Hidden Atrocities: The Lives of Marthas and Unwomen in 'The Handmaid's Tale'
Protagonists make us feel like we are sharing in the experience. We see with that character's eyes. We hear what that character hears, and in that way, we become them. We also grow to know them and love them. We get attached, so when things happen to them, we care.Writers use this emotional connection to get the audience interested in their story. We feel the thrill as events unfold, and we become invested in the way things turn out because it all affects someone we love. It's very difficult to keep the audience engaged without that narrative lens. That's what made The Handmaid's Tale so difficult to write. The creators had to find a way to get us to invest in events that happen on a larger scale, things that affect an entire nation or the world, not the individual. Atwood solved this problem by refusing to name her protagonist. Instead, the novel depicted the life of the average handmaid, told from the perspective of one. The series would alternate perspectives, allowing us to see the world from Janine or Serena's point of view. But they couldn't show us what life was like across Gilead. There were millions of victims--slaves, who had endured unspeakable atrocities, and they deserve to have their stories told. It's a shame that will never happen.
