Much of the discussion about "The Handmaid's Tale" has centered on its categorization as feminist literature. Atwood does not see the Republic of Gilead as a purely feminist dystopia, as not all men have greater rights than women. Instead, this society presents a typical dictatorship: "shaped like a pyramid, with the powerful of both sexes at the apex, the men generally outranking the women at the same level; then descending levels of power and status with men and women in each, all the way down to the bottom, where the unmarried men must serve in the ranks before being awarded an Econowife". Econowives are women married to men that don't belong to the elite and who are expected to carry out child-bearing, domestic duties, and traditional companionship. When asked about whether her book was feminist, Atwood stated that the presence of women and what happens to them are important to the structure and theme of the book. This aisle of feminism, by default, would make a lot of books feminist.  However, she was adamant in her stance that her book did not represent the brand of feminism that victimizes or strips women of moral choice. Additionally, Atwood has argued that while some of the observations that informed the content of "The Handmaid's Tale" may be feminist, her novel is not meant to say "one thing to one person" or serve as a political message—instead, "The Handmaid's Tale" is "a study of power, and how it operates and how it deforms or shapes the people who are living within that kind of regime".