Month: November 2019

The interaction between Offred and The Commander was, to me, the most important part of this section. The Commander most likely believes that he has the power in this situation. He can enforce negative consequences on Offred if she does not obey so she, theoretically, has to meet him in his office even though she is hesitant to. The meeting seems to be just for The Commander’s pleasure. He likes Offred’s company and gets much joy out of spending time with her, even if they are just playing a board game.

Offred, however, ends up seeing this meeting as a chance for her to get what she wants. She makes The Commander feel comfortable and as if she is going to his office because she wants to. When The Commander asks Offred for a kiss when she leaves, it seems that there is a switch in who holds the sexual power. During the ceremony, The Commander has the power, but during this kiss, Offred realizes that she has the power because she has something that The Commander wants. Offred reflects on how Moira escaped and wishes she could do the same. She realizes that she must give in a little to The Commander’s wants in order to get what she wants in return. She makes a conscious decision to leave her past self behind and live both mentally and physically in Gilead. Offred has to please those in her household in order to have the opportunity to escape and find her family. If Offred acts in the rebellious way that she probably wants to, she will never have the chance to leave.

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The most striking part of this section of The Handmaid’s Tale in my opinion was Offred’s recollection of Moira’s escape from the Red Center. Moira caused a toilet to overflow in order to distract Aunt Elizabeth, and then Moira jabbed something into Aunt Elizabeth’s ribs in order to get her into the furnace room. Moira tied up Aunt Elizabeth and stole her clothes. She used to pass to walk freely out of the Red Center and no one has seen or heard from Moira since then. She is the only woman that we have seen so far in the book who has actively rebelled against the Republic of Gilead. What she lacks in physical strength is made up for in her ability to outwit the system of oppression.

The nature of Moira’s rebellion was what really made this chapter stick out to me. The Republic of Gilead oppresses the women by forcing them into a caste system and projecting what caste they are in based on the clothes and colors that they wear. They are trapped in these roles and they are forced to project this oppression through their clothing. Moira, on the other hand, uses this system to her advantage and is able to use Aunt Elizabeth’s clothes to secure her freedom from the Red Center. If it were not for the oppressive systems and cultures of Gilead, this tactic would not have worked and Moira would not have been successful in her escape. What was once used as a symbol of domination over the women of Gilead became the vehicle for one woman’s escape. The subversion of this symbol of power is especially important because one of the hallmarks of the Republic of Gilead is being used against the institution itself.

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In this section of The Handmaid’s Tale, we were able to witness the birth of Janine’s (Ofwarren) child. While this ceremony was interesting, I feel that the most interesting part of this section was the interaction between Offred and her Commander. In this chapter, the Commander summoned Offred to his study, something that is highly illegal in Gilead, for something very simple: to play a game of Scrabble. Offred debates going because of the illegality of the act, but decides it is far worse to disobey a Commander than it is to follow the law. What follows in this scene isn’t some commanding punishment or order, but rather just the Commander wanting to play a game with Offred.

I thought it was very interesting when the Commander started the conversation with “Hello,” something that Offred herself acknowledges as being the “old way” of talking. Then when the game is finished, all the Commander asks is for a kiss. This scene was really sad in a sort of way because the Commander seemed to just be lonely or empty, and almost seems like he feels bad for how things are in Gilead. The most important part about this scene is that it really brings to light that just because he is labeled as a “Commander,” doesn’t mean he is the one who wields the power in Gilead. Rather, these Commanders are just as under the control of the laws of Gilead as anyone else. I am interested to see where Offred’s interactions with her Commander go from here.

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Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale so far, we get Offred’s own accounts of her experiences. Similar to what we saw in Persepolis, this allows the reader to understand more intimately what the narrator has gone through, but it also colors the reader’s perceptions of characters and events. Two types of characters, in particular, stand out as enemies of Offred because of their imposing and authoritative tendencies that restrict Offred’s own authenticity. The Aunts control every action of the handmaids and are presented as evil and controlling, but we receive glimpses of their own backstories that add to the complexity of each character. Aunt Helen, for example, was once the head of a Weight Watcher’s franchise but is now described as fat by Offred. One can infer that the narrator decided to include Aunt Helen’s physical appearance to show that a person’s role does not define their character. Although the Aunts have significantly more autonomy than the handmaids, they are still grievously oppressed.

The female with the most autonomy and power that we are aware of currently is Serena Joy, who had once been an outspoken proponent for the domesticity of women as stay-at-home wives, under the presumption that women have a duty to serve their husbands. Now that Joy is finally doing her “duty,” she does not appear to enjoy it as much as she would have expected, especially during the vulgar “fucking” scene. Offred acknowledges Joy’s sentiments when she says “Which of us is it worse for, her or me?” on page 95, indicating that both Offred and Joy share restraints on freedom and miseries. At least previously, Joy had the freedom to choose the life she wanted, but now that she is deprived of simple human privileges, it is hard to view Joy as an enemy.

the Aunts and Serena Joy’s roles in an oppressed society is not purely fiction. During WWII, many Jews who were put in concentration camps grappled with similar problems of authority. Not all individuals in concentration camps were treated equally. Certain Jews were given opportunities to hold leadership positions. While this would give these “leaders” certain immunities and a more comfortable life, it also required that these people impose their own punishments on others and deny basic human needs from other members within the concentration camps. Often, these people are made out to be enemies, but, like the Aunts and Serena Joy, they weren’t given much choice. While the ethics of these positions of slightly greater power can be argued, ultimately, all are still oppressed and can connect on some basic level.

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As Rachel mentions in her blogpost below, this section of The Handmaid’s Tale contains a great deal of information. The reading begins with a discussion of time. Offred longs for a hobby such as embroidery, weaving, or knitting to occupy herself. She recalls pieces of artwork that she’s seen that feature women waiting for something; pieces of art that convey a sense of boredom. Offred relates to these pieces of art as she too now waits for a man to put her to “use” (69). It was disheartening to see how easily Offred could connect with those paintings and animals such as caged pigs and lab rats. Moreover, Offred thinks back to her time in the gymnasium when the Aunts gave them time to rest and considers that maybe they were on some kind of drug. I was particularly struck by this remark; however, I think I agree with Offred’s commentary that “it was better to be lethargic. You could tell yourself you were saving up your strength” (70). By using this mentality, the Handmaids were able to cope as best as they could with their surroundings.

A blog post about this section would be incomplete without at least mentioning the horrific scene as recounted in Chapter 16. This scene explicitly reveals the true duty of a Handmaid, to serve as merely a body: a body capable of carrying a child. Serena Joy’s quick dismissal of Offred reveals her desire to assert her dominance within the social hierarchy rather than increase the chances of conception.

Chapter 17 describes three distinct acts of rebellion. First, Offred uses the butter (that she previously hid in her shoe) as lotion. Second, Offred sneaks out of her room to steal something. As Offred describes on page 97, she is “doing something, on [her] own.” These acts serve as glimpses of freedom in her very restricted life. Furthermore, these acts speak to the extent of her oppression, in the sense that she must use butter and leaving her bedroom in the middle of the night in order to feel somewhat liberated. Third, Offred and Nick’s encounter in the sitting room. Offred notes that “it’s so good, to be touched by someone, to be felt so greedily, to feel so greedy” (99). Like Rachel, I am curious to see the outcome of this scene and why The Commander is calling Offred into his office.

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There is a lot of information to unpack in this relatively small section of the book. It’s our first real interaction with the Commander, our first experience with the Ceremony, and there is a lot of flashback/backstory tidbits being dumped into our laps. It’s kind of a whirlwind of a section, in my opinion, but Atwood does a good job presenting information in a way that makes you think and doesn’t reveal everything at once, but gives you enough to not be helplessly lost and confused.

It’s strange to me how stark and cold all of the social interactions in the household are. It’s like none of these people are actually people anymore. We have Offred’s perspective and even she at times seems robotic (which makes sense when you think about the fact that she’s likely constantly dissociating from her experiences just to stay sane), but the way in which the other members of the household interact shows that no one really likes each other. It’s disconcerting to see how they all tamper everything that makes them human. I really am surprised any of them can upkeep this kind of pigeon-holing lifestyle without going completely insane.

Ignoring the horrible imagery of the “sex” scene, the parts that jumped out at me most were her memories. Because of how resigned to everything everyone is I never before entertained the idea that she and Luke had tried to get away with their daughter before all this. It was really heartbreaking to see that effort just to know that it obviously failed.

I’m very interested to see where this odd little ending scene with Nick takes her. We get Offred’s perspective on it as that desperate desire for human connection and I’m wondering if he will be the same and they’ll find themselves in a messy situation or if it’s going to come back to bite her that he found her sneaking around. It’s very powerful that something as little as leaving her room in the middle of the night is not permitted and is punishable. The book itself feels oppressive because it almost feels like just a stack of injustices, infringed rights and different methods of oppression just strung together by words.

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