he Handmaid’s Tale in 1985, she created one of the most disturbing dystopias in contemporary literature. In Gilead, the United States is transformed into an authoritarian theocracy in which men concentrate political, economic, and religious power, while women are assigned roles determined by gender. Wives manage the household; Marthas serve; Handmaids reproduce. What is most disturbing, however, is not merely the regime’s violence. It is the way that violence is justified.