--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What makes 'The Handmaid's Tale' so…" description: "\"What makes 'The Handmaid's Tale' so terrifying is that everything that happens in it is plausible.\" — Naomi Alderman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/naomi-alderman-2604_everything_what-makes-the-handmaid-s-tale-so-terrif_2763655.png" --- # What makes 'The Handmaid's Tale' so terrifying is that… ![“What makes 'The Handmaid's Tale' so terrifying is that everything that happens in it is plausible.” quote by Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/naomi-alderman-2604_everything_what-makes-the-handmaid-s-tale-so-terrif_2763655.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/naomi-alderman-2604_everything_what-makes-the-handmaid-s-tale-so-terrif_2763655.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/naomi-alderman-2604_everything_what-makes-the-handmaid-s-tale-so-terrif_2763655.png) > “What makes 'The Handmaid's Tale' so terrifying is that everything that happens in it is plausible.” [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The story’s terror lies in its plausibility, reflecting real societal fears. **In simple terms:** Plausibility fuels terror. Key Takeaway Question reality’s direction. Themes dystopia plausibility fear gender oppression political commentary Mood provocative urgent Type literary social When to use this quote - political activism - education - media critique - personal vigilance Key Concepts totalitarianism surveillance social control Questions to Reflect On - What makes dystopia believable? - How to prevent similar futures? A Different Perspective Plausibility may be overstated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Handmaid Tale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handmaid-tale-569034/) [Handmaid's Tale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handmaids-tale/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Happens Plausible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens-plausible-3188509/) [Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes/) [Tale Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tale-terrifying-3188508/) [Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying/) [Terrifying Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying-happens-3188507/) ## Related quotes > [I really hope that men read 'The Power' and watch 'The Handmaid's Tale' and read 'The Handmaid's Tale.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/i-really-hope-that-men-read-the-power-and-watch-the-handmaid-s-tale/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [I'd been to an Orthodox Jewish primary school where, every morning, the boys said, 'Thank you God for not making me a woman.' If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/i-d-been-to-an-orthodox-jewish-primary-school-where-every-morning-the/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [I like science fiction. Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick and Vonnegut, and I really like Margaret Atwood, 'The Handmaid's Tale.' And you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-like-science-fiction-arthur-c-clarke-philip-k-dick-and-vonnegut-and/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I was not really aware of the dystopian genre before I read 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Many poets as well, like John Donne and Emily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-shannon/i-was-not-really-aware-of-the-dystopian-genre-before-i-read-the/) [Samantha Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-shannon/) > [“I tried to read Handmaid's tale, really I did, but every time I opened the book, I recalled the movie from 199 all too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margret-atwood/i-tried-to-read-handmaid-s-tale-really-i-did-but-every-time-i-opened/) [Margret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margret-atwood/) > ['Meadowland' was the reason I got 'The Handmaid's Tale,' and probably my experience in cinematography helped. Everything was like a stepping stone to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-morano/meadowland-was-the-reason-i-got-the-handmaid-s-tale-and-probably-my/) [Reed Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-morano/) > [When I first read the scenes I got to audition, I just could tell there was obviously something there. The writing speaks for itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-brewer/when-i-first-read-the-scenes-i-got-to-audition-i-just-could-tell/) [Madeline Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-brewer/) > [I was educated by nuns. None of them, of course, did anything resembling the actions of Lydia from The Handmaid's Tale, but they taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-dowd/i-was-educated-by-nuns-none-of-them-of-course-did-anything-resembling/) [Ann Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-dowd/) > [None of the atrocities in 'The Handmaid's Tale' are pure fiction. Everything Margaret wrote was something that has happened somewhere in the world to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-brewer/none-of-the-atrocities-in-the-handmaid-s-tale-are-pure-fiction/) [Madeline Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-brewer/) > [I'm trying to make people understand: yes, women are oppressed in 'The Handmaid's Tale.' But the men are also oppressed, too. It's just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-morano/i-m-trying-to-make-people-understand-yes-women-are-oppressed-in-the/) [Reed Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-morano/) > ['The Handmaid's Tale' is a horrifying and horrifyingly possible vision of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllida-lloyd/the-handmaid-s-tale-is-a-horrifying-and-horrifyingly-possible-vision/) [Phyllida Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllida-lloyd/) > ['The Handmaid's Tale' takes place in the near future, a dystopian future, and is based on the book by Margaret Atwood. It takes place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-bledel/the-handmaid-s-tale-takes-place-in-the-near-future-a-dystopian-future/) [Alexis Bledel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-bledel/) > ['The Handmaid's Tale' is not a book or show advocating enslaving women or creating a theocracy. It's not glorifying that. It's talking about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laeta-kalogridis/the-handmaid-s-tale-is-not-a-book-or-show-advocating-enslaving-women/) [Laeta Kalogridis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laeta-kalogridis/) > [The interesting thing about 'The Handmaid's Tale' is that everything that happens in it has happened or is happening somewhere in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-morano/the-interesting-thing-about-the-handmaid-s-tale-is-that-everything/) [Reed Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-morano/) > ['The Handmaid's Tale' is a human story, and women's rights are human rights, and it's all about equality, but at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-strahovski/the-handmaid-s-tale-is-a-human-story-and-women-s-rights-are-human/) [Yvonne Strahovski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-strahovski/) ## More by Naomi Alderman > [“Gender is a shell game. What is a man? Whatever a woman isn't. What is a woman? Whatever a man is not. Tap on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/gender-is-a-shell-game-what-is-a-man-whatever-a-woman-isn-t-what-is-a/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [“That is how a man speaks. And that is why.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/that-is-how-a-man-speaks-and-that-is-why/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [Our culture tends to denigrate things that are associated with women. It's OK for women to wear trousers, for example, but not OK for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/our-culture-tends-to-denigrate-things-that-are-associated-with-women/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [I was there on 9/11. I watched the towers falling from my office window, at which point I decided I would give up my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/i-was-there-on-9-11-i-watched-the-towers-falling-from-my-office/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [The value of the arts cannot be measured by its ability to preserve life but rather to enhance existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/the-value-of-the-arts-cannot-be-measured-by-its-ability-to-preserve/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [I've got the brain for systems and a head for figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/i-ve-got-the-brain-for-systems-and-a-head-for-figures/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [Our body is there right now. You did not have to earn a thing. It is a gift. 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