BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS IN THE NOVEL «THE HANDMAID’S TALE» BY MARGARET ATWOOD

Abstract

The article deals with the role and significance of Biblical allusions in creating of a figurative picture of the novel «The Handmaid's Tale» by a modern Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, embodied in the genre of dystopia. Each Biblical name and symbol has the allusion potential, serves as a verbal sign for constructing multiple associative flows. The problem of numinous is given precedence, that is, evencing the presence of a deity, descripting the intense experience of a mysterious, reverent fear of the mystical presence of God. The writer reveals the moral and physical violence that distorts the person, leads to the destruction of the best personality traits, to the behavioural stereotypes and the stereotypes of thinking. The totalitarianism, which is based on the manipulation of human consciousness, psyche, and beliefs has been exposesed by the author. That is the reason why the novel appears as a warning to mankind: to beware of those who will use the inmost and sacred in mercenary, disgraceful interests. The predetermined conditionalism of the dystopia with the ideological guideline, composition and style of the work is investigated, the inherently natural manner of the novels’s artistic reality and the dependence on the writer's aesthetic sense and worldview are analyzed. The distinctive features of dystopia presented by the writer are as follows: the absence of a clear protagonist, who is opposed to the system, the absence of a clear denouement that would have caused the reader to have katharsis. The problem of the social role of a woman is revealed, where she performs only certain functions of her. The writer has exposed the moral and physical violence that distorts a person, leads to the destruction of his best character traits, to the behavioural stereotypes and the stereotypes of thinking which were imposed by the state. The suffering caused by strictly regulated living conditions and by the traduction of certain rituals is condemned by the author. The writer appeals to the reader's indignation in such a state of affairs. The author emphasizes the passive role of a narrator and, in general, of all the inhabitants of the country. The reasons for the popularity of the novel have been identifed: the genre of dystopia, the synthesis of mass and elitism, intertextuality, the symbolism of rituals and colours. The eventive openness of the novel actualises the reader's horizons, encourages reflection.