This essay discusses "The Handmaid's Tale" by Magaret Atwood, with particular reference to the historical notes and their significance adn importance to the whole novel.

The last chapter of the novel, the historical notes, may be unsatisfying to some readers in the sense that we are still not given a conclusive end to Offred's tale. Both the reader and Professor Pieixoto are able to deduct from the "very existence of the tapes" that Offred was indeed rescued from Gilead. However, what happened to her after that? This uncertainty is reflected through what Offred herself says when the black van comes …showed first 75 words of 1598 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1598 total…notes, we get a glimpse of Gilead's future. Here, we see an atmosphere very much like our own. The historians at this particular conference discuss what has happened in their past, in Gilead. They joke around, laugh freely - the whole conference seems to be conducted in a very laid-back, light hearted manner. However, can Offred's tale be really considered a laughing matter? Some random tale to be taken lightly? Or is this our future?