Screen adaptations of novels are rarely, if ever, able to remain completely faithful to the source material. The important thing is usually to capture the spirit of the story, if not the actual order of events. Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, is an example of a series that balances adherence to the novel with artistic liberties that don't betray the essence of Atwood's vision.
The book and the series are so complementary that Atwood's follow-up novel, The Testaments, stays mostly in line with the direction June's story has been heading in the show as well. Here are five similarities between the books and the series, as well as five differences.
10 Different: Serena Joy
In The Handmaid's Tale novel, Serena Waterford is much older than she is portrayed in the Hulu series. In addition, Offred recognizes Serena from television before, where she used to perform on Christian TV channels.
The show maintains Serena's former celebrity status, but has her be a former author rather than a TV personality. Both the novel and the series depict Serena being ironically integral to the loss of women's rights in Gilead.
9 Similar: Gilead
Both the creation of Gilead and the state of things in day-to-day life are almost identical from the book to the show. The overthrow of the U.S. government was spearheaded by the Sons of Jacob, who suspended the Constitution and rapidly began to dissolve the rights of women and non-Christians.
In both the novel and the series, it is against the law for women to read or write, and they have no reproductive rights whatsoever. Women who don't conform to the role of wife, Aunt, Martha, or Handmaid are sent into prostitution or labor camps.
8 Different: Ofglen
In both the novel and the series, Ofglen is Offred's walking partner. Offred initially finds Ofglen too pious and distrusts her, but the two eventually form a real friendship and Ofglen tells Offred about Mayday, the secret uprising forming among the oppressed in Gilead.
In the book, Ofglen's involvement in Mayday is discovered and she's never seen again. The show takes her story further, and we see her sent to the Colonies, returned as a Handmaid, and eventually find freedom in Canada.
7 Similar: Offred's Past
The series changes little of Offred/June's past from the novel (although the novel never explicitly states that June is Offred's real name). She was married and had a child with her husband, and they attempted to flee the country when their rights were being taken away. They were caught on their way to Canada, and Offred has no idea where her husband or daughter are.
The show expands on this in later seasons, and we find out that Luke survived, contrary to what June believed, and her daughter Hannah is being raised by another family in Gilead. The latter plot is explored further in The Testaments, and could potentially be material for future seasons of the show to dive into as well.
6 Different: Aunt Lydia's Past
The Handmaid's Tale season 3 dedicates an episode to a chapter in Aunt Lydia's past. We learn that she was a teacher with strong beliefs in religion and traditional Christian family values. She becomes close with a single mother and her son, but is angered when she can't mold the mother into the ideal parent Lydia envisions. She further inserts herself into their lives by calling child protective services and having the young boy taken away from his mother.
Book Lydia isn't quite as abhorrent, although she still takes pride in her role as an Aunt working for Gilead. Her time before Gilead's creation was spent as a lawyer, and she agrees to serve Gilead to avoid certain death.
5 Similar: Offred & Fred
Much of the plot of season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale is lifted straight from the pages of the novel, and Offred's strange and uncomfortable relationship with Fred Waterford is no exception. He takes an interest in her outside of "the ceremony," and invites her to play Scrabble with him in his study late at night.
He eventually wants more out of their relationship and takes her to Jezebels. The uncomfortable, non-consensual relationship is mostly the same in the novel and the series, including the part where Fred's wife, Serena, discovers the "affair."
4 Different: Luke & Moira
TV's The Handmaid's Tale follows Luke and Moira as they escape from Gilead and eventually find one another.
All we know of Luke and Moira from the novel is that the two are most likely dead, and The Testaments has Baby Nicole being raised by a different couple entirely. In the show, June's baby is raised by Luke and Moira, who help Gilead refugees adjust to life in Canada.
3 Similar: Offred & Nick
In both the book and the series, Serena Joy desperately wants a baby and is willing to get one by any means necessary. She suspects that the reason Offred hasn't gotten pregnant is most likely due to Fred's infertility, but also knows that the punishment for this always falls on the women and not the men.
She suggests to Offred that she sleep with Nick, their driver, in the hopes that she will get pregnant and Serena can keep their baby. Offred and Nick begin to see one another in secret after their first encounter, and their feelings for each other grow. The show keeps this element and continues to keep Nick as a character that June can care for and (mostly) trust.
2 Different: Aunt Lydia's Resistance Role
The show depicts Aunt Lydia as one of the most staunch supporters of Gilead. Her backstory shows a woman who was always against women's rights and who obeyed a strict set of moral rules set out by her religion.
The Testaments complicates the morality of Aunt Lydia, showing how someone who is routinely horrible can be capable of making a good choice. Though she is still responsible for the misery and degradation of hundreds of thousands of women, she secretly is an ally to Mayday and engages in dangerous missions in order to take down Gilead from within.
1 Similar: Offred's Children
Offred has two children in both the books and the show. Hannah, her child from before Gilead, who she had with her husband Luke was taken from her when they were attempting to escape Gilead.
She was given a new name and assigned to a completely different family. Hannah/Agnes' journey is followed in The Testaments, as is Offred's second daughter, Nicole.
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