Handmaid's Tale (pg. 88)

10. “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth... that I may also have children by her.” (Page 88):

Atwood uses Christian beliefs as the fundamentals of her dystopian community. Those who control Gilead use the Bible to justify the torture, discrimination and killing. Atwood used the Bible because the Bible was written in a very dystopian era. Technology was not advanced. Women were discriminated against. Men had multiple wives. Jesus himself, the “savior” of the time, was killed for his beliefs. However, it is ironic that Atwood used the Bible to justify Gilead and their ways when the Bible was meant to serve as an inspiration for people and as a guide to living and because the development of the Christian religion shared similarities to the setting of The Handmaid’s Tale. People during the early days of Christianity were either prevented from reading the Bible or unable to read. People were unsure of its content but were told that they were sinners if they did not do as church leaders told them. Priests and church leaders were very controlling of what was represented to the public about the faith. So there is a connection between the development of Christianity and the development of Atwood’s story; the power of reading and control is similar. In terms of cultural context, there are similarities. In a way, the Catholic community was that of a totalitarian. Atwood uses the Bible in a negative way to justify the darkness of her dystopia.