The Historical Notes also place the novel in its historical context. The notes tell the reader the story of why Gilead implemented the Handmaids in the first place, with the widespread reproduction problems caused by the,’ AIDS epidemic,’ and leakages from, ‘chemical warfare stocks.’ This is important to the novel as a whole as it outlines the reasons Gilead has for implementing the Handmaids and shows that there was an actual reason behind the methods of Gilead. This has the effect of making the society seem more realistic, which adds to the warning message expressed in the novel. The mention of these things such as the, ‘AIDS epidemic,’ and ‘Iran and Gilead,’ place the events of the novel firmly within our time, reminding the reader that this is not just a science-fiction story, that this is a warning of what could happen, and that it could happen in our time and place. This again demonstrates to the reader the flaws Atwood perceives in modern society, and that what happened in Gilead could happen in our world. The Historical Notes are also important in that they show the reader that Gilead has finished, and that it had it’s problems, ‘purges and internal upheavals.’ This provides one of the few messages of hope in the novel, that no matter how severe, not all totalitarian rule lasts forever. This is reminiscent of other rules in the past such as Nazi Germany or Modern day Russia under the rule of Stalin. This also again places the events of the novel firmly in our time period and demonstrates that Gilead is not the first totalitarian society. Another reference to, ‘the time before,’ comes when the Handmaids uniforms are compared to those which were worn by, ‘German Prisoners of War,’ again helping to root the novel firmly in our time.
Another important effect of the Historical notes is that it demonstrates how people studying The Handmaid’s Tale perceive it, as a nice story, but something that couldn’t happen in this day and age. The fact that Piexto states that, ‘we are happily more free,’ from the problems contained in Offred’s account demonstrates that many people, in the real world, as well as Professor Piexto, often misunderstand the novel as just a story, and miss the moral message behind Offred’s Tale. Atwood’s use of Piexto completely missing the point again demonstrates to the reader that the Tale contains a serious moral message about the state of society today.
The Historical Notes are also important to the reader as they cement the fact that everything that happened in Gilead has a historical precedent, ‘its genius was synthesis.’ This again demonstrates to the reader that our society today, and in the past has done all of what happened in Gilead. This again shows the reader that the society we have is not perfect and could easily descend into what happened in Gilead. This could also be a comment by Atwood on the state of moral behaviour in our society, that when all of these things were committed individually, few people other than those involved took notice, however Gilead seems so shocking to a reader. This could therefore also be a comment on humanities willingness to ignore anything that makes them uncomfortable. This also demonstrates that as everything had a precedent, what happened in Gilead has happened before, and so could just as easily happen again. This again shows the reader that the novel is a warning as to how society could ‘evolve.’
The Historical Notes are important as the reader is given a background as to how the text came about. The reader learns that the text was originally found in tape format, and made into a text by Professor Piexto and his associates. The fact that Piexto criticizes Offred for her account, ‘she does not see fit to supply us with her original name,’ demonstrates his misunderstanding of the account, that Piexto sees it purely in the context of what he can learn from it about Gilead, and does not seem to care for Offred’s, ‘whiff of emotion,’ or what Offred seems to have suffered through. The fact that Piexto’s lecture is based on ,’ Problems of Authentication,’ again shows a complete disregard for what Offred went through, and again demonstrates his misunderstanding of the entire Tale. Atwood uses Piexto’s misunderstanding to again make a warning to society; again that what happens in the novel could happen again. This could again be a comment on society and university education by Atwood; that everyone is so concerned with facts, figures and dates, they often forget, ‘the human heart.’