The Testaments by Margaret Atwood and Girl, Woman

 

The Testaments is a 2019 novel by Margaret Atwood. It is the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. The novel is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale. It is narrated by Aunt Lydia, a character from the previous novel; Agnes, a young woman living in Gilead; and Daisy, a young woman living in Canada. Wikipedia

Originally published: September 10, 2019

Author: Margaret Atwood

Genres: Science fiction, Speculative fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Political fiction

Preceded by: The Handmaid's Tale

Cover artist: Noma Bar / Dutch Uncle

Pages: 432

Both The Testaments by Margaret Atwood and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo were joint winners of the 2019 Booker Prize, and while the books are quite different in terms of style, structure, and subject matter, they share a deep engagement with themes of women's lives, identities, and societal constraints.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

The Testaments is the highly anticipated sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood's 1985 novel that became iconic for its chilling depiction of a dystopian society called Gilead, where women are subjugated to extreme oppression and control. Set 15 years after the events of the original novel, The Testaments returns to Gilead, but this time the narrative is told through three distinct voices.

1. Aunt Lydia, who was a key figure in the original novel as a leader within Gilead's regime, now plays a more complex role. Her perspective adds depth to the mechanisms of control and the inner workings of the dystopian society.

2. Agnes, a young woman raised in Gilead, whose experience of growing up within the oppressive state highlights the indoctrination and brutal customs of the regime.

3. Daisy, a rebellious teenager living outside Gilead in Canada, who becomes drawn into the resistance against Gilead’s regime.

Atwood’s The Testaments revisits the themes of power, resistance, and the subjugation of women, but it also looks at how these women might take action to challenge the system. The novel also reflects on the role of storytelling and how narratives can be used as a form of resistance. It is a mix of feminist critique, speculative fiction, and political commentary, and it provides both closure and new perspectives on the world of Gilead, showing that resistance can arise from unexpected sources.

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Girl, Woman, Other is a novel structured around the lives of twelve different characters—mostly Black women of varying ages, backgrounds, and sexual orientations—living in the UK. The novel explores the interconnected stories of these women as they navigate issues like race, class, gender, and sexuality, providing a mosaic of experiences that span generations and intersect with key moments in British history, such as the post-colonial migration, feminism, and LGBTQ+ rights movements.

The book is divided into twelve chapters, each one dedicated to a different character's perspective. Through these voices, Evaristo examines the evolution of identity and gender roles, as well as the way societal forces shape individual lives. The characters' stories—told through a blend of prose and free verse—explore their personal growth, relationships, and challenges as they face societal constraints, celebrate victories, and grapple with personal dilemmas.

Evaristo’s writing is fresh and vivid, and the novel’s structure allows for a deep exploration of how the intersecting identities of race, gender, and class impact each woman’s experience. It’s a book that celebrates the multiplicity of womanhood, offering a diverse, empowering, and nuanced portrait of modern Britain from a feminist perspective.

Key Themes and Differences:

• Power and Resistance: Both novels engage with themes of power and resistance, though in very different ways. In The Testaments, resistance is a direct, often violent reaction to an authoritarian regime, while in Girl, Woman, Other, resistance is more subtle—found in the personal struggles and small victories of the women as they carve out their identities within societal constraints.

• Feminism and Gender: Atwood’s The Testaments explores gender through the lens of extreme patriarchy, where women's rights are brutally stripped away, whereas Girl, Woman, Other looks at the evolution of women’s roles in society and the diverse ways they can assert agency and navigate systemic sexism.

• Setting and Style: The Testaments is set in the dystopian world of Gilead, focusing on the future and a society that’s pushed gender inequality to its absolute extremes. Girl, Woman, Other, on the other hand, is grounded in real, contemporary Britain, exploring the lives of women from a wide array of cultural backgrounds and social classes. Evaristo’s novel is much more fragmented and rooted in realism, while Atwood’s is speculative and dystopian.

• Cultural and Political Contexts: While The Testaments deals with a totalitarian, religiously governed society, Girl, Woman, Other focuses more on the lived realities of Black women in post-colonial and post-feminist Britain, addressing issues such as racism, class struggles, and LGBTQ+ rights in a much more grounded way.

Conclusion:

Both books explore women's experiences in rich and complex ways but from different cultural and political contexts. The Testaments is a gripping, dystopian narrative about resistance against an oppressive regime, while Girl, Woman, Other is a deeply human, multi-generational portrait of women navigating the intricacies of identity in modern Britain. Both novels offer profound insights into the lives of women, but they do so through vastly different lenses—one speculative and the other real, one darkly oppressive and the other rooted in the power of everyday resilience.

Which of these novels are you most interested in exploring further?