Names and Naming Tell an Archetypal Story in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale

AbstractIn The Handmaid's Tale, a dsytopian novel about the oppression of its citizens by a theocratic regime, Margaret Atwood foregrounds matters of names and naming, making them central hermeneutical concerns. Through the use of generic names drawn from the Bible, names drawn from advertising, and symbolic given names, Atwood creates archetypal overtones for her story. Names and naming point to themes of the victimization of the weak by the powerful and the objectification of women. Naming practices, including the paucity of terms of direct address and the lack of nicknames and terms of endearment, further suggest loss of community and identity.