I made a rule for myself: I would not include anything that human beings had not already done in some other place or time, or for which the technology did not already exist. I did not wish to be accused of dark, twisted inventions, or of misrepresenting the human potential for deplorable behaviour.
Margaret Atwood looks back at writing The Handmaid’s Tale. (via thebronzemedal)

All of which add to the realistic horror of the book.