Utopia and dystopia: Margaret Atwood’s “ustopian” vision

Abstract

This article explores the concept of "ustopia", a neologism proposed by Margaret Atwood in In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination (2011), which seeks to break the binary between utopia and dystopia, demonstrating that every utopia contains a dystopian element and vice versa. Based on this concept, we analyze the works Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and The Handmaid's Tale, by Atwood, to highlight how the tensions between utopia and dystopia intertwine and reflect the complexities of the human condition and gender relations. Through a comparative analysis, we highlight how both narratives incorporate utopian and dystopian elements, revealing fundamental nuances for understanding the social and political critique of their authors.