Mutations of Proper Names in The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments: Literary and Televisual Transformations
Academic Article
Publication Date:
2025
Short description:
Mutations of Proper Names in The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments: Literary and Televisual Transformations / Falchi, Simonetta. - In: IL NOME NEL TESTO. - ISSN 1591-7622. - XXVII:(2025), pp. 61-74.
abstract:
This paper analyses the development and significance of proper names in
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and The Testaments (2019), as well
as their adaptation in the 2017 television series The Handmaid’s Tale by Bruce Miller.
The research investigates the function of naming as a means of control, identity construction, and defiance in the dystopian society of Gilead. Through a comparative
analysis of the novels and the TV series, this article highlights how the onomastic
choices reinforce themes of oppression, power dynamics, and empowerment. Significant attention is directed towards the changes in the names of key characters, such as Offred, Agnes Jemima, and Baby Nicole, in different media, demonstrating how these
alterations reflect a hypertextual narrative and ideological issues.
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and The Testaments (2019), as well
as their adaptation in the 2017 television series The Handmaid’s Tale by Bruce Miller.
The research investigates the function of naming as a means of control, identity construction, and defiance in the dystopian society of Gilead. Through a comparative
analysis of the novels and the TV series, this article highlights how the onomastic
choices reinforce themes of oppression, power dynamics, and empowerment. Significant attention is directed towards the changes in the names of key characters, such as Offred, Agnes Jemima, and Baby Nicole, in different media, demonstrating how these
alterations reflect a hypertextual narrative and ideological issues.
Iris type:
1.1 Articolo in rivista
Keywords:
identity, resistance, Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, television adaptation, proper names, dystopia, Gilead.
List of contributors:
Falchi, Simonetta
Published in: