Unlike many in the class, this is my first time reading The Handmaid’s Tale. I have always admired Margaret Atwood from the sidelines for her contribution to feminist academia, but have never read one of her novels. I appreciated today’s lesson on the historical context of feminism, but was dismayed to see one student selectively seem to tune out during this section. Of course, this person may happen to be a more dedicated feminist than I; and we are all busy with other coursework, but I just noticed that it wasn’t the most sensitive/respectful move.

Anyways, I found myself eagerly jotting down the feminist quotes of the ages and appreciating them for their candor and satire. I thought of Mary Wollstonecraft and her constant advocacy of women’s education, the attention directed towards her love affairs rather than her volumes of writing. I wondered what she would think of Malala Yousafzai and the millions of girls still denied an education today.

My third thought pertains to Margaret Atwood’s place in the current landscape of Western feminism. Recently, she gained criticism for defending a professor’s right to due process when rape charges were levied against him. In an essay for The Globe And Mail called “Am I a bad feminist?” Atwood addresses her position in this event and the wider scope of the #MeToo movement. Many shamed Atwood for seeming to defend a powerful friend against defame and likening the investigation as a “witch-hunt.” Not so, says Atwood: in both cases, she was criticizing the trial and its followers for wanting to guillotine the professor without proper evidence. A civilization cannot operate without a just legal system. And in the same vein, Atwood will not believe in #MeToo’s efficacy until reformation comes to the legal system that allowed for so many women to suffer abuse.  I think that the public response to Atwood’s stance speaks to the global climate of reaction-based politics and violently divisive beliefs. Hopefully we’ll find our way out of this without a dystopian revolution.