Ashenhurst said the impetus to put down the shaver for a month came in the form of a message to Anderson from Hailey Aderman, regional director of special events for Special Olympics Wisconsin. â
Definition of handmaiden. 1  1 : a personal maid or female servant. 2  2 : something whose essential function is to serve or assist criticism is not the enemy of art but rather its handmaiden â Gary Michael.
The Handmaid's Tale explores themes of women in subjugation to misogyny in a patriarchal society and the various means by which these women gain individualism and independence. The novel's title echoes the component parts of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which is a series of connected stories (The Merchant's Tale, The Parson's Tale, etc.).