Lessons on Liberty and Self-Esteem from The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale offers many lessons about the roots of self-esteem and how to improve it. Perhaps most important, it illustrates the connection between self-esteem and liberty.

Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, shows a population ground down by an authoritarian government. It depicts in depth the psychological effects of this regime on the main character, Offred—especially the destruction of her self-esteem. By examining this relationship, we can better understand the vital connection between libe…