Feminism, ideology, and the law: the role of women in the literary works “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Power”

Abstract

This paper is an investigation on the ideological social construct of the role women play in society, as well as the feminist achievements, based on the novels The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, and The Power, by Naomi Alderman. Firstly, the analysis is about the theories of ideology and the social influence of its interrelation with the law and the State. After that, the research focuses on the narrative of the selected literary works – by using methodological contributions from the Law and Literature movement – to question the role of women in contemporary society, with suggestions to reach gender equality in reality.