Mirrors of the Author’s Present

A book tells a greater story beyond the words that fill its pages. Often, it reflects the lives of the author who wrote it and how they find inspiration the social and political standards of their time period. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Shakespeare makes odes to King James I by incorporating his obsession with witches and dark magic into his play. In her novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood sheds light on the women’s movements and the climate crisis of the 1980s by creating a dystopian world where women are denied reproductive rights while toxic waste fills the land. Kristin Hannah’s, The Nightingale, follows Isabelle, a female war hero, and her untold story is brought to life by Hannah in wake of the third-wave feminist movement. The authors of these works use the political and social strife they have encountered in their lifetime to connect the fictional lives of their characters and the struggles faced to the present.

Shakespeare created Macbeth with a specific political figure in mind: King James I. King James was known for his dedication to all things weird, abnormal, and superstitious, especially witchcraft. To satisfy King James, Shakespeare places three witches “so withered and so wild in their attire/That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth” known as the Weird Sisters in his play. From the first scene of the play, Shakespeare establishes the evilness of these witches, who meet in “thunder, lightning, and rain” and in “fog and filthy air”. In associating the sisters with chaotic, dreary weather, Shakespeare allows the audience to envision their wickedness. It was crucial for Shakespeare to do so, removing any positive association with the witches, as King James was known to have a profound fascination, yet hatred for the supernatural beings. Ironically, despite making the witch of evil descent, Shakespeare uses them in the play to deliver affirmations to King James. It is noted that in Scottish history there was a real King Duncan who was murdered by a real Macbeth; it is also said that Banquo was a real figure of who King James claimed to be a descendant of. In Macbeth, the witches reveal to Macbeth that King James is a descendant of Banquo through a vision. Macbeth encounters generations of Banquo’s family where some are seen “that twofold balls and treble scepters carry”. This is a reference to King James and his double coronation as King of both the British and Scottish thrones. Shakespeare writes him as a descendant of Banquo to legitimize King James’ royalty, proving him as a true monarch fit to rule both Britain and Scotland. While it appeared that Macbeth, was written solely to entertain theatre folk, Shakespeare had a calculated focus on flattering the King with his work. In a way, Shakespeare keeps true to the words of the sisters in that “fair is foul, and foul is fair”; everything is not what it seems.

Unlike Shakespeare, Margaret Atwood created the Handmaid’s Tale with the intention of emphasizing her social and political views. Margaret Atwood is a liberal Canadian; she is a large supporter of the pro-choice movement and considers herself an environmental activist. In her novel, Atwood creates a bleak future where women are treated as objects of men. In this regime, women known as handmaids, have the sole purpose of reproducing to tackle the decreasing birth rate. To men, there are “women who are fruitful and women who are barren”. To women, there is no choice. Atwood places a heavy focus on the lack of choice among women in this society; women are forced by state sanctions to be raped, they must carry their pregnancies to term and are pressured to “keep their mouths shut and look stupid”. Atwood writes of this during the 1980s, a time period that saw a large influx of republicanism in the USA. With conservative groups attempting to overturn progressive movements, like the legalization of abortion in the Supreme Court case Roe vs. Wade, Atwood wrote with a fear of digression for women’s rights. Growing up during World War II, Atwood claims that she became aware that “established orders could vanish overnight”. This is reflected in the protagonist of her novel, Offred, who discusses how the society she lives in, “The Republic of Gilead...knows no bounds”. Formed virtually overnight with the overthrow of the government by a radical religious group, Atwood suggests that the regime in which Offred is bound to, is realistic fiction. Coupled with the bleak nature of the novel, Atwood creates a movement of deep despair in her writing warning that the rights for women could be eliminated in the face of radical conservatism, something she saw in Reagan’s presidency. Furthermore, Atwood brings to light the climate crisis circulating the time period, as the exponential use of fossil fuels was beginning to cause concerns across the globe. Atwood speaks to this in her story, where “the air got too full, once, of chemicals, rays, radiation, [and] the water swarmed with toxic molecules”. She also reflects on those who are left to clean it: infertile women, elderly women, and nuns; or, those who society views as useless because they cannot aid in reproduction. Atwood uses this to shed light on how large corporations that contribute to the carbon footprint will rely on the marginalized and the options to fix their problems. The immigrants who cannot obtain jobs legally and the low-income minority families who struggle to compete in a white-dominated society will be forced to clean up the earth. Atwood’s novel is a cautionary tale, that uses her present to warn of a totalitarian future.

While Atwood speaks to the present problems of her society through a dystopian future, Kristin Hannah ties the past to her present. Written in 2015, The Nightingale follows the journey of a young and passionate Isabelle during WWII as she rises to heroism by saving the lives of multiple army men. The story is one of feminism, that gives empowerment to the unrecognized women that made large sacrifices in WWII. Hannah writes that “for [women] it was a shadow war. There were no parades for us when it was over, no medals or mentions in history books”. Unlike men who were memorialized through statues and monuments, women “picked up the pieces and started their lives over”. Hannah encompasses the progressive feminist ideology of 2015 in her book, as young Isabelle rises to heroism as “she was so tired of being considered disposable”. While it was normal for women to feel unrightfully restrained during this time period, it was very rare for them to protest this, as they did not have much support to do so. Hannah, however, brings the support of the feminist movements and the encouragement from the present and places it within Isabelle’s character giving her the strength and courage many lacked. Hannah also asserts that while there have been great strides in protecting women’s rights, the movement is still not finished. She shows this in the Nightingale as the German men refuse to believe Isabelle is the Nightingale because of her gender, “You, a girl? The infamous Nightingale?” This condescending attitude towards Isabelle reflects in the belittlement that many women still face in the workforce being paid less, and is considered less authoritative. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women were paid 20.4% less than men in 2015. Despite this, Hannah uses her respect and value as a female writer, something women did not receive in the early 1900s, to give credit to the female heroes of the war.

Literature is one of the most tangible ways to express an opinion or an idea, either directly or indirectly. The authors of Macbeth, The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Nightingale all use literature to indirectly speak of the things that were occurring in their world. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Shakespeare fuels King James' obsession with magical entities by telling a story of evil witches and the evils they brought to the world. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood asserts her liberal views on abortion rights and climate change, bringing a call to action against those who try to suppress her view. In Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, Hannah paints an image of hope for feminists of the 1900s and the 2000s alike, proving that the impact of women can be recognized, even years later. These works connect their present to the time period of the story, allowing for the author and the audience to connect to the stories on a personal level.

Works Cited

1. Atwood, Margaret. “Margaret Atwood on What 'The Handmaid's Tale' Means in the Age of Trump.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Mar. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/books/review/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-age-of-trump.html.
2. Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. McClelland & Stewart, 2019
3. Bargreen, Melinda. “Kristin Hannah's Inspirations for WWII Tale 'The Nightingale'.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 24 Feb. 2015, www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/kristin-hannahs-inspirations-for-wwii-tale-the-nightingale/.
4. Dolan, Mara. “'The Handmaid's Tale' Is A Chilling Warning About Climate Change.” Bustle, 2019, www.bustle.com/p/the-handmaids-tale-is-trying-to-warn-you-about-climate-change-18667636.
5. Hannah, Kristin. The Nightingale. Pan Books, 2017.
6. Neve, Kathrine. “King James I and Macbeth.” Utah Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, 29 June 2019, www.bard.org/news/king-james-i-and-macbeth.
7. Shakespeare, William, et al. William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Insight Publications, 2017.