Loss of identity in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Fire-Dwellers by Margaret LaurenceThe protagonists of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Margaret Laurence The Fire-Dwellers have very different characters. . However, these two women lose their identity due to outside influence. In each of the books we see the nature of lost identity, the circumstances that led to that loss of identity, and the consequences that resulted from that loss of identity. In The Handmaid's Tale, our main character, Offred, has her entire world stolen by the government of Gilead. This new society is sexually repressed and founded by religious extremists. Women are only used to produce children and they have no rights in the new world of Gilead. In The Fire Dwellers, our main character, Stacey MacAindra, has been thrown into a life of responsibility. She has an uncommunicative husband who means well but shows her no love, as well as four children who she believes are being ruined by his every action. She believes that life has much more to offer than the boredom of daily routine. The nature of Offred's loss of identity is very drastic. Before the new religious group of Gilead took over the world, she was a completely normal, everyday woman. She did what was expected of her time and continued to do so after taking office. She had a husband and a daughter whom she loved very much. But in the new society in which she lives, love is not allowed. “If I thought this would happen again, I would die. But that's not true, no one dies for lack of sex. It is from the lack of love that we die. There is no one here that I can love, all the people that I could love are dead or elsewhere” (page?). **Are these words spoken by Offred? **Offred also had the choice of free will before her civilization changed, but gradually women began to lose all their rights and were no longer allowed to have jobs or even use money. “Sorry,” he said. This number is not valid. » “That’s ridiculous,” I said. It must be, I have thousands in my account. » "It's not valid," he repeated stubbornly. Do you see that red light? That means it’s not valid,” (p.