Mitrovic Violeta 3M4
TM 2007: Margaret Atwood and Feminism
The Handmaid’s Tale :
A Feminist Reading
Maître responsable : Gladys Zündel
Gymnase Auguste Piccard, 12 Novembre 2007
TM – Margaret Atwood & Feminism
The Handmaid’s Tale : A Feminist Reading
Mitrovic Violeta 3M4
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Contents
A) A Critical Summary ......................................................................................................... 1
B) Introduction.............................................................................................................. 3
C) The Republic of Gilead and its gender-based characteristics..................................... 5
D) Handmaid’s Tale’s women : ........................................................................................... 11
1) Offred :
Past and Family ............................................................... 11
Life as a Handmaid..................................................... 13
Attitudes towards Men................................................ 16
2) The destinies of women related to Offred : ...................................... 20
E) The Commander : victim of the oppression or guilty of being a man ?...................... 24
- Commander’s characterisation........................................................... 24
- The relationship between Offred and the Commander........................ 24
F) Conclusion................................................................................................................ 31
G) Comments on the creation of the TM ....................................................................... 32
H) Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 34
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TM – Margaret Atwood & Feminism
The Handmaid’s Tale : A Feminist Reading
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A) A Critical Summary
Offred is a handmaid which is by definition a fertile woman whose role is to bear children for
elite, childless families. She works for a Commander of The Republic of Gilead. Throughout
her life as a handmaid, she also reveals the details of her previous life. She has a husband and
a daughter. They were separated because her husband was a divorced man, which became
forbidden. Offred lives in a society governed by oppression and knowing what a great risk she
is taking, she agrees to have a secret relationship with her Commander. After a while, Serena,
the Commander’s wife, judging that her husband might be sterile, suggests to Offred to try to
get pregnant with Nick, their chauffeur, which is also forbidden. Instead of seeing him only
once, Offred starts a secret relationship with him as well. Eventually, a dark car comes to take
Offred away as her sins are descovered. Despite the tragical situation, Offred still has hope
left as it could also be the Maydays, a secret information network, coming to help her flee.
To describe this novel, the word brutal is necessary. Even knowing that this is a destopian
novel, one can still find in it details or situations that could be reattached to our present world.
If one is a woman, one will be even more touched by Offred’s story because women in this
novel have no liberty. Even Serena who is a high positioned woman in society does not have
much freedom apart from being a housewife. Margaret Atwood certainly wanted us to realise
with the Handmaid’s Tale, how luckier people and especially woman are today, at least in
some countries, with all the freedom they have but she also wanted us to see that in our
society, there are some aspects of freedom like pornography, that are growing and becoming
too important. We can already see that pornography sometimes leads to sexual abuse or
violence. These are obvious consequences of too much freedom given to men.
This novel was truly fascinating to analyse because of all the different aspects in it. The story
is enjoyable to read and once one starts reading it, it becomes very hard to stop. One always
wants to know more about Offred’s past and especially about the Red Center. In this novel,
the most interesting parts are certainly the ones in which Offred describes the city and its
aspects. One can then see the huge contrast between Gilead before oppression and the Gilead
she is describing. There is also something very disturbing in the novel and it is how women
are sorted by colours corresponding to their social position. It is as if religion or the colour of
the skin, which are today the human aspects that encourage prejudices, were replaced by the
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colour of clothes. Margaret Atwood, with this detail, certainly wanted to show the irrelevance
of our prejudices.
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B) Introduction :
The Handmaid’s Tale could be easily catalogued as a feminist novel. A feminist reading seems
to be the most obvious perspective to analyse the text. Feminism is indeed developed
throughout the narration showing how women are used in order to increase a political ideal.
The Wives as well as the Handmaids are in service of men. Totalitarianism is also criticized
since the power in the novel is exclusively held by an elite of men, strengthening the injustice
of women’s treatment in Gilead.
Religion is an important part of the new, oppressive Republic of Gilead as well. Actually,
Gilead may even recall religious fanaticism. The Handmaids’ clothes, for instance, could be
associated to the clothes a woman wears in some extremist groups of the Islamic religion. The
fact that women in the Handmaid’s Tale are not allowed to abort reminds the reader of the
Protestants or the Catholics that did not tolerate it for centuries. Catholic Church still doesn’t
tolerate it which shows that this subject is still actual and delicate. Women’s submissiveness
to men, which can be linked to the themes mentioned above, is also very present and will be
discussed in this TM with more details.
The association that one could make between the facts in the novel and history brings one to
wonder whether the Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel. It, for sure, appears to be so.
Margaret Atwood’s novel shows what the world could become if wrong people acceeded to
power. Even though the story takes place in only one state of America, it nevertheless can be
connected to the rest of the world. If a situation like that truly happened, it would spread
very easily.
Since the novel is dystopian, one could wonder about the welcome it received from the public.
The novel, in fact, received excellent critics and was even nominated for literary prices. It was
a popular, worldwide success and even today, more than twenty years later, it is regularly
read in schools. This highlights the fact that the novel corresponds to the readers of our
society as perfectly as it did in 1985.
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The purpose of the TM will be to uncover Margaret Atwood’s use of the contrary of a
feminist approach in order to highlight the necessity to apply a feminist combat at all times.
This will allow one to see how important equality between men and women truly is. The
analysis of the novel will also make Offred’s choices easier to understand. In addition, the TM
will deal with the different places, relationships and characters precisely.
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C) The City of Gilead and its Gender-Based Characteristics
Gilead is the city where Offred’s story takes place. It is located in the United States, more
precisely in Cambridge, a city of the State of Massachusetts. This city was entirely imagined
by the writer and it is, in my opinion, a very bright idea to place the story in America since it
is known that main changes very often start from there. Then, these changes easily spread all
over the world. In the Handmaid’s Tale, Gilead is or more exactly becomes a city of
oppression. From the first page, as the narrator begins describing the gymnasium, one can feel
that terror and uneasiness are feelings very present among its inhabitants.
To understand the uneasiness felt by Offred and women in general in this novel, it is inevitable
to first describe the gender-based characteristics of the oppressed city. The first thing learnt
while reading this story is that there is an obvious social hierarchy present in the city. Its role
is to differentiate men from women or, more precisely, to always put men above women.
Even though the story takes place in the future, one could think that it took place in the past.
One feels that because it is obvious that women’s position in society has undergone a huge
evolution in the past century. In the Handmaid’s Tale, however, the reader does not see the
expected equality between men and women. Instead of it, there is an absolute superiority of
men’s gender. It is disturbing considering the year in which the story takes place.
It is also interesting to notice that the hierarchy is not only applied between men and women
but also between people of the same gender. The Commanders are above everyone. They are
the most important in society and maybe the only ones that can truly take advantage of the
oppression. They are married and, consequently, their wives are also powerful thanks to
them. Their wives’ power is however only relative since it can in the major part only be used
at home and this only if the Commander agrees with the decisions his wife makes. This shows
clearly that even women who are part of the upper class of the society, in fact only look
powerful from the outside. It is confirmed by the fact that these women are called the
Commander’s wives. If they were truly powerful, they would be called by a name given to
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their kind only. A woman could never be called a Commander which proves once again that
power in Gilead is exclusively in men’s hands.
Right after the Commander and his wife, there are the Guardians and the Angels. Guardians, as
their name already says, have the duty to maintain order and to make sure that criminals or
more precisely non obedient women are punished. Angels have a similar role and some of
them are exceptionally allowed to have a wife and maybe even a Servant. Among them, there
are also people called Eyes. Their role is to have an eye on the population but once again, their
real role is to have a close eye on women exclusively. They are what one today calls spies. As
far as men are concerned, these are the most important social positions in Gilead. Men that do
not belong to these categories are men that disobeyed the new Government and that are,
therefore, sent to Colonies where they work as slaves.
As for women, specific roles that they ought to play exist in order to keep the new society in
balance. First of all, the Aunts are women charged to teach the Handmaids how to be obedient
and submissive. They are also highly respected in society because they are considered wise
women. Marthas, on the contrary, find themselves very low in the social ranking. Their role is
exclusively to take care of the house: to cook and clean. Marthas are almost non-existent but
not as much as the Handmaids, that are below everyone in society. These Handmaids are,
ironically, the most important part of this story. They are also a part of the following very
important characteristic of Gilead.
Having children became very difficult. That is what the Handmaids are for. They are as their
name says, maids, which means they have to serve their Commander or sometimes but rarely,
their Angel. Not only do they have to be obedient to their Commanders, but they also have to
bear their children. Once a month, during a ritual in which the Commander tries to impregnate
the maid in presence of his wife, the Handmaid gets a chance to bear a child, and therefore, she
also gets a chance to be freer. The Handmaids have a negative connotation in Gilead because
they are women that sinned and were consequently punished for their acts. They are at the
same time the worst and the most needed part in a Commander’s house. Even though families
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need them, they are treated rather badly as they are seen as a reproach made to the
Commander’s wife for her impossibility to bear children. This implies that there is only one
way of being a real family and it is with children. A married couple is thus not considered a
family if it does not have any children. This can be seen as the opposite of our society where
marriage has to work well before considering having children.
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Another untypical Gilead’s characteristic is the Wall. Here is how Offred describes this
special place:
Now the gates have sentries and there are ugly new floodlights mounted on metal posts
above it, and barbered wire along the bottom and broken glass set in concrete along the
top.
No one goes through those gates willingly. The precautions are for those trying to get
out, though to make it even as far as the Wall, from the outside, past the electronic
alarm system, would be next to impossible.
Beside the main gateway there are six more bodies hanging, by the necks, their hands
tied in front of them, their heads in white bags tipped sideways onto their shoulders.
There must have been a Man’s Salvaging this morning. I didn’t hear the bells. Perhaps
I’ve become used to them. (41)
Offred’s description in this passage is very brutal. What is interesting and also disturbing is
that she and the other women get used to seeing dead people hanging on this special wall. This
event even has a name, which makes it more brutal. Calling it “Man’s Salvaging”, indeed,
makes it look like something everyone accepted and also like something completely normal.
What is also frightening in Atwood’s way of describing this Wall is the use of colours. The
Wall is red, the bags on the heads are white, which makes a huge contrast. Offred insists on
that contrast. What can also be said about this terrifying Wall is that it reminds the reader of
war. It is as if Gilead was constantly living in war-time. It also gives the impression that the
inhabitants are imprisoned by the Wall and that, all around it, the situation is even more
dangerous than it actually is in Gilead. The feeling of prison is increased for Handmaids by the
fact that they have a tattoo that will forever say they are the propriety of the Government.
Offred, in the following quotation, feels that she does not belong to herself anymore:
I cannot avoid seeing, now, the small tattoo on my ankle. Four digits and an eye, a
passport in reverse. It’s supposed to guarantee that I will never be able to fade, finally,
into another landscape. (75)
This frightening detail reminds the reader of the Second World War. The writer certainly
wanted to alarm people by adding this detail. One is even more alarmed when one knows how
the Second World War ended.
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In Gilead, there is not only a social hierarchy but also a clothes hierarchy. One can also notice
that clothes correspond to the social hierarchy of people. The hierarchy is not applied to men
as much as it is to women. This shows once again how Gilead always tries to put men above
women. Women and especially Handmaids are not allowed to buy their own clothes
corresponding to their taste. They are all dressed with clothes that are supposed to
immediately show who they are to people who meet them. The Commander’s wives, for
instance, seem to be dressed more freely than the other women, but once, again it is only
relative since they are forced to dress in blue and also have to wear a blue veil. This shows
that their freedom to dress the way they want is restricted. Even though they are important in
society, they remain only women. They are, however, allowed to take some liberties. They
can smoke and also take care of their skin and face with cosmetics. They are the only women
that can do that in Gilead. Marthas are dressed differently and also more poorly. Here is how
they are described by Offred:
She’s in her usual Martha’s dress, which is dull green, like surgeon’s gown of the time
before. The dress is much like mine in shape, long and concealing, but with a bib apron
over it and without the white wings and the veil. She puts the veil on to go outside, but
nobody much cares who sees the face of a Martha. (19)
The Handmaids are the most dressed ones because everything that has to do with them is
dangerous. Nothing is allowed to be seen on their bodies especially their faces or their eyes as
Offred points out:
Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines
us. The skirt is ankle-length, full, gathered to a flat yoke that extends over the breasts,
the sleeves are full. The white wings too are prescripted issue; they are to keep us from
seeing, but also from being seen. (18)
There is a huge contrast between the Commander’s wife who is dressed in blue and Offred
who is dressed in red. The first one is supposed to represent someone pure while the
Handmaids are dressed in red to show that they sinned and are, thus, dangerous. They did
something that does not suit the rules of the new Government. They could have a personal
opinion on things around them and they are, therefore, considered capable of spreading the
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rebellion among women. That is why it is so important to take everything that could
encourage them to think by themselves, away from them. They are dressed in red because it is
the color of blood and that permits them to be seen, that way they can better be supervised.
Apart from the hierarchies and the Wall, Gilead has other characteristics that came with the
oppression. These mainly apply to women. When oppression took place, women were first
no longer allowed to dress the way they wanted to. The stores were closed down and became
Government’s proprieties. Women were then no longer allowed to purchase anything on their
own. This shows that men wanted to take everything away from women, everything that
could give them character, anything that could make them want rebellion against the
Government. In the rooms, where the Handmaids sleep, little furniture is left to them because
they know that they could try to commit suicide. It is interesting to notice that Gilead took
everything away from women hoping that they could, nevertheless, survive and live in a
healthy way. From men, however, not much was taken or at least, nothing that could make
their vital balance suffer. Not only was little taken from them, but even the taken things could
be bought again if the man becomes privileged and wealthy. The Commander is the example
that perfectly illustrates that phenomenon.
Newspapers, movies and female press were also prohibited. This was done to discourage
women to have their proper opinion or any pleasure that does not improve the new society.
In fact, as the oppression took place, physical appearance but also mental balance were taken
away from women, considered dangerous. This shows how important it is for a human being
to possess and when one does not have that right, it is difficult to feel secure and happy. One
also understands why someone like the Commander is able to be satisfied in Gilead more than
someone like Offred that has nothing that truly belongs to her. The personality of a woman
itself is taken from her and this is a lot more consequent than other elements. Men who they
are with or men who they depend on now define them. A Commander’s wife for instance, is
not more intelligent or prettier than a Handmaid but it is because she is in presence of a
powerful man that she is in a higher position in society. Her husband becomes in fact her new
personality. She becomes his object. She does not even have any power over her own body in
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his presence since she is forced to accept the ritual with the handmaid. She is humiliated by
him and the situations in which he puts her. She is, in fact, entirely defined by him and his
attitudes..
It is also interesting to explain why the press was taken away from women. Gilead does not
want women to be aware neither of the situation nor of the problems in the Government. In
fact, they are no longer allowed to read because it could encourage them to have their own
opinions. Female press, especially, is dangerous because, in general, these kinds of papers deal
with free women who can dress or live the way they want to. One understands that this kind
of press does not follow the rules established by the Government according to whom women
have to be submissive.
As it was already shown in history, when there is oppression, there is also resistance. The
Maydays are the secret network fighting against oppression and that is why they are an
important characteristic of Gilead. Women, but also men disagreeing with the Government,
pretend to obey to it by living a normal life and having a normal job, as being a Chauffeur. In
fact, the Maydays try to get confidential information in order to be able to better destroy the
set society. They are shown throughout the novel and some of them, like Ofglen and Nick, are
closely related to Offred. I think that Atwood wanted to show throughout these characters
that it is impossible to be happy in a society like Gilead even if one tries to fight against it.
One sees that Ofglen ends up really badly. Nick does not seem satisfied with his life either.
This shows that most of the characters, even the ones who try to rebel, only survive, they do
not live happily. It is also interesting to see that, even though Offred is in contact with people
that rebel, it does not really help her feel better or happier.
All of the characteristics cited before define the Gilead described in the novel. One can, after
analyzing these special characteristics, understand Offred’s acts and thoughts in her tale even
better if one compares the Gilead before and after oppression. As a woman, one can imagine
how impossible it was for Offred to be constantly humiliated and to still be able to find a
willingness to live. One also better understands why Offred constantly remembers her past. It
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is because it helps her survive the difficulties of being a Handmaid. The irony given to the title
of the novel by Margaret Atwood can also clearly be seen. She uses the word “tale” to
describe Offred’s life as a Handmaid which seems ironical since one knows how awful her life
becomes and how insecurely it ends. Her life is the complete opposite of a fairytale and, thus,
because of the laws of the Government of Gilead.
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D) Handmaid’s Tale’s Women
1) Offred
Offred is the main character of this novel. She is the person that the reader should call the
heroine but, in this case, Offred does not truly fit the description. She is not someone able to
have her destiny in her own hands. She does, unfortunately, not have the power to change her
future at any time. She could be called a heroine because she is strong but she could also be
called an anti-heroine since she rather puts up with things that happen to her, she does not
have the power to influence them. That is why she is such an interesting character and to
better understand her, one should first consider her life before oppression and obviously her
life before she became a Handmaid.
Past & Family
Offred had an unordinary childhood. She lived with her mother only, without any masculine
presence. She never mentions her father which encourages one to believe that he is dead. Then,
when Offred talks about her feminist mother, one understands that her father was just not
good enough for her very demanding mother. Offred’s life was unordinary because of her
single mother. Since Offred’s birth, she involved her daughter in her feminist fight against
men’s supposed superiority. At the very beginning of the story, Offred talks about how her
mother brought her to a demonstration against pornography. The fact that she mentions this
anecdote shows that it was an important part of her life and that maybe, later, it also helped
her build her personality. In the story, she also describes her mother as someone strong,
someone that expected a lot from her. That is how she actually explains their difficult
relationship. One can also see that it is partly from her mother that she got the strength to
survive her conditions as a Handmaid.
Offred also mentions her studies at the university. This proves that she is rather smart and is,
therefore, able to understand how wrong everything is as the oppression takes place. Her
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description of her life while she was a student shows the contrast with her life as a Handmaid.
Her personality completely changed since she was a rather open-minded, well-adjusted
woman and she was later forced to become someone withdrawn and sad. It is interesting to
notice that the memory of her old self always helps her keep hoping for better days. Her
youth and her mother’s ideals also help her understand how badly she is treated as a
Handmaid. She knows what women should really be treated like and what they should
represent. One also gets the impression that Offred blamed her mother, in a way, for being a
feminist until the day she became a Handmaid and realized how right her mother actually was.
It is ironical since she never got the chance to say that to her. The reader later learns that her
mother finished in the Colonies. This news will bring Offred down even more even though she
will be relieved to know that her mother is still alive.
Later in her life, Offred meets Luke. He is still married when she starts a relationship with
him. She remembers of how excited it was to hide, to have to check in a hotel to see him. That
part of her life made her very happy but as a reader, one realizes that she was rather lucky
that Luke was sincere and honest. He did not consider her as just a mistress since he later
divorced his wife. It is also interesting to see that Luke did not have bad feelings knowing that
he was cheating on his wife. One can notice that, like the other men in the novel, Luke is not
perfect. He cheats on his wife with Offred. Nevertheless, one could consider Luke as the man
that is the closest to perfection in this novel. Still, he is not perfection. Atwood’s characters
never seem to be perfect.
While describing her past, Offred remembers the big steps she made in her life when she
married Luke and when she gave birth to her daughter. These were the happiest times of her
life and here is how she describes these moments:
Lying in bed, with Luke, his hand on my rounded belly. The three of us, in bed, she
kicking, turning over within me. (...) I’m not frightened. We’re wide awake, the rain hits
now, we will be slow and careful.
If I thought this would never happen again I would die. (113)
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This last sentence confirms what was said before; Offred needs to hang on to her past in order
to survive the difficult conditions of a Handmaid’s life.
After her daughter’s birth, Offred and her husband kept having a balanced, normal family life.
Both worked and were happy living the way they were. They were also completely welladjusted until the day Offred describes in this quote:
It was after the catastrophe, when they shot the President and machine-gunned the
Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. (182)
In a few days, everything changed. Offred describes the changes as brutal. No one knew what
to expect as the worst had happened. It was the start of Offred’s new life, her soon to be
Handmaid’s life. Before that, Offred, however, tried to escape with her husband, knowing that
she could easily be punished because of her marriage with a divorced man. It is interesting to
notice that Offred expected these changes to happen. After her attempt to escape failed,
Offred was separated from Luke and her daughter and was brought to the Aunts to learn her
new job. She never saw her daughter or her husband again and this for sure influenced her life
as a Handmaid. One can also see that throughout her description of the past, her daughter is
never clearly mentioned. She constantly talks or dreams about her but it all seems really fuzzy
in her head. The fact that she never truly describes her physical appearance strengthens that
feeling. It seems that Offred does not want to remember her with too many details because it
could be too painful. It could only bring her down instead of helping her be stronger. One
could also interpret it in another way. Maybe Offred cannot remember her daughter the way
she wants. She knows that her daughter grew up and it must be painful for her to ignore what
she looks like now. When, later in the story, Serena Joy offers to tell her more about her
daughter in exchange of her favors, the reader feels that Offred is capable of anything to have
some information. She truly has the willingness to replace the fuzzy image of her daughter by
a new one, more complete and more up-to-date.
Life as a Handmaid
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Offred’s new life starts precisely at the moment she is separated from her husband and her
young daughter. She is sent, as said before, to the Aunts to learn how to be a good Servant, a
good Handmaid and consequently, a “better woman.” When she arrives at the Red Center, she
is immediately thrown under Aunt Lydia’s supervision. She is the head mistress of the
Center. She is ruthlessly manipulative and Offred, later in her life, will remember fragments of
her speeches which showa that she was, then, a little brainwashed. The reader gets the
impression that Offred applies these speeches but without believing in them. She only obeys
to what the Aunts said because she needs to stay out of trouble.
One learns about the Center from Offred’s narration that women in there were completely
brainwashed into submission to their new role of handmaids. They are also taught that
everything wrong in the previous Government was their fault. It is surprising that the Aunts
have this kind of rough speeches since they are women too. Offred explains, “That was one of
the things they do. They force you to kill, within yourself.”
This quote describes pretty well the real purpose of the Red Center. They want women to
fight against who they are. They need to kill everything they have inside in order to make
them submissive women. That is also why at their arrival at the Red Center, women have their
name taken. Instead, they are tattooed with a number. The purpose of the formation is also
for them to be entirely pure which means they must not read nor associate with men or have
desires of any kind. They only need to be fertile. They are also brainwashed into believing
that becoming pure will make them all live in a better world. Here is an example of Aunt
Lydia’s kind of speeches:
The women will live in harmony together, all in one family; you will be like daughters
to them, and when the population level is up to scratch again we’ll no longer have to
transfer you from one house to another because there will be enough to go
round.Women united for a common end! (171)
In this quote, the reader can see how manipulative the Aunts really are. While speaking,
they accompany their speeches with indignation or cries. They are very crafty, they
know what emotion to use and when to use it to better manipulate the young women.
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After getting out of the Red Center, a woman should be a good Handmaid. One learns that
Offred was in at least one other house before coming into the Commander’s house where she
got the name Offred. The moment she arrives in his house, is when her Handmaid’s tale
begins since it is the moment when she starts facing everything that will change her life for
always.
Her life as Offred is punctuated by a few daily events that will forever be a part of her. The
waiting is one of them. Indeed, the reader notices very easily that Offred has a lot of free time.
During that time, she finds herself in her room, waiting for the next moment in which she will
have to confront either society, either Serena Joy or maybe even the Commander. In these
“leisure” moments, Offred gets time to think. One notices that, since her future is insecure and
maybe even improbable, Offred always thinks about her past. She puts in relation what
happens in the present with what it resembled to in her past. She also gets the chance to
observe her room and it is in one of these moments that she sees the inscription that a
Handmaid before her carved into the closet: “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” (62). She
will later learn that this sentence means: “Do not let the bastards grind you down.” It is, for
her, a message of strength, of hope and Offred will use it as a prayer before knowing its real
meaning. This message comforts her and gives her hope because she knows that another
woman lived and survived the same difficult conditions as her.
Offred’s Handmaid life is punctuated by a daily shopping as well. In this part of the day, she
is allowed to go out of the house. She can then walk and see the city. It is in these moments
that she realizes the most how much everything changed. That is also when she compares the
city before and after oppression. It is the only moment in which she can have contact with
people, too. First, she can walk and sometimes also speak with her shopping partner. Then,
she also gets to see men. Because she is always forced to hide, seeing men, even though they
are Guardians, is a luxury. That is why she tries, the best she can, to take advantage of these
situations. Even though it is not allowed, she glances at some of them and has pleasure seeing
that she can still be desired by a man. In these moments, she feels like a woman again and not
only like someone’s thing. She is desired and Nick, the chauffeur, is attracted to her. She
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thinks he maybe even finds her pretty. It is the opposite of how the Commander sees her
since he only sees the fertile, submissive woman in her. The daily shopping is also the only
time in a day where she has the possibility to choose something. Even though choosing which
way she wants to get back “home,” the short or the long way, does not seem like a big
decision, it is, nevertheless, an important one for Offred. She can then feel like the mistress of
her own destiny again even though it is only for a short while.
The Ceremony, an important part in her life, is the day during which she does what she is
truly in the house for: she tries to get pregnant. Before the act, there is first a Ceremony. All
the service of the house, including the Handmaid as well as the Commander and his wife gather
in the living-room. When Offred first describes that moment, the Commander is late so they
get to watch television for a while. That is when Offred gets the chance to reconnect with the
outside, to see what happens and she hopes to maybe even learn about the destinies of her
lost family. Instead, they only give good news. As the Commander arrives, they all listen to
him read the Bible. It is the moment in which they are all supposed to pray. It is the religious
moment of the week. They are all supposed to pray for a baby but one sees that once again,
Offred thinks about her past. This shows that she is not a religious person or, at least, not any
more. The reader gets the impression that she lost faith in God at the moment everything was
taken away from her. After the Commander finishes reading the Bible, Offred, Serena Joy and
himself go up to the couple’s room to do the final and most important thing of the Ceremony:
the act. Offred describes it this way:
Above me, towards the head of the bed, Serena Joy is arranged, outspread. Her legs are
apart, I lie between them, my head on her stomach, her pubic bone under the base of
my skull, her tights on either side of me. She too is fully clothed.
My arms are raised; she holds my hands, each of mine in each of hers. This is supposed
to signify that we are one flesh, one being. What it really means is that she is in control,
of the process and thus of the product. If any. The rings of her left hand cut into my
fingers. It may or may not be revenge. (104)
This disturbing description shows the real purpose of the Ceremony. It also shows how
unnatural everything is. Serena Joy hurts Offred who is not allowed to watch the act. The
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Commander, on his side, has other thoughts in his head. This passage could reflect the new
society, like a summary of it. Everything is forced and nothing is truly working naturally.
What is also interesting to notice in this passage is that despite the uncomfortable situation,
the Commander still seems to be in control of it. He is the one that is above them. Because he
is a man, he decides when everything starts and when it ends. He shows the power that he has
over the Ceremony as he feels comfortable arriving late. He is the only one in control in this
scene and that is why he allows himself to think about something else. He does not need to
worry about anything since it is Offred and especially his wife that are humiliated. Serena Joy
has to deal with another woman having sex with her husband. It reminds her of her
impossibility to bear children and that, precisely, humiliates her. Offred, on the other side, is
also humiliated but, because no one asks her opinion, and since she is simply used, it makes
her feel dirty and useless. One could even go further and relate the Ceremony to rape which
makes it very brutal to the reader.
Attitudes towards Men
Our Handmaid’s life is also punctuated by men. What one can notice is that Offred is almost
always forced to be submissive to them. Her attitudes towards men are very interesting to
analyse because, depending on the man she is with, she changes her attitude in order to
correspond to their expectations. The first man in her life was obviously Luke. What is
interesting to see about their relationship is that they were equally involved in it. Even though
she was never forced to doing anything with him, one could think that she must have felt
uneasy dating a married man. She was not the only one in his life and, consequently, she had
to share him with another woman, which can be unbearable. One gets the impression that from
the beginning of her relationships with men, Offred always puts herself beneath them. With
Luke, at least, she was happy and free even though she took a great risk dating him. He could
also have disappointed her by refusing to leave his wife.
The first confrontation with a man in the new Gilead is Offred’s visit to the doctor’s. This
visit gives the pitch of how a woman like her is seen by men, how she should behave and what
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is expected from her. In this passage, Offred also realizes how little a Handmaid represents to
a man’s eye. In this scene, the doctor sees Offred like an object of his desire. One feels that he
just wants to have fun but it is also interesting to see that he does not want to force her. He
makes her believe that she has a choice. The doctor clearly appears very manipulative. He
knows that the Handmaids would do anything to have their freedom back so he makes a
proposition that he knows, will give him even more power. It is true that Offred, in this
situation, has a choice but it is also obvious that the only thing the doctor is interested in is
sex. Once again in the Handmaid’s Tale, one is confronted to a man that has nothing to lose
and that has all the power. The reader knows that even if Offred accepts the proposition, the
only winner would once again be the doctor, the man. The following quote is a part of
Offred’s interaction with him:
He lifts the sheet. The lower part of his face is covered by the white gauze mask,
regulation. Two brown eyes, a nose, a head with brown hair on it. His hand is between
my legs.
“Most of those guys can’t make it any more,” he says. “Or they’re sterile.”
I almost gasp: he’s said a forbidden word. Sterile. There is no such thing as a sterile
man any more, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who
are barren, that’s the law. (70)
Interestingly, the doctor’s head is covered with a mask. This detail shows that he and his
handmaid patient should not interact under any circumstances. It feels like the doctor needs a
protection from Offred, as if she were dirty or contagious. The other interesting thing is the
ridiculousness of the Gilead’s law. As for everything else, men are protected. Nothing is their
fault, not even sterility. The law has more power than medicine. It seems ridiculous to the
reader especially because, in our society, medicine is very powerful and respected. Here,
Offred is shocked and her reaction shows that what she learnt in the Red Center sill remains in
her head. Even though she does not believe in what she learnt, she does expect the others to be
convinced by it. That is why she is shocked as she notices that the doctor does not follow the
rules.
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Offred has real relationships with two other men: the Commander and Nick, the chauffeur.
The former, being one of the most important aspects of this novel, will be discussed in the
next part. Nick is also very important for Offred. He is a friend, a lover and also a confident.
He is Offred’s way out, as her constant remembering of the past is.
From the very beginning of the novel, Offred looks at Nick in a different way than she looks
at the other men in Gilead. She watches him as if he were her equal. Maybe because he is only
a chauffeur, Offred feels that they are very similar. Until later in the story, Nick is only the
messenger of the Commander. He tells Offred when and where she should meet her boss. The
first time they meet at night, there is some tension between them. The reader feels that Offred
is attracted to him. They are actually both attracted to each other but they do nothing,
knowing how dangerous it is. They are separated by the circumstances, the law, and,
especially, by the society. Nick, in fact, intriguates Offred. She always tries to find out what
he feels or what opinion he has about her. When she and the Commander are driven by Nick
to Jezebel’s, Offred wonders what he thinks:
As I turn to shut the car door behind me I can see Nick looking at me through the glass.
He sees me now. Is it contempt I read, or indifference, is it merely what he expected of
me? (245)
In the novel, Nick is the only man that Offred is afraid to disappoint. He is like a reincarnation
of Luke and that is why she feels ashamed letting him see her dressed like a prostitute. Later
in the Handmaid’s Tale, Nick becomes Offred’s only and last chance to get pregnant. A
meeting is set between them by Serena Joy. It is interesting to see that Nick accepts the
arrangement even though he knows it is illegal. One later learns he is actually paid for this
“service.” Once again, Atwood does not want their relationship to be pure; she destroys the
“romance” with this detail. Nick is, after all, still a man like the Commander or the doctor. She
does not make him perfect. She then clearly calls the reader to think that he might just want
sexual relations with Offred.
After their first and supposed unique meeting, the reader feels that it may be repeated since
Offred qualifies what she lives with him as something close to the feeling of love. That is why
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one is not surprised to see Offred go back to see him. The reader is even less surprised when
she reveals all the details of her life to him. One knows that she desperately needs to believe in
a man and she also needs someone that is able to listen to her without any judgments. Their
relationship is also interesting because of Nick’s attitude. While Offred speaks a lot, he is
rather speechless. This characteristic actually puts him in a superior position. He does not
need to confess anything about his life to feel better. In that way, Offred is again submissive
to a man. She is less strong than he is as she desperately needs a confident while Nick is rather
indifferent to the situation, remaining in control.
After analyzing the different interactions Offred has with men in the Handmaid’s Tale, one
understands that she is rather insecure as far as men are concerned. She does not really know
how to react to their propositions or to their attitudes. With Nick, she knows their
relationship has no future but, still, she continues it because it makes her feel better. With him,
she feels important and truly alive even though as said before, the feeling of importance in
presence of Nick is only relative. She is relieved to tell someone the story of her life. That is
maybe also the reason that will later make her write her life on paper. In fact, Offred is in
search of love and to get it, she is capable of anything, even if it is very dangerous. That is
precisely what she does when she continues seeing Nick. She is aware of the danger but finds
that their relationship is worth it. One cannot say that it is a mistake since one knows that
Nick will later help her escape but, still, Offred, in this case, had more luck than intelligence
since he could also have been an Eye. Her attitude also proves that she is still dependent on
men. She needs them to feel alive and is with this detail, the exact opposite of her mother.
Even though Offred’s situation as a Handmaid helps her understand that her mother was in
part right, she is still not strong enough to be an independent, emotionally self-sufficient
woman who needs no man. One could say that Gilead partly succeeds in its mission to
redefine women because when Offred is with Nick, her vision of freedom is him. He entirely
defines her, he makes her feel alive again.
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2) The Destinies of Women Related to Offred
Two women influence Offred’s life significantly: Moira and Serena Joy. Moira was Offred’s
friend for a very long time. She is the person in the novel that knows her best. She was
Offred’s hope in the most desperate moments of her Handmaid life. Serena, on the other hand,
is the woman that punctuates Offred’s life as a Handmaid exclusively since Offred is under
her orders. These two characters are interesting because one is fighting against oppression
while the other fought for it to happen. Even though they seem very different, both have a
similar destiny in this novel.
Moira can easily be attached to Offred’s mother. The only difference between them is that
Moira realizes only as oppression takes place that she is completely against everything the
new Government changes. Moira is described as someone rather open-minded and free and
this description follows her character throughout the novel. The fact that she is bisexual
strengthens even more the feeling that she is someone confident. She is represented as
someone who is ready to fight for her beliefs and that is why, up to the passage at Jezebel’s,
Moira represents strength and hope for Offred. What is interesting to consider in Moira’s
destiny, is that, like Offred, she is punished, but not for the same reasons. Moira is sent to the
Red Center because she is bisexual. Like Offred, Moira is to become a Handmaid but her
strong character makes her fight against what appears to be fatality as she decides to escape
the Center. Because she escapes, she is an exception that proves to Offred that it is possible
to fight oppression. Offred also remembers fragments of their friendship, before oppression.
Every fragment has a specific purpose, either to give her strength or to make her laugh or,
often, to give her hope.
Throughout the novel, Moira is the only one that makes Offred believe that it is possible to
escape but as she meets her at Jezebel’s, all her hope vanishes. One can notice that in the
following quote:
“Moira”, I say. “You don’t mean that.” She is frightening me now, because what I hear
in her voice is indifference, a lack of volition. Have they really done it to her then, taken
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away something – what? – that used to be so central to her? But now can I expect her
to go on, with my idea of her courage, live it through, act it out, when I myself do not?
I don’t want her to be like me. Give in, go along, save her skin. That is what it comes
down to. I want gallantry from her, swashbuckling, heroism, single-handed combat.
Something I lack. (261)
One sees in this passage how disappointed Offred truly is. She wants Moira to do better, to
live instead of surviving as she does. What is frustrating with Moira’s destiny is that all her
efforts were vain. She does not do any better than Offred since she finishes in the official
brothel of Gilead. Atwood seems not to want her to succeed in Gilead. Like Offred, Moira
also finishes under the control of men. She also has to give her body to men like the
Commander. The only difference is that Moira’s job is a lot dirtier and more illicit. But one
could also say that Moira is in a way freer than Offred is. She can do illegal things because no
one expects anything from her. She is the rubbish of society. Like Offred, she is a servant, she
serves her body to men that have the power of life or death over her. That is maybe why the
reader gets the feeling that Moira loses her mind. This feeling is confirmed when she says
Jezebel is not that bad, that at least, she has a few more years to live. Society transformed her
into someone opposite from who she was. She became indifferent and cold. She is another
woman whose character is completely dominated by men and who turned into an unhappy
and imprisoned object.
Serena Joy is also a very important character in the Handmaid’s Tale. What is interesting
about her is that she is, or at least she used to be, an anti-feminist. One could say that she is
the exact opposite of Moira. It is true that they were both fighters but they did not fight for
the same ideas. Serena Joy wanted women to become who they became when the new
Republic of Gilead was founded: housewives. She thought that it was the perfect position for
a woman. For her, a woman does not need to be anything more important than that. It is
enough that she is a good housewife, takes good care of her house and children. The only
problem with Serena is that she does not fit her own description since she does not have the
possibility to bear children. She is, therefore, not considered as a good wife by society. That
explains why she is so frustrated throughout the novel. Atwood seems to want to prove
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through this character the shallowness of our prejudices as far as women are concerned since,
even today, a good wife is sometimes defined that way. She seems to be willing to show who
a woman would become if she tried so hard to be this kind of wife.
Apart from that detail, the reader expects to discover someone certainly dominating but not
someone unhappy and angry. It is difficult, in the beginning, to understand why she has so
much anger since the new Gilead introduced her exact ideals as far as women’s role is
concerned. Later, as one discovers Serena Joy better, one understands that she cannot be
happy since she has a woman in her house that constantly reminds her of her failure as a
potential mother. Offred also sleeps in the same bed as her husband once a month which
humiliates her even more. This explains why she hates her that much. There is even an
instance, just before the Ceremony, in which Offred can hear her cry. It shows her frustration
with life. It is understandable since everything that defines her as a woman, motherhood and
housewifery, is taken away from her.
Her relationship with the Commander is also a disaster. They do not understand each other
and one can even feel how much he irritates her, for instance, when he arrives late and acts as
though it were normal. She is frustrated by him because he shows her that he is superior. Even
though, from the outside, she seems to be very important, she still has to be obedient to her
husband. She has to be submissive. The Commander is also a man that does not care much
about what she feels or thinks. That is why she asks Nick to get Offred pregnant secretly.
Serena and the Commander both know that he is sterile but she never mentions it. She knows
that it could be turned against her since she is a woman and, therefore, not reliable as far as
fertility is concerned. The frustration that Serena accumulates explodes as she decides to ask
Nick to have intercourse with Offred. She then realizes that Offred is not the only one that
gives her headaches. Her husband is, in fact, guilty of her unhappiness more than the
Handmaid. This request is also revenge that she takes on her husband. Even though he does
not know about it, it makes her feel good to humiliate him in front of Offred. It sets her free.
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What is also important to notice about this character is how being a housewife imprisons her
instead of making her free as she thought it would. She is used to another kind of life, a life in
which she is freer, in which she can go out and say or do what she wants. It is, therefore,
frustrating for her to suddenly be closed in a house, doing nothing truly important. But she
refuses to admit that she is miserable since she is exactly who she wanted women to become.
That is something very ironical because her own ideals of a woman’s role and position make
her unhappy.
Like Moira, Serena Joy’s destiny is typical of a woman living in the new Republic of Gilead.
They are both unhappy and submissive to men. Serena’s character proves to the readers that
even with all the conditions reunited for a woman to be happy, a house and a husband. In
Gilead, it is impossible to feel accomplished for a simple reason: because women have no
freedom. That can also be seen as Atwood’s opinion since none of the women presented in
the novel is happy. It is also necessary to remember that Moira and Serena end up more or
less the same way even though they both start “successfully.” Moira escapes the Red Center
and Serena becomes the image of her ideals. They are, however, both quickly captured by the
difficulties of being a woman in a society like Gilead. Even though Moira’s mental and
physical situations are a lot more difficult than Serena’s, they are both trapped in their own
way. One is trapped in her life as a prostitute, she has to give herself to powerful men that
disgust her, while the other one is trapped in her life as a housewife. Both of them are without
issue and that is precisely what makes them so tragical to the reader. None of them seems able
or willing to escape their present lives in order to start a new one. Both were so disappointed
that they do not have any strength left to fight the routine of their daily lives.
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E) The Commander: Victim of The Oppression or Guilty of Being a Man?
In order to better answer whether the Commander is a victim or guilty, it is important to first
analyze his character. It is, therefore, also indispensable to analyse his relationship with
Offred. It is indeed interesting to notice that the Commander’s character develops with their
relationship. The reader discovers him little by little. One can highlight the fact that the more
one learns about the Commander, the more one also learns about Atwood’s message.
Commander’s Characterization
The first description that the reader gets of the Commander is a physical one:
The Commander has on his black uniform, in which he looks like a museum guard. A
semi-retired man, genial but wary, killing time. But only at first glance. After that he
looks like a midwestern bank president, with his straight neatly brushed silver hair, his
sober posture and, shoulders a little stooped. After that, there is his moustache, silver
also, and after that his chin, which really you can’t miss. (97)
The reader, just like Offred, does not really know how to imagine his personality. What one
knows about him is that he is rather old, that he seems confident and superior to the others.
The feeling one truly gets reading this portrait of the Commander is that he is someone really
mysterious. He is not like the other characters in the novel. He is more special, more complex.
One feels that his character has a hidden side. Indeed, one can uncover his character little by
little throughout Offred’s narration and this will be shown in what follows.
The Relationship between Offred & the Commander
Page after page, more is learnt about the Commander, especially when the secret reunions
between him and Offred start. Their first meeting is very special because it is the first time
they actually speak with each other. Offred is terrified because, first, she does not know what
to expect from him, and secondly, because she is not allowed to have any kind of relationship
with her boss. Even though she is nervous, she is still able to notice the studied position he
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adopts as she enters the room and the use of the old form of greeting “hello.” These details
reveal the Commander as someone very self-confident and witty. The fact that he uses the
word ”hello,” shows that he is also mocking the new society, which is at the same time
ironical and logical. One can find it ironical because the Commander is one of the founding
fathers of Gilead but it also seems logical: since he has so much power in the Republic, he is
allowed to say taboo or illegal things. This can also be a way of making Offred understand that
she can trust him, that nothing said in the office will ever be discovered.
Another interpretation is that he wants to see her reaction: he needs to know how much she
applies the rules in order to know what he can tell her and what he must hide from her. His
well-chosen position shows Offred that he is completely relaxed as she comes into his office.
He appears as if he forgot that she was coming, that way he can feel even more superior to
her. He also seems willing to show Offred how little importance she has for him and in the
house. She does not even seem worth remembering. Their first meeting can then be seen as
some beginning of manipulation. This feeling is strengthened by his demand to have a kiss
from Offred before she leaves. He seems sad which makes her feel pity for him. He makes her
believe he and his demand are completely harmless. The feeling of manipulation is present but
it is still truly difficult to judge the Commander’s attitudes. That is precisely what makes him
such a complex character.
At their second meeting, the Commander already starts to show his real nature. He reveals
himself as someone that still likes the things that are now forbidden. It is ironical again since
he is one of the founders that prohibited female press or lotion, for instance. Offred, during
this second meeting, understands how powerful this man really is. Their relationship then
changes. They both start to depend on each other but of course the one that truly depends on
the other is Offred. She puts herself in danger asking for all kind of illegal things. The danger is
that she starts owing him too much. The Commander, of course, makes her believe that her
company is enough but it looks like pure manipulation. What seems a balanced relationship is
not. The Commander has even more power over her now than he had before. One also gets the
feeling that for him, their meetings are all part of a huge game. It is, however, very dangerous
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for Offred since he could get bored with her like a kid that does not want to play with his or
her toy anymore. In the following quote, Offred confesses:
So when I left the room, it still wasn’t clear to me what he wanted, or why, or whether
I could fulfill any of it for him. If there’s to be a bargain, the terms of exchange must be
set forth. This was something he certainly had not done. I thought he might be toying,
some cat-a-mouse routine, but now I think his motivations and desires weren’t obvious
even to him. (163)
This quote shows that Offred herself is aware that she has to do something in exchange of his
services even though the Commander does not know what yet. That is at least what she
thinks. He has indeed a real reason to be manipulative with her since he wants something in
exchange from the beginning. Once again, even more than for the other male characters,
Atwood does not present a decent and honest man. She destroys the stereotyped image of the
old, friendly man that only wants company. She proves that he is even worse than the others.
She shows a man capable of anything in order to get what he wants.
Their relationship takes another step as Offred realizes that for the first time, during a
Ceremony, the Commander observes her and his thoughts are not somewhere else. He begins
to be attached. One feels that their relationship is getting more complicated, and therefore,
more dangerous. Offred then does not see herself like a simple company to him anymore. She
starts feeling like his thing or, more politely, his mistress:
The fact is I’m his mistress. Men at the top have always had mistresses, why should
things be any different now? The arrangements aren’t quite the same, granted. (172)
Offred starts thinking that the Commander’s intentions might not be that harmless. It is
confirmed to the reader when she asks him about the message in her closet: “Nolite te
bastardes carborundorum.” She then finds out that she was not the only one to see him
secretly. What is interesting to notice about the Commander is how relaxed he reveals the
previous Offred’s death. This shows that he is very cruel since she died by his fault: she was
trapped as Offred is now. He does, however, not feel any guilt which turns him into some
kind of insensitive monster to the reader. Offred, then, understands that he cares about her as
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much as he cared about the previous Handmaid and finds herself trapped. She knows that, like
the other Offreds, she will be forced to pay him for his services.
The Commander’s real face is shown in this passage. One knows how manipulative he is and
how much power he now has over Offred. What is ironical is that this situation also gives a
little power to Offred. She knows that she is the object of his desires, and therefore, she can
ask whatever she wants from him. She can be the one leading the game for a while, until he
gets bored and decides to ask her what she owes him. Interestingly, both of them know what
he wants but they never speak about it. They avoid speaking about the new Republic of
Gilead for a long while, too. Once they talk about it, the Commander’s explanation about the
disaster is: “Better never means better for everyone, he says. It always means worse for
some.” This quote proves that he does not care much about the others, about women
especially. The new Gilead is not good for everyone but as long as it is good for people like
him, he finds it normal that some women, in this case, have to suffer. It also shows how
simplistic his views about women are. He truly believes that a woman is made to take care of
the house and to bear children. One also understands why he does not have a good
relationship with his wife. It is because he finds her boring and not submissive enough. He
wants someone that obeys him and depends on him more.
The episode at Jezebel’s is a logical conclusion to their relationship. At that point, Offred
feels comfortable in his presence which is strange since she knows what he wants and what he
really thinks about women. That is what makes their relationship that complex. She knows
that she can share a lot of thoughts with him but at the same time she is afraid. She sometimes
considers him as an enemy and sometimes as a friend.
When he brings her the “costume” made of feathers, she knows that it will make her look like
a prostitute, like his thing but she still finds that there is something attractive in the idea of
wearing it. The Commander wants her to wear exclusively that dress because, in it, she will
look like something he entirely possesses. He can then be proud to parade her so that people
can see how submissive she is to him.
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Even though he brings her to the official brothel of Gilead, she feels very comfortable and
bizarrely, she feels free. It seems ironical knowing that women in these places, including her,
are very far from being free. Her feeling seems even ridiculous when one reads this passage:
He retains hold of my arm, and as he talks his spine straightens imperceptibly, his chest
expands, his voice assumes more and more the sprightliness and jocularity or youth. It
occurs to me he is showing off. He is showing me off, to them, and they understand
that, they are decorous enough, they keep their hands to themselves, but they review
my breasts, my legs as if there’s no reason why they shouldn’t. But also he is showing
off to me. He is demonstrating, to me, his mastery or the world. He’s breaking the rules,
under their noses, thumbing his nose at them, getting away with it. (248)
Indeed, her feeling of freedom seems ridiculous to the reader but it is not that ridiculous
considering that she has not been allowed to be seen by men for a long time. She likes to feel
desired and that renewed feeling is what gives her a sensation of freedom. It is as if she had
power over these men. One sees, however, that the little power she has is destroyed by the
parade since everyone knows that she is only a Servant. She is with the Commander and, thus,
she belongs to him. He seems very proud to show himself off as well, as if he had been
waiting for that precise moment since their first meeting. Offred will later try to convince
herself that he is not such a “bastard” but it will be too difficult especially when he shows her
the key to the room he rented for them. At that moment, everything is clear to Offred, she
discovers his intentions for good, but she is very little surprised. In the room, she is
completely exhausted. It is as if she gave up, she does not want to force herself to like him
anymore. One gets the impression that Offred was trying to convince herself that he was not a
bad guy, that he was just too lonely and in desperate need of company. She realizes here that
it is not the case. She becomes unable to explain what he does to her so she lets him do
whatever he wants with her.
Their sexual relation is a summary of their relationship with the exception that she is the one
faking now:
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Fake it, I scream at myself inside my head. Let’s get this over with or you’ll be here all
night. Bestir yourself. Move your flesh around, breathe audibly. It’s the least you can
do. (267)
Throughout the novel, he was the one manipulating her, faking in order to get her trust but, in
the end, the roles suddenly change. She fakes because she does not see him as a lover. She
rather wants to see him as a friend. That also explains why she is that tired. In fact, she is
disappointed. Nevertheless, she pretends to feel some pleasure because it is her way of
thanking him for everything. She thinks that he is not that bad, after all, since he never forced
her to do anything. She finds his attitude almost natural since he is a man. She is used to being
disappointed in men and still tries to justify his acts. She knows pretty well that he used and
manipulated her but she is just not ready to accept it consciously yet.
Ironically, he is the one wondering about her intentions in the following quote:
The Commander puts his hands to his head. What have I been saying, and to whom,
and which one of his enemies has found out? Possibly he will be a security risk, now. I
am above him, looking down; he is shrinking. (306)
This last interaction between Offred and the Commander seems like Offred’s revenge. She
overtook power from him. She leaves the house with the Commander wondering how long it
will take him to be discovered.
The Commander’s character being analysed, it is now easier to answer whether the
Commander is a victim of the oppression or guilty of being a man. It is true that he could be
considered like a victim. When one sees how little his wife understands him, one could indeed
find that he is a victim of the oppression. It separated him from his wife. Serena Joy is also
the one that presents herself as someone completely pro oppression and that should normally
be something that reunites the two of them but since he keeps a taste for things that are
prohibited, it is impossible for the two of them to get along. The oppression also turned him
into somebody lonely and almost desperate. It is also understandable to the reader that he
somehow regrets being a part of the oppression since he misses the old way of living. The
reader pities him in a way. After all, one could think that his expectations towards the
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oppression were too high. He expected a lot and got very little. That is why he tries to
compensate this disappointment with his relationship with Offred. It is possible that his real
intentions towards her were not bad but his way of expressing them was terrible. Still, it is
difficult to say that he is a victim since he is one of the founders of the new Republic. He is,
therefore, in part, responsible for the changes.
The Commander is also guilty for manipulating Offred and, mostly, he is guilty for her
Handmaid condition. Because all the women in this novel are unhappy, the Commander
cannot be considered anything else but guilty. If he were to be judged by people from the
present century, he would once again be considered guilty. There is nothing in the world that
could justify the way he treats women around him and that is why I consider him entirely
responsible for Offred and other women’s situations. Still, his character is engaging, one even
feels sorry for him and that is exactly what Atwood manipulated the reader into feeling. She
shows that men in general and especially the Commander always seem harmless from the
outside and it is impossible to condemn them. They have a way of making people believe that
everything is women’s fault. One has that example with Serena Joy. The readers and even
Offred have the impression that she is the mean one but when one looks more closely into the
situation one can find that the real victim in the couple is Serena. She is the one remaining at
home all day, the one that had to change her life when she got married and also the one
considered guilty when it is her husband that is in fact sterile. She is also the one who is
humiliated during the Ceremonies. She has to watch her husband cheat on her without being
allowed to say anything.
To conclude, the Commander’s culpability or innocence strongly depends on how one feels.
There is enough proof in Offred’s narration to sentence the Commander. Even the name of his
job, being “the Commander” condemns him. He is the one that has the power to order and,
thus, to make things change. However guilty, he will not then be sentenced. This injustice
makes him an even bigger culprit to one’s eyes.
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F) Conclusion:
After the analysis of the novel, one can clearly see that the Handmaid’s Tale is a satire.
Atwood mocks our society through this novel. She warns us showing how not dealing with
true problems could bring a situation similar to the one in the novel. Her intention seems to be
to exaggerate the problems of our society in order to alert our consciousness. It also appears
obvious that she finds pleasure in making fun of parts of our culture. She takes diverse,
specific characteristics of it and amplifies them so much that, with some distance, one ends up
finding them almost ridiculous. That defines Atwood’s writing power. She is able to imagine
in details things that one would never think of. After reading the Handmaid’s Tale, it is
difficult for the reader not to agree with everything she develops. She does it with so much
passion and accuracy, that it becomes almost impossible to contradict her.
She also shows her feminist side in this novel. She puts her female characters into situations in
which everything that makes them women is taken from them. She proves that a woman
becomes nothing as soon as her rights to possess or to make her own decisions disappear. In
fact, all of her female characters, in this novel, are unhappy. She puts on paper everything that
could make a woman desperate and applies it to the Handmaid’s Tale women. Her purpose is
obviously to show how they should not be treated if one wants them to be accomplished and
satisfied. Men, on the other side, are shown in favorable situations. Still, there is a lot of irony
concerning them since one feels, through Offred’s character, what Atwood truly thinks about
characters such as the doctor or the Commander. She, however, does not seem to condemn
them. She is certainly willing to let the reader get a personal opinion on the manly attitudes
one can find in the novel.
The Handmaid’s Tale is surprising since it makes every woman imagine if she would have
taken the same decisions as Offred or if, on the contrary, she would have risked more than
she. It certainly is a novel that encourages pondering on women’s position in society. This
book is powerful and should, at least once in a lifetime, be read by every woman. It would,
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doubtlessly, make anyone realize how pleased one should be with the evolution of women’s
role in society since the evolution is for both men and women’s sake.
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G) Comments on the creation of the TM:
The first step was the writing of a critical summary. It is a brief summary of the narration
with a critical reflection based on it. It was a rather quick process that was important for the
following parts. The step after was the bibliography. For that part, it was necessary to first
visit the library and different web sites dedicated to Margaret Atwood. This part was delicate
since there are specific writing rules concerning the establishment of a bibliography that have
to be followed. It was also rather difficult to spot the mistakes.
After these two parts were done, a plan of the TM could be made. It was a very important
step since it showed precisely what was significant in the novel and was, therefore, to be
analysed. The plan was also indispensable in order to stay structured in the writing process.
The first draft of the TM was written during the summer holidays and was handed back
immediately after. It is the main part of the TM since it contains the entire analysis of the
novel. It was also the most enjoyable part. It allowed some personal opinions and thoughts to
be written. The analysis of the different characters was also very exciting to do. It was,
however, not so evident since it was sometimes difficult to really uncover what the writer
wants to tell.
After some corrections, the introduction and the conclusion were written. These two parts are
dealt with in two pages but they were, nevertheless, not easy to make. It was indeed not
obvious to know what to write in them seeing that they have to be precise and coherent in
order to fit the rest of the TM.
As for my personal experience, I must say that analysing such a novel first seemed very hard
especially because it had to be written during the summer holidays. The most difficult part
was starting to write because there is always a doubt that what one writes is out of context.
Then, page after page, more ideas come and it becomes interesting and pleasant. I also think
that doing it during the holidays was a great idea because there was no stress.
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I was also left a lot of autonomy concerning the writing of my TM which is good. If I went
out of context, I was corrected but all in all, I had a lot of freedom in my writing process
which made me enjoy it more.
If I had to do the same again, I would, however, do some things differently. I would do more
of a feminist analysis because I think there are more things to develop, for instance, Serena
Joy’s character could be developed with more precision. I could, for example, relate her
destiny more to Offred’s.
Apart from these details, I think that writing a TM in English is a very positive experience. It
allows the improvement in expressing one’s thoughts in a foreign language. With this TM, I
feel that I learnt both to analyse and to write better in English.
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H) Bibliography :
Primary Sources (in chronological order) :
Poetry:
Atwood, Margaret. Double Persephone. Toronto: Piv. Print, 1961.
Atwood, Margaret. The Circle Game. Toronto: House of Anansi, 1964.
Atwood, Margaret. The Animals in that Country. Toronto: Oxford, 1968.
Atwood, Margaret. The Journals of Susanna Moodie. Toronto: Oxford U.P., 1970.
Atwood, Margaret. Procedures for Underground. Toronto : Oxford, 1970.
Atwood, Margaret. Power Politics. Toronto: Anansi, 1971.
Atwood, Margaret. You are Happy. Toronto: Oxford U.P., 1974.
Atwood, Margaret. Selected Poems. Toronto: Oxford, 1976.
Atwood, Margaret. Two-headed Poems. Toronto: Oxford, 1978.
Atwood, Margaret. True Stories. Toronto: Oxford, 1981.
Atwood, Margaret. Murder in the Dark : Prose Poems. Toronto: Oxford, 1983.
Atwood, Margaret. Interlunar. Toronto: Oxford, 1984.
Atwood, Margaret. Selected Poems II (1976-1986). Toronto: Oxford, 1986.
Atwood, Margaret. Margaret Atwood Poems (1965-1975). Toronto : Oxford, 1991.
Atwood, Margaret. Morning in a Burning House. Toronto: McCelland & Stewart,
1995.
Atwood, Margaret. Eating Fire: Selected Poetry. 1965-1995. Toronto: Oxford, 1998.
Novels :
Atwood, Margaret. The Edible Woman. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1969.
Atwood, Margaret. Surfacing. Toronto: Markam, Ont.: Paperjacks, 1972.
Atwood, Margaret. Lady Oracle. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1976.
Atwood, Margaret. Life Before Man. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1979.
Atwood, Margaret. Bodily Harm. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1981.
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Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1985.
Atwood, Margaret. The Cat’s Eye. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1988.
Atwood, Margaret. The Robber Bride. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1993.
Atwood, Margaret. Alias Grace. Toronto: Seal Books, 1996.
Atwood, Margaret. The Blind Assassin. Toronto: Random House, 2000.
Atwood, Margaret. Oryx & Crake. Toronto: Random House, 2003.
Atwood, Margaret. The Penelopiad. New York: Canongate, 2005.
Short Stories :
Atwood, Margaret. Dancing Girls and Other Stories. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart,
1977.
Atwood, Margaret. Bluebeard’s Egg. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1983.
Atwood, Margaret. Murder in the Dark, Short Fiction & Prose Poems. Toronto: Coach
House Press, 1983.
Atwood, Margaret. Wilderness Tips and Other Stories. Toronto:McClelland & Stewart, 1991.
Atwood, Margaret. Good Bones. Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, 1992.
Non Fiction :
Atwood, Margaret. Survival: A thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, Canada: House
of Anansi Press, 1972.
Atwood, Margaret. Days of the Rebels: 1815-1840. Canada : House of Anansi Press,
1977.
Atwood, Margaret. Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature.
Toronto : Oxford, 1995.
Atwood, Margaret. Negotiating With The Dead: A Writer on Writing. Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Atwood, Margaret. Writing With Intent: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose 1983-2005.
Toronto: Carol & Gray, 2005.
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Secondary Sources (in alphabetical order):
Brians, Paul. Home Page of Paul Brians. 28 March 2007
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/science-fiction/handmaid.html.
This is an interesting site I found with a study guide about Margaret Atwood’s
Handmaid’s Tale. It contains some interesting comments about the theme of
religion.
Bühler Roth, Verena. Wilderness and the Natural Environment : Margaret Atwood’s
Recycling of a Canadian Theme. Basel: Francke Verl. cop. 1998.
This book deals with Atwood’s way of writing about wilderness which is one of the
main teams of Canadian literature.
Cooke, Nathalie. Margaret Atwood : A Biography. Toronto: ECW Press, cop. 1998.
This is not a necessary book but still, it could help me undestand what brought
Atwood to write about feminism.
Cooke, Nathalie. Margaret Atwood, A Critical Companion. USA: Greenwood Press, 2004.
Chapters 3,4 and 11 deal with some of the themes we can find in The Handmaid’s
Tale like power or the dystopian visions.
Grace, Sherill E. and Lorraine Weir. Margaret Atwood : Language, Text and system.
Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, cop. 1983.
This book contains nine essays written by nine critics and they deal with Atwood’s
poetry and prose. They deal with feminism as well.
Hengen, Shannon and Ashley Thomson. Margaret Atwood : a Referance Guide, 1998-2005.
Lanhan : Md: Scarecrow Press, 2007.
This book contains a summary of the important work Atwood has done. It contains
mainly interviews, adaptations or reviews which could be interesting but not
necessary for my TM.
Hengen, Shannon, Thomas B., Friedman and Shanon Wilson. Approaches to Teaching
Margaret Atwood’s « The Handmaid’s Tale » and other works. New York: The
Modern Language Association of America, 2000.
A study of The Handmaid’s Tale in its different aspects such as political or
economical.
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Hill Rigney, Barbara. Madness and Sexual Politics in the Feminist Novel : Studies in Brönte,
Woolf, Lessing and Atwood. London: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1978.
This book deals mainly with feminism.
Howells, Coral Ann. Margaret Atwood. Houndmills; Basingstoke : Miacmillan, 1996.
A book about Margaret Atwood in general.
Howells, Coral Ann. The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2006.
The first part might be interesting because it contains Margaret Atwood’s biography.
The seventh part will also be useful for the analysis of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Mycak, Sonia. In Search of the Split Subject : Psychoanalysis, Phenomenology and Novels of
Margaret Atwood. Toronto: ECW Press, cop. 1996.
A good book to help people understand how Atwood’s work should be understood.
There is a study of six novels.
Nicholson, Colin. Margaret Atwood, Writing and Subjectivity. Hong Kong: St. Martin’s
Press, 1994.
Chapters 8, 9,11 and 12 are interesting because they deal with The Handmaid’s Tale,
with Margaret Atwood’s autobiography and also with feminism.
Wilson, Shanon Rose. Margaret Atwood’s Textual Assassinations : Recent Poetry and
Fiction. Colombus: The Ohio State University Press, 2003.
The tenth part may be useful. This chapter deals with Atwood’s fictional storytellers.
Other :
Hite, Molly. The Other Side of the Story : Structures and Strategies of Contemporary
Feminist Narrative. Ithaca; London: Cornell University Press, cop. 1989.
It contains a feminist literary criticism. It is not a book exclusively about Margaret
Atwood.
Hurtig Marie-Claude, Kail Michèle and Rauch Hélène. Sexe et Genre : de la hiérarchie entre
les sexes. Paris: CNRS Editions, 2002.
The feminist book deals with men’s domination over women.
Fullbrook, Kate. Free Women : Ethics and Aesthetics in Twentieth-Century Women’s Fiction.
New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990.
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The book is about feminism in literature, either in Great Britain or in America.
Tabet, Paola. La Construction Sociale de l’Inégalité des Sexes : des outils et des corps. Paris:
L’Harmattan, 1998.
This is a book written in French about sexual inequality between men and women.
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