Although major dystopian features can be recognized in Margaret Atwood's
The Handmaid's Tale, the book definitely offers an additional characteristic
that has not been considered as often and to which this paper pays special
attention, namely, irony. The novel's ironic tone serves to alleviate the grim
dystopian world providing some emotional relief from the encounter with
the horrid nature of events.
In spite of this dystopian nightmare, an impulse to survive permeates the
novel, a feature we also consider here.
