<P> The novel is set in an indeterminate future , speculated to be around the year 2005 , with a fundamentalist theonomy ruling the territory of what had been the United States but is now the Republic of Gilead . Individuals are segregated by categories and dressed according to their social functions . Complex dress codes play a key role in imposing social control within the new society and serve to distinguish people by sex , occupation , and caste . </P>
<P> The novel is set in an indeterminate future , speculated to be around the year 2005 , with a fundamentalist theonomy ruling the territory of what had been the United States but is now the Republic of Gilead . Individuals are segregated by categories and dressed according to their social functions . Complex dress codes play a key role in imposing social control within the new society and serve to distinguish people by sex , occupation , and caste . </P>
where is handmaid 's tale supposed to be set
where is handmaid 's tale supposed to be set
the territory of what had been the United States but is now the Republic of Gilead
the territory of what had been the United States but is now the Republic of Gilead