Fertility in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale and Leni Zumas’s Red Clocks: A Gender Study

Abstract

Gender studies is a huge field that is so rich with studies concerning both genders. That study focuses on socio- cultural structure of the roles of males and females, which accordingly affects the political and economic condition of both sexes. Fertility as part of gender studies is a complex and deeply personal issue that has been a recurring theme in literature throughout history. It encompasses the ability to conceive and bear children, and the experiences of those who struggle with infertility or reproductive challenges. This theme has been explored in various literary works, shedding light on fertility's emotional, social, and cultural dimensions. Fertility is depicted in literary works such as The Handmaid's Tale (1985) by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and Red Clocks (2018) by Leni Zumas, these two novels really illustrated the impact of restricted reproductive laws and how they affect women's lives, identities, and autonomy which are explored by both authors using dystopian settings. Fertility is the major issue that these novels examine and how society views and is affected by contraception, burdening women’s life in the process. Such a topic is imperative to create a kind of awareness to reach a kind of equality between men and women as part of human rights, which leads afterwards to a developed society.