‘Professor Maryann Crescent Moon’ – A unique name reminiscent of Native American culture, perhaps denoting a return to history, and acting in sharp contrast to the regimented ‘Of-‘ prefix names of Gileadean society.

‘As part of our Twelfth Symposium’ – Possible reference to Plato’s ‘The Symposium’, another literary work that seeks to explore the theme of love, first praising it and then defining it. Perhaps Atwood is expanding on a point she made earlier in the novel through Offred, that the regime was built without love, and was therefore tyrannical.

‘(Laughter.)’ – Highlights how as time moves further and further away from a given point in history, tragedy becomes indifference, and eventually, comedy. Everyone has fallen victim to mocking those in the past as we look back with the luxury of hindsight, establishing a point that Atwood develops in the final sentences of the novel.

‘Voices may reach us from it; but what they say to us is imbued with the obscurity of the matrix out of which they come; and try as we may, we cannot always decipher them precisely in the clearer light of our own day.’ – I believe that this closing statement acts as an evaluation of the past, and perhaps even a criticism. As time goes on, do we get too caught up in the academia of studying history that we forget to sympathise with the oppressed?

The Symbolic Death of Moira – When we see Moira in Jezebels in chapter 38, we learn that she too has been crushed into docility by the regime, just like everyone else; Offred’s last bastion of hope and revolution is dead. In the next chapter, Offred states that Moira may as well be dead, reflecting how, now that Offred’s heroic image of her is dead, Moira may as well be in the eyes of Offred, as she has betrayed the morals and the rebellious spirt she once swore by.

From annotations: Offred tells one final tale of a rebellious Moira, one that isn’t true, but one that keeps that spirit alive. Metaphorically, she is dead: at least Offred’s perception of her as a hero, a rebel. As a result of this, Offred has one less thing to hope for.

Offred’s First Telling of Her Encounter With Nick  – ‘I’m alive in my skin, again, arms around him, falling and water softly everywhere’ (p.g 263) This reveals the two things Offred dreams of, the two things she has been completely deprived of under the Gileadean regime: love and self-identity. The adjective ‘alive’ in relation to Offred’s body implies a vivid sense of self-belief, which she appears drunk in, and the phrase ‘arms around him’ displays her desire for genuine, meaningful touch, an aspiration that is similar to the Commanders, but while his is muddled and perverse, her desire is innocent and pure. The imagery of the metaphorical water could portray an ultimate freedom that flows between these two desires, something that is underlying, soft, but necessary for them to be enacted upon.

Generic Conventions of a Novel

• Chapters, episodes, and volumes.
• Style of language.
• Themes.
• Structure and chronology.
• Setting, space and period.
• Subtext and authorial voice.
• Characterisation, action, dialogue.
• Character archetypes and relationships.
• Imagery, figurative language and literary devices.
• Symbolism and motifs.
• Narrative perspective.
• Tone and mood.

Margaret Atwood’s Style in The Handmaid’s Tale

Episodic Structure – Creates intrigue, provides context, and adds narrative weight through juxtaposition. Flashbacks and the present are not discerned between, likening the novel to a continuous stream of thought.

Names – The Handmaid’s cannot be tracked, with constantly shifting names dependant on their constantly shifting identities, as they are defined by their current Commander. This prevents unity amongst the women of Gilead, and exerts further control.

Diction – Technical jargon of Gilead. (Neologism)

Repeated idea of pairs – Before Offred and Oflgen identity themselves as fellow conspirators, each is described as the other’s double. However, once they connect and begin to rebel, they become ‘Siamese twins’: one being – differentiating them from the other pairs of loyal handmaids.

Mood – Mix of humorous and serious tones highlight Offred’s ability to find levity in oppression, and by contrast emphasise both the grim reality of life under an authoritarian regime and the necessity of high spirits to survive: humour breeds levity and levity breeds hope.

Symbolism through colour.

1st Person Narrator – Fixed narrative voice in Offred, a passive and reactionary protagonist. She is presented as a reliable narrator, as she admits her shortcomings and exaggerations, lending more credibility to her general narrative perspective. Furthermore, we have little reason to distrust her due to her position in society; history is famously told by the victors, so what reason does Offred – a categoric victim to the dominant and victorious regime – have to lie?

(p.g. 165) ‘It’s a franchise: there are Soul Scrolls in every city centre, in every suburb, so they say. It must make a lot of profit.’ – Even in the  pious theocracy of Gilead, the spirit of capitalism remains. America will always be America.

(p.g. 166) ‘The machines talk as they print out the prayers; if you like, you can go and listen to them, the toneless metallic voices repeating the same thing over and over.’ – The Republic’s reliance on religion to rule arguably the most rapidly developing nation on Earth has lead to the automation of faith. I would think that what makes faith a unifying force, or in fact anything at all, is the base of people believing in it, and the power that having masses of people worshipping this shared thought gives. If you take the people believing in the faith away, does that shared thought not cease to exist?

(p.g. 167) ‘”You were always so stinking pious.”‘ – Offred is accused of what she accuses others of, reminding us that in a society that necessitates creating a façade to survive, it really is a matter of perspective when it comes to people’s true beliefs and intentions.

(p.g. 168) ‘The sun is still there to be enjoyed.’ Nature is both eternal and unwavering, irrespective of human affairs. Whether it shines on the purest good, or the evilest evil, the sun shines nonetheless.

Politics, Power, and Justice:

When examining The Handmaid’s Tale in relation global issues, it is concerningly easy to draw comparisons between the Republic of Gilead and the governments of modern society, specifically within the context of the oppression of women. For example, Yemen is currently the most difficult place in the world to be a woman according to the 2018 WEF Global Gender Gap Index, an annual report that measures gender parity across education, health, economic participation and political empowerment.

The Middle-Eastern nation is victim to a traditionally patriarchal society that offers women limited rights under its laws. Child marriage is both legal and common, with one survey finding that 32% of women aged between 20 and 24 were married before they were 15. It’s a practice that has been exacerbated by a civil war that has besieged the country since 2015, and the subsequent humanitarian crisis that has followed, and can be seen as a parallel to how the Handmaid’s are married off against their will in order to a repopulate a world that is currently being torn apart by a civil war between the remaining religious groups.  The UNHCR reports that many parents marry off their daughters in the belief that they will be safer with their husbands’ families, or because they simply lack the resources to care for them.

Finally, women in Yemen must also contend with female genital mutilation, a practice carried out on up to 19 per cent of women and girls aged between 15 and 49. The practise was officially outlawed in 2001 but continues to be carried out in families’ homes, mirroring how little control the Handmaid’s have over their own body in Gilead.

Moira is for many the true hero of the novel. Provide evidence from chapter 22 to support this view.

‘Moira stood up straight and looked firmly ahead. She drew her shoulders back, pulled up her spine, and compressed her lips. This was not our usual posture.’ (p.g. 132)

• Moira acts as such a paragon of rebellion to the women of the Red Centre because she has not only reclaimed her power, but has done so via her own strength, her own wit, and her own merit, thus proving that a ‘women’s culture’ could exist in the future like Offred’s mother and the feminists of the first and second wave hoped. Furthermore, it could be based on a woman’s merit, rather than her biology, unlike Gilead. 
• This argument is reinforced by the cluster of three laborious verbs used to describe Moira’s reclamation of her status: ‘drew’, ‘pulled’, and ‘compressed’, thus conveying the immense effort behind her actions.
• Finally, the short, final sentence of ‘this was not our usual posture’ emphasises the extent of what Moira has achieved, and heightens the contrast between what she was and what she was able to become.

What is revealed about the character of Janine in chapter 22?

We learn that Aunt Lydia believes that Janine ‘had been broken, she thought that Janine was a true believer’, inferring that Offred’s traitorous views of Janine were accurate, as her thought process had been confirmed by the indoctrinator-in-chief. However, a far more revealing insight is revealed regarding the views of Aunt Lydia and the government as a whole: to be a true believer in the Republic of Gilead and its ideals, one must be inherently broken; indoctrinated to the point of abandoning logic, self-assurance in one’s own identity, and the freedom to think freely. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that either the ruling classes have brainwashed themselves to the point of abandoning these things too, or, the more likely theory: they recognise the absurdly oppressive nature of the state they have created and accept it, and thus are clearly more psychopathically manipulative than they are pious and righteous. (p.g. 129)

How is the role of memory explored by our narrator in chapter 23?

‘I think about the blood coming out of him, hot as soup, sexual, over my hands. In fact, I don’t think about anything of the kind. I put it in only afterwards. Maybe I should have thought about that, at the time, but I didn’t. (p.g. 140)

• This aside from Offred highlights the fluidity of memory, it’s fatal flaw, and the ease at which a narrative can be manipulated after the fact for one’s own gain.
• It can be inferred from her manual insertion these rebellious, violent thoughts, mirroring the actions of her hero, Moira, that Offred wants us, whoever we are, to believe she is like Moira, a hero, her own woman, and someone who will stand up for what she believes in no matter the cost. However, her subconscious is floored by the offer of a simple game of Scrabble and the offer of affection, an offer that is overwhelmingly alien coming from a man who plays a vital role in her personal oppression, and fails to think these thoughts, instead falling to the base instincts of flustered confusion; a setting that I believe makes Offred more sympathetic, especially due to the fact she admits this to the reader, unveiling her flaws and insecurities.
• She feels immense pressure from her role as a woman to fight for the validity of that role, but forgets to when it counts, which must undermine her already fragile self-image. 

How are the events of chapter 23 structured for maximum impact?

The cyclical, mirroring phrases that open and close the chapter – ‘This a reconstruction’, and ‘That is a reconstruction, too’ – create a rise in tension and a fall in tension that begin and subsequently conclude its arc. While the first statement creates intrigue and prefaces the encounter with an air of mystery and falseness, the second serves to snatch the reader back from the dramatic highs of the meeting and ground them in the reality of Offred’s self-described position as an unreliable narrator, provoking further reflection upon the chapter they have just read and leaving a lasting impact of uncertainty. (p.g. 134 and p.g. 140)

In chapter 24, how does Offred process and try to come to terms with her meeting with the Commander. Look carefully at the descriptions of her thoughts.

‘I know I need to take it seriously, this desire of his. It could be important, it could be a passport, it could be my downfall.’ … ‘Nolite te bastardes carborundorum It sounds in my head now less like a prayer, more like a command; but to do what?’ (p.g. 144 and p.g. 146)

• In the process of coming to terms with the Commander’s actions, Offred interprets the opportunity as a call to action, an opportunity to fulfil the prophecy written by the previous handmaid: ‘Nolite te bastardes carborundorum’. 
• She reflects on the strangeness and rarity of the encounter, and therefore feels a great weight suddenly upon her shoulders: she has been given an incredibly rare opportunity to make a change, however insignificant, and feels that it is her duty as a woman, to other women, to take it and upset the established, oppressive order.

An Overview:

Simone de Beauvoir was a French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist and social theorist best known for her book ‘The Second Sex’ (1949), a classic of contemporary feminist literature, as well as her numerous other works of academic and non-academic writing. She was born in Paris in 1908, and was a prominent figure in the ‘Second Wave of Feminism’ movement, which focused on issues relating to equality and discrimination, whereas the ‘First Wave’ aimed to promoted equal contract and property rights for women, opposing ownership of married women by their husbands and petitioning for the right to vote.

Video Summary:

• The book investigates popular definitions of femininity, and she concluded that those definitions had been used to suppress women throughout the ages.
• She believes the perspectives of individuals are socially and culturally produced, not set in place from birth, and therefore femininity is a construct that has been learned through socialisation to keep men dominant.
• She states that women had been taught to firstly serve men, and secondly to see validation from others to determine their worth, with her third point being that, due to their historical lack of rights, women have had far less influence on how society is shaped.
• She compares women to lifeless dolls, who are dressed up and objectified, ready for their owner’s beckon call.
• She also said that even if a woman remained unmarried, they would still be held to male standards by industries like fashion, food, and beauty.
• To achieve liberation, de Beauvoir said that women must recognise this cycle, and escape their context in order to determine their own destiny.
• Ultimately, she suggest that one is not born a woman, but becomes one.

Examples of how The Handmaid’s Tale reveals that religion can be used to reduce women’s rights:

• The Government of Gilead is twists the words of the Bible – ‘Blessed be the silent’ – Which teach suppression and references the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The quote ‘We can be read to from it, by him, but we cannot read’ mirrors how the Bible was, up until this point in history, never translated into the common tongue for the lower classes to read, forcing them to instead listen to the Church for moral wisdom. This ‘wisdom’ could be manipulated and twisted for their own gain by conveying whatever message the Church was, at that time, trying to preach, at no risk of being corrected. This reflects how, if women in Gilead were able to read the true passages of the Bible, they would find how the government has perverted the Christian beliefs to serve themselves and likely revolt.
• They use the traditional nature of Bible, a book written millennia ago, to suggest that the social norms of society should be the same as they were and not change, thus reinforcing the patriarchy.
• Religion in the novel is used to excuse heinous crimes such as the rape and dehumanisation of an entire population on religious grounds, citing the parable of Rachel and Leah.

Chapter 19 – Comment on the significance of Offred’s thoughts about Faith, Hope and Charity.

Faith, hope and charity could be described as the three tenets of Christianity; three virtues that together lead to a harmonious life, but when they fall out of balance, like in the theological society of Gilead, lead to evil. Gilead is built on faith, to the point of being so blinded by it that they have failed to be: charitable, locking up and executing their ‘neighbours’; and hopeful, as the state controlled media has indoctrinated the masses into following a tyrannical, oppressive regime. Therefore, perhaps Offred wondering about the other virtues is her reflecting on the society she now lives in.

Chapter 19 – Explore the symbolism of the egg early in the chapter.

The egg has historically always been symbolic of fertility, but equally, such as in Christianity, new life and hope. While her oppressors serve Offred an egg to nurture her potential child in a world focused on birth, ironically they miss their own religion’s symbolic connotations of the egg, perhaps accidentally inspiring Handmaid’s everywhere to undergo a rebirth and revolt.

Chapter 19 – What do we learn of the events leading to the creation of Gilead?

We learn that the world, or at least the U.S, was victim to irradiation as a result of nuclear disasters, earthquakes, and a mutated strain of syphilis, while the human aspect to the creation of Gilead was warped proteins, drugs that altered genetics, and the ingestion of toxic chemicals – all of which is looked down upon by the new theological state. 

Chapter 19 – Find evidence in the chapter of women being held responsible for the increased levels of sterility. 

‘They were lazy women, she says. They were sluts.’ – An ironic quote, seeing as, presumably, Aunt Lydia herself is sterile. The repeated use of ‘They’ establishes a condescending and spiteful tone, while also dissociating the women of Gileadean society from the women before, although there is likely an overlap, perhaps because, due to their indoctrination and dehumanisation, they may as well be new people. 

Chapter 19 – Ofwarren is Janine. Find evidence of Offred’s lack of sympathy for Janine.

‘Formerly that whiny bitch Janine,’ – The use of an expletive is something reserved for important character moments in the novel, so one can assume that this is genuine spite that Offred is feeling. Furthermore, it can be concluded from this that, at least on some level, Offred is buying into the regime’s ‘fertility above all else’ mindset, as she is unapologetically jealous of another woman’s pregnancy. Additionally, the adverb ‘formerly’ implies that Ofwarren is no longer Janine, and she has completely removed from the person she used to be. Perhaps this is instead why Offred despises her so openly, because she has fully surrendered herself to the regime.

Chapter 20 – How does Atwood explore the contrasting positions of women in society pre-Gilead and within Gileadean society, in this chapter?

Atwood explores the contrasting positions of women by presenting the reader with two groups of women on opposite and extreme ends of a spectrum reflecting how pre-Gilead women were viewed in their former society: actresses in old pornographic films who were objectified, dehumanised and raped; and feminist protesters making a stand for their rights, which most would view as brave and revolutionary. The women of Gilead are exposed to both of these groups of women in the Red Centre, but curiously, while the Aunts want the Handmaids to believe themselves to be brave like the feminists, they oppress the concept of revolution and free thought, leaving the women of Gileadean society to more closely resemble the girls portrayed in the old pronography: objectified, as their only value is their reproductive organs; dehumanised, by a totalitarian regime that suppresses their identities; and raped, by their commanders.

Chapter 20 – Ironically,  Atwood makes some links between the values of Offred’s mother and Gilead. Can you find any examples? You may also like to refer back to chapter 7.

‘A man is just a women’s strategy for making other women.’ – Offred’s mother believes the polar opposite of the very foundation of Gileadean society, where a woman is just a man’s strategy for making other men, yet holds the same belief that one superior gender should dominate the other.

‘As for you, she’d say to me, you’re just a backlash. Flash in the pan.’ – Mirroring the Republic and their treatment of Handmaids, Offred’s mother attacks her daughter’s identity, attempting to reduce her significance and self-image to nothingness. 

‘I am not your justification for existence, I said to her once.’ This line is ironic, as, while Offred may not be her mother’s justification for existence, in Gileadean society, her existence is now justified by her ability to become a mother. 

Chapter 21 – How does the opening of Chapter 21 appeal to the senses?

‘It’s hot in here, and noisy.’ – The opening line immediately appeals to two senses, touch and hearing, which allows us to more closely relate to Offred. The warmth connotes an overwhelming, uncomfortable, exhausting atmosphere full of sweat and effort, while the loud sound further contributes to the idea of being drowned in the thick atmosphere, unable to escape, which foreshadows Offred’s description of the end of the chapter, where she is dazed and drunk. 

Chapter 21 – How do ‘Birth Days’ give opportunities for resistance?

Birth Days provides, most significantly, rare opportunities for information to be gathered and shared between Handmaids, and seems to unite the often spiteful class of women more than anything else. However, there are also opportunities to get drunk and even enjoy oneself amongst the company of others, which both seem to be equally rare for Handmaids. 

Chapter 21 – What is the effect of the language used to describe the birth? Consider Janine/the Handmaids/the Commander’s wife?

The simile ‘like a bugle’ reminds the reader of the Handmaids’ duty to Gilead; their service to the world is to reproduce, and, like serving in the military, there is honour in it. Additionally, a semantic field of weakness is created around the Commander’s wife, with words such as ‘scrambles’, ‘skinny’, and ‘ridiculous’, hinting at the nonsensical nature of her role in the ceremony. However, I would be more inclined to think that Offred thinks of her this way more so because she views her as morally weak, as she is described being congratulated for her stolen baby just before Janine, someone Offred is usually unsympathetic towards, is described as ‘crying’, highlighting the heartlessness of the Birth Day process.

Chapter 21 – How does Offred compare happiness in the two different societies?

The Wives are truly allowed to be happy, a privilege they have not earned, but have been allowed by the Republic of Gilead. However, this is not a privilege given to the subservient Handmaids, so they have to make do with a fleeting reminder of their families in a world before Gilead to have any chance of feeling joy.

Chapter 21 – How does Atwood present the different roles of the Handmaid/Commander’s Wife, after the birth?

The quote ‘We’ve done it’ symbolises the role of the Handmaids well in this instance, as they have done it, past tense, the action is now behind them. While the true mother may still be in the process of the afterbirth, like their new-born child, the moment is no longer theirs. They are rewarded with the knowledge that they are now seen as a woman in the eyes of a Republic that oppresses them, a thought already derivative of their self-identity, and with the obligation to start the process anew. On the other hand, the Commander’s wife is praised, a hero and a saviour of the new Gileadean society, rewarded with luxury while her husband is promoted, despite their shared inaction.  

Chapter 21 – The chapter ends with the words: “ You wanted a woman’s culture. Well, now there is one. It isn’t what you meant, but it exists.” What does Offred mean by this?

Offred is commenting on how the woman is now the foundation of modern society, the only hope for the future of humanity, thus creating a culture that revolves around them and is fundamentally female; a world that her mother could only dream of. However, the twisted reality unearths itself when she reflects on the fact that it is not the merit of her gender that has shifted the perspective of the masses like her mother wished, but instead their biology. 

Chapter 14 – How does Atwood convey Offred’s feelings of claustrophobia and her yearning for power?

The ‘eye of glass’ referenced in the first sentence of the chapter establishes a watchful, intrusive presence, as if even the house’s decor is spying on her; an inanimate agent of the regime. This might inform Offred’s decision to immediately kneel upon entering the sitting room, taking her place even though ‘no one else is here’. Perhaps her claustrophobic feeling that everything in Gilead is working against her, trying to catch her out, is the reason why she doesn’t even feel safe to relax when she knows she is alone. 

Later in the chapter she expresses her desire to ‘steal something’ from the room because ‘it would make (her) feel that (she) has power.’ We learn in Chapter 15 that this is a call back to her time in the Red Centre, where she would steal sugar packets to give to Moira after she was beaten, not because they were helpful, but because the small act of rebellion inspired both of them. One can assume that this is a similar situation, it is not the act of theft that would empower Offred, but the knowledge of her own rebellion, however subtle.

Chapter 14 – What is revealed about Gilead via the news?

Offred comments that ‘He tells us what we long to believe’, observing that ‘He is very convincing.’ While it might first appear that the news is just another form of propaganda that the Republic is using to spread its message and further indoctrinate people, mirroring historical regimes such as those of Hitler or Mao, the verb ‘long’ implies an innate desire in the people of Gilead to believe him. Either, they are already indoctrinated and wish to see the Republic succeed, or they wish to become indoctrinated, because it’s inherently easier to survive in Gilead without thoughts of your own. We learn that even Offred has to consciously fight to not give in and become complacent in the quote ‘I struggle against him’. 

Chapter 14 – Although Offred does not respond to Nick’s rebellion, she does rebel against Serena Joy mentally. Explain.

Offred mentally rebels against Serena Joy by mocking her infertility, an action that can be seen in the quote ‘No use for you, I think at her’. The phrase ‘think at’ connotes spite, and gives something that is normally quite docile, thinking, an aggressive tone. Furthermore, infertility is a forbidden topic in Gilead, so Offred is not only rebelling against a hierarchical superior, but also rebelling against the regime and its attempts to suppress free speech, despite not acting on her thoughts.

Chapter 14 – Comment on the imagery used to explore the concept of names.

Offred refers to her name as ‘some treasure I’ll come to dig up, one day.’ Using ‘treasure’ as a metaphor implies that Offred’s identity, beneath the layers of indoctrination and dehumanisation, is of immense value to her, and thus must be protected from those who wish to separate her from it. The contraction ‘I’ll’ extends to’ I will’, and therefore connotes a sense of defiance, and certainty that she will, one day, reclaim her buried identity, perhaps foreshadowing a future act of rebellion.

Chapter 14 – Why do you think Atwood describes Offred’s plans to escape in this chapter AFTER we hear of how the plans failed, in the previous chapter?

The narrative device of hearing about Offred’s hopeful plans to escape only after the knowledge of its subsequent failure is cemented in the mind of the reader creates a strong sense of foreboding, as well as heartbreak upon the discovery of the true dramatic irony of the situation, as we know her anxiety in the flashback is justified. 

Chapter 15 – In the previous chapter, the Commander’s lateness could be taken to indicate a lack of commitment to his role. How is this idea further suggested in this chapter?

The idea is further demonstrated by the Commander’s meagre description: ‘A semi-retired man, genial but wary’. Despite expectations, he is not made out to be a particularly threatening or domineering man. This puts forth the idea that perhaps it is not the men of Gilead that are dangerous, but the position they have been placed in by an oligarchical few.

Chapter – 15 Offred’s mental rebellions regarding the Commander seem to help her cope with the pressure of the meeting. Give some examples.

The thought ‘To be a man, watched by women’, as well as Offred’s increasingly belittling array of phallic imagery, hints at an aspect of insecurity amongst the Commander’s character, and exposing this seems to give Offred strength. This can be seen in short, confident sentences such as ‘We’re all watching him’, with the pronoun ‘We’ being unique, as Offred rarely unites herself with other women. 

Chapter 15 – What do we learn of Moira as a character? Is her rebellion intended to support others?

We learn from Offred’s memories that Moira’s rebellion must be rooted in selfishness and personal gain, as despite clear advice and a clear desire for her to stay, Moira carries out her plan to escape nonetheless. Offred tells her ‘Moira, don’t’ in the imperative mood, connoting urgence and true personal emphasis, but Moira ignores Offred’s plea for company and leaves, risking her life in the process in an attempt to better it, if only for a few days.

Chapter 15 – How does Atwood indicate that the Government of Gilead is twisting the words of the Bible to suit their politicised goals and interpretations?

Atwood indicates that the Government of Gilead is twisting the words of the Bible by referencing the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The quote ‘We can be read to from it, by him, but we cannot read’ mirrors how the Bible was, up until this point in history, never translated into the common tongue for the lower classes to read, forcing them to instead listen to the Church for moral wisdom. This ‘wisdom’ could be manipulated and twisted for their own gain by conveying whatever message the Church was, at that time, trying to preach, at no risk of being corrected. This reflects how, if women in Gilead were able to read the true passages of the Bible, they would find how the government has perverted the Christian beliefs to serve themselves, for example ‘Blessed be the silent’ to teach suppression, and likely revolt.

Using both chapters 14 and 15, write a sequence of the events that always precede the ceremony.

1. The Handmaid bathes.
2. The Handmaid, Marthas, Commander and Commander’s Wife get in ‘position’.
3. The Commander reads several passages of the Bible.
4. The ceremony commences.

Chapter 16 – How does Atwood use humour through Offred’s thoughts to break the tension?

‘Below it the Commander is fucking.’ – The sudden expletive breaks the tense atmosphere and brings an element of vulgarness to a tradition that is trying its utmost to be deadly serious and ritualistic. 

‘There’s something hilarious about this, but I don’t dare laugh.’ – Juxtaposes Offred’s mockery of the silliness of the regime’s traditions with her genuine fear of them, as she could be executed at any time for expressing such thoughts. 

Chapter 17 – Find all the examples of rebellion in this chapter.

‘I look for the pat of butter… where I hid it after dinner.’ – Theft.

‘This was the decree of the wives, this absence of hand lotion.’ Self-preservation of beauty.

‘We can believe that we will some day get out… We’ll have ceremonies of our own, private ones.’ – Reclamation of traumatic activities.

‘I am out of place.’ – Leaving her bedroom.

‘What should I take?’ – Theft.

‘Leave it there, for the next woman… to find.’ – Inciting rebellion in future handmaids.

‘Both of us shaking, how I’d like to.’ – The thought of sex with a man other than the Commander.

Chapter 17 – How is the character of Luke used in this chapter?

‘I want to be held and told my name. I want to be valued,’ – Luke is used in the chapter as a reminder of Offred’s identity and sense of self after a traumatic experience, of her sense of value, not diminished by the acts she has committed as a result of the regime. Luke isn’t there to condone her, so she has to condone herself.

Chapter 17 – How does Offred try to regain control as the chapter closes?

‘Bullshit.’  -She abruptly ends her thoughts of sex with Nick, signified by another sudden expletive, snapping herself out of her trance and regaining control of her body, as well as her thoughts.

Chapter 18 – Comment on the following simile:

“I am like a room where things once happened and now nothing does…”

The simile suggests that Offred has lost her sexuality, something vital to female empowerment, and without it feels vacant, like an empty room. However, from the earlier quote ‘Nobody dies from lack of sex. It’s lack of love we die from’, one can infer that as well as representing her sexuality, physical intimacy for Offred signifies more than just it’s erotic nature, but love, and it is the lack of love more than anything else that is making her feel empty. 

How does Offred attempt to keep Luke’s memory alive in this chapter? Make notes on the three scenarios she creates. Which alternative possibility is she ignoring?

Offred thinks of Luke first as a corpse, having been shot dead by Angels. She wishes a quick and painless death upon him. Then, she thinks that he might be held captive somewhere, a bruised prisoner of the regime. Finally, she hopes that he is not a victim of Gilead at all, escaped somewhere, and is plotting to rescue her and her child. She says that it is these hopes that keep her alive. However, she has failed to consider, or more likely has considered and ignored the idea, that Luke is now a tool of the regime, perhaps a Commander, or Angel, or Guardian, that he is serving Gilead, a society that oppresses her and her gender. She doesn’t want to even think that the person she loves is part of something that she despises. 

(Up to and including Chapter 13).