Abstract (eng)
This thesis is concerned with Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale in connection with Henri Lefebvre’s and Doreen Massey’s conceptual reflections regarding the abstract concept of space, as well as Michel Foucault’s theories on power and its distribution. The various spaces depicted in the novel will therefore be categorised after their public or private function and analysed with regard to several aspects: how are different fictional spaces constructed? Which of these spaces can be appropriated by characters, and for which reasons? Which social practices are employed to form a distinct model of space in the respective spaces under analysis, and how does space reflect on characters and their behaviour? After an in-depth examination of the theoretical basis, the public (the Republic of Gilead in general, the Red Centre, and Jezebel’s) as well as private spaces (Offred’s household, her room, and Nick’s apartment) will be analysed. Furthermore, Offred’s mental space will be examined as the most important space in the novel, as it is the only space she can fully and truly appropriate. This thesis exemplifies that the protagonists contribute significantly to the formation of their own living spaces, and are in turn substantially influenced by the resulting social circumstances. In this way, the importance of the concept of space as a tool for literary analysis is highlighted.