favour an attempt at hierarchizing the narrative
construction and the fabula contained in Offred’s spoken tale – transcribed from
audiocassettes two centuries after the deployment of the Christian fundamentalist coup
d’état that turned the United States into a horrifying inferno for women –, and also leaving
on the sidelines the seductive, yet rather facile feminist evaluation that the novel invites,
this paper focuses on metafiction and the rewriting of “herstory”, in an analysis of the
‘Historical Notes’ that conclude the novel, going backwards rather than forwards in tracing
its art and politics. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:48:01Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-4fc39ac3442242dc86e91bded053fbe4 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2393-0624 2393-1078 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:48:01Z |
publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
publisher | Casa Cărții de Știință |
record_format | Article |
series | Cultural Intertexts |
spelling | doaj.art-4fc39ac3442242dc86e91bded053fbe42022-12-22T03:54:48ZengCasa Cărții de ȘtiințăCultural Intertexts2393-06242393-10782019-10-019171181The Art and Politics of Rewriting. Margaret Atwood’s Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale Michaela PRAISLER0Oana Celia GHEORGHIU1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9760-3809“Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Romania“Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, RomaniaAmong the many frameworks of interpretation that Margaret Atwood’s dystopia (or ustopia, as she calls it) The Handmaid’s Tale allows, a particularly challenging one is its reading in/as palimpsest. Choosing not to favour an attempt at hierarchizing the narrative construction and the fabula contained in Offred’s spoken tale – transcribed from audiocassettes two centuries after the deployment of the Christian fundamentalist coup d’état that turned the United States into a horrifying inferno for women –, and also leaving on the sidelines the seductive, yet rather facile feminist evaluation that the novel invites, this paper focuses on metafiction and the rewriting of “herstory”, in an analysis of the ‘Historical Notes’ that conclude the novel, going backwards rather than forwards in tracing its art and politics. https://b00e8ea91c.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/4fb470e8cbb34a32a0dc1701f8d7322d/200000351-ed98ced98e/171-181%20Praisler_Gheorghiu%20-%20The%20Art%20and%20Politics%20of%20Rewriting.%20Margaret%20Atwood%E2%80%99s%20Historical%20Notes%20on%20The%20Handmaid%E2%80%99s%20Tale.pdfmetafictionrewritingauthenticityatwood |
spellingShingle | Michaela PRAISLER Oana Celia GHEORGHIU The Art and Politics of Rewriting. Margaret Atwood’s Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale Cultural Intertexts metafiction rewriting authenticity atwood |
title | The Art and Politics of Rewriting. Margaret Atwood’s Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale |
title_full | The Art and Politics of Rewriting. Margaret Atwood’s Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale |
title_fullStr | The Art and Politics of Rewriting. Margaret Atwood’s Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale |
title_full_unstemmed | The Art and Politics of Rewriting. Margaret Atwood’s Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale |
title_short | The Art and Politics of Rewriting. Margaret Atwood’s Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale |
title_sort | art and politics of rewriting margaret atwood s historical notes on the handmaid s tale |
topic | metafiction rewriting authenticity atwood |
url | https://b00e8ea91c.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/4fb470e8cbb34a32a0dc1701f8d7322d/200000351-ed98ced98e/171-181%20Praisler_Gheorghiu%20-%20The%20Art%20and%20Politics%20of%20Rewriting.%20Margaret%20Atwood%E2%80%99s%20Historical%20Notes%20on%20The%20Handmaid%E2%80%99s%20Tale.pdf |
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