In An Injustice Magazine, a writer who identifies himself only as “Mike B.” points to flashback sequences in the original novel as a cautionary tale for life in the 21st century. He notes that in the years before the takeover of the United States by religious extremists, there were signs that women’s rights were in danger, but that they were ignored. For example, in the book, a political figure Serena Joy openly advocates for the rights of women to be taken away, and while the main character, Offred, is alarmed, her husband, Luke, laughs her off. He then notes that a recently appointed Supreme Court justice is staunchly anti-abortion, in effect a real-life Serena Joy, in that she’s a woman who advocates for women’s rights being taken away.

Mike B. paints Luke as something of a metaphor for privilege and complacency. He then points to how, though gay marriage, abortion, and other rights remain in place, there was a time in the mid-to-late 2010s when those rights were seriously threatened. Privileged people, particularly those who were wealthy, white, and heterosexual, failed to take those threats seriously.

As such, he says, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a cautionary tale about complacency. “‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ warns against the folly of believing that all of this is here to stay,” he notes.