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Two very different pieces of literature, two very different aims. Or are they really so different? Shaffer's obvious aim is to question our treatment of the "insane" as well as question that same classification. Atwood, on the other hand, attempts to question our feelings of superiority, particularly in regards to the forever ongoing male versus female debate. Those issues are an example of how literature can take a stance and change our perspective.

Alan Strang is classified as a lunatic in the play. He stabbed the eyes out of six horses because they "saw" him. At least, that is the basic storyline. If we define sanity as having a clear purpose and moral sense, then Alan Strang is most definitely sane. He has purpose in taking the horses out at night, and was in a fit of rage and passion when he hurt the horses, something we are all liable to do. As for as moral, Alan demonstrates an ability to tell right from wrong. He is aware taking the horses out is wrong, and so keeps it secret. Alan also demonstrates an ethical sense, when being embarrassed by the pornography show and knowing it was wrong that his father was there as well. There is no guilt in his actions. On the other hand, the supposed sane psychologist is struggling with guilt and remorse for what he has done. Dysart is the one with odd dreams, that can no longer distinguish good from evil, right from wrong. Shaffer does this to these characters as an enticement, a lure to show us that how we perceive the world is not always correct.

Atwood turns the tables as well. In Gilead, a supposedly male-dominated society, the women hold the real power. Sure, the men go to work everyday, but it is unimportant in the survival of the state, while the women are required to keep it going. The president's assassination allowed for a male takeover, but it didn't matter, it was the women behind these men that really received power. This is especially apparent in the strip club. Men are portrayed as slaves to their desires, inhuman beings that are dominated by the need to have sex. Women are not controlled by this, and so have the ability to run the country. The women have the power, especially the handmaids, to control the outcome of the state. Gilead will fall without the women, women that had become second class citizens.