In this section of The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred and the Commander’s affair continues to grow. We also get more snippets from Offred’s perspective on her previous life before the war, specifically with Luke. Much of what Offred remembers before the war pertains to her husband, which she acknowledges was with someone else before herself. When Offred was initially with Luke, she mentions that it took over two years for him to leave his significant other. This was during a time that was much less oppressive than post-war and the way that she describes her affair sounds justified, as if what they were doing wasn’t so wrong. Now that Offred has many of her freedoms taken away, she describes her affair with the Commander as “sinful” on page 181. While the circumstances are extremely different overall, the same concepts remain: that both parties want what only the other person can offer.
This leads me to wonder where this “relationship” will end up. Although Offred obviously loves Luke, there were some alarming instances that she describes about his behavior. One of these occurred when Offred was “let go” from her job. Luke acted very paternalistically and Offred mentions that she felt owned in that moment. Although times have changed, the situation with the commander isn’t all that different in that respect. He still basically owns Offred and is using her for his own personal gain. It just happens that Offred also has, at least a little, to gain from this relationship as well. Is this the beginning of a rebellion, or is this something that the Commander does with all of his Handmades? Maybe that in itself is a form of rebellion.
I completely missed that connection between her feeling sinful with the Commander and not with Luke. It’s amazing how this society bleeds into her perceptions of herself, as from an outsider, the first seems more unethical than the second.