WOMEN OPPRESSION AND STRUGGLE IN MARGARET ATWOOD’S THE HANDMAID’S TALE

Abstract

This research discusses women's oppression and women's struggle for existence and equality. The aim of this research is to find out the forms of oppression experienced by women and how they struggle to gain their freedom. The data source for this research is the novel entitled The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. The method used is descriptive qualitative. Researchers use Simone de Beauvoir's feminist theory of existentialism which emphasizes the concepts of freedom, interpersonal relationships, and the experience of life as a human. This study uses feminist theory and focuses on the loss of existence as an independent individual in a society dominated by men. Women are oppressed and exploited as visual and reproductive objects. Researchers found that women's struggle to gain their existence was carried out in various ways. Some do it passively, and some do it actively. From the results of the analysis, it can be seen that women also want to exist in society and show that their role in society is equal to that of men.