Originally released on OCS, the series "The Scarlet Servant" adapted from the novel by Margaret Atwood published in the United States in 1985 tells the story of a theocratic and patriarchal regime where women are reduced to sexual slavery. Because of its history that echoes the society where women are deprived of their rights, thousands of feminists are inspired by the book to climb to the niche, dressed in red and white symbolic clothing.

When science fiction echoes current affairs

Margaret Atwood wrote "The Scarlet Handmaid" 32 years ago (translated into French in 1987), portraying a future era with a terrifying authoritarian regime in a distant America that, under the pretext of falling fertility rates due to an ecological catastrophe, has made the majority of the inhabitants sterile, pushing women to be sexual slaves. The story of "The Scarlet Servant" is a world where the woman is "endangered", divided into three classes: wives (the only ones to have "power"), marthas responsible for maintaining the house, and the scarlet maids devoted to reproduction. The latter are forced to give a child during a ritualized rape in the presence of the sterile wife. The other women, too old or infertile, are deported to camps.

The novel has been translated into more than 40 languages ​​and when it has been adapted in series, many have seen a link between the history of science fiction and the world today. The American Vanity Fair has even asked the question: "Is the scarlet servant the allegory of the Trump era?". Indeed, shortly after coming to power, the president signed a decree abolishing funds for foreign NGOs that give access to abortion and froze federal credits to US family planning.

The scarlet maid, the starting point of a protest movement

Fiction has awakened consciences. In a country where women no longer have total control over their bodies, where they are deprived of their rights, these scarlet maids inspire a protest movement, particularly regarding the right to abortion. It began in Texas to spread to Florida, Oregon, Ohio and New Hampshire, as well as to other countries including Ireland and Poland where abortion is almost forbidden. In Texas, Christian conservatism has stifled reproductive rights for decades. 97% of its counties would not have an abortion clinic and it would now be easier to get a weapon than to terminate a pregnancy.

Nearly a year ago, a group of women - The Servants of Texas - set up, referring to the history of the book, to protest against possible new reforms against abortion. They dress in red and are covered with a white hat in the Hamish style, as in the series, in order to mark the spirits. During the months, the women of the group sewed more than 38 capes that they wear during the demonstrations. If women are not listened to by all, they are at least seen. Subsequently, several cities joined the project, seeing the protest cross the borders, as far as Ireland by pro-IVG activists.

Margaret Atwood, anti-Trump icon

Since the election of the President of the United States last January, sales of the book - promoted in bookstores at that time - have increased by 200%. As early as January 2017, women marching in Washington during the Women's march branded signs that diverted Donald Trump's (Make America great again) slogan to "Make Margaret Atwood's fiction great again." A few months later, feminist actress Emma Watson was hiding hundreds of copies of the book "The Scarlet Servant" in the streets of Paris so that the women were not satisfied with only the series, and started by reading the novel.

Actress Elisabeth Moss, who incarnates the main character in the series, insists on one point: The scarlet maid is not a women's affair, but the affair of humanity. It is a human societal story that does not concern only the female sex. At a literary festival in London a few days ago, Margaret Atwood explained, "I'm very happy that people can use it, and that it can make an impact."

Source: marieclaire.co.uk