Author: Albesha Suna

Abstract: Posthumanism offers a useful lens for examining how human identity is reshaped under systems of power and institutional control. In dystopian fiction, posthuman conditions often emerge not through advanced technology alone, but through social practices that redefine the body and limit agency. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale presents a society in which women’s bodies are regulated, monitored, and instrumentalised by the state in the name of survival and moral order. This paper examines how the novel reflects posthuman concerns by portraying the human body as a managed and functional entity rather than an autonomous self. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s understanding of the constructed body, the study explores how Gilead transforms women into biological resources while restricting memory, language, and personal identity. It argues that Atwood’s dystopia represents posthumanism as a condition of constrained agency, where survival occurs within systems that redefine what it means to be human. In doing so, the novel presents posthumanism not as futuristic speculation, but as an extension of existing power structures.

Keywords: Posthumanism; dystopian fiction; body; identity; power; Margaret Atwood

Article Info: Received: 20 Nov 2025; Received in revised form: 17 Dec 2025; Accepted: 20 Dec 2025; Available online: 24 Dec 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.106.68