Rebellion In The Handmaid's Tale

In the novel The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood the story is narrated by Offred. She is a Handmaid in the new society of Gilead in a story that takes place in the future. By having Offred narrate the story the readers of the story get to see the important memories of Offred’s old life, including the many different relationships that she had. One of the relationships that she reminisces of is the one between her and her best friend Moira. Early on in the novel, Offred remembers a night that she was with Moira. She was busy finishing a paper and Moira wanted to go out. We also learn that Moira wrote a paper on date rape. That memory of her best friend, Moira, shows how

Offred is aware that Gilead is manipulating them by selecting certain lines and perhaps even making it up. Manipulation is another tool that is used by the government to take away power from women by encouraging them that they will be rewarded in their after life.

Margaret Atwood describes her after her escape as being to the other handmaidens "like an elevator with open sides" (P143). In this simile I believe she is showing that Moira is able to take risks. She doesn't need the security that the others need, she is frightening to them, as she doesn't have the same fears. Another example of Moira's character that shows her nonconformist nature, is in that she made a political decision to become a lesbian.

Throughout the novel, Offred demonstrates unorthodox behavior through her actions and her thoughts. One action that proves she is an unconventional character is when she meets the Commander in his office. Handmaids and Commanders are supposed to have strictly a business relationship. When Offred breaks that code of conduct, her life is left hanging in the balance. Not only did Offred commit this offense once, but multiple times: “The second evening began in the same way as the first. I went to the door, which was closed, knocked on it, was told to come in” (Atwood 155). Once Offred enters the room, the commander and she play games and start to get to know each other. Offred also has many unorthodox thoughts. During Offred’s walks accompanied by Ofglen, they exchange some information about the Underground Femaleroad: “’ It’s a beautiful May Day, ‘ Ofglen says. I feel rather than see her head turn towards me, waiting for a reply” (Atwood 43). Offred replies and she explains that as she sees Ofglen leave, Offred feels as though she is looking in a mirror. Offred and Ofglen are the same person. Offred shares many of her unorthodox activities with the

She sees these tourists and they are completely alien to her even though her life was very similar before her life as a handmaid. The women were wearing clothes like they would wear to church with “skirts reaching just below the knee and the legs come out beneath them, nearly naked in their thin stockings” (Atwood 28). Offred knows that she used to dress like that and that “it has taken so little time to change [their] minds” on certain subjects (Atwood 28). The entire encounter with the tourists is distant in the way Offred acts and in the way she describes the people. She knows she is different. She knows to avoid people and to be invisible unlike these women. She knows to obey. She knows to lead people to believe she is happy being compliant for the good of the

Since she wasn’t getting caught, it boosted her confidence. She started to believe that the things she used to only dream about were now a possibility. In a way, she still strived to be Moira. Every time Moira was mentioned, Offred seemed to have this longing to do whatever Moira had done.

Offred is very limited in where she can go because of position in her society and the Eye. But she still has a choice to obey or disobey. Offred is very aware of the consequences of disobedience, so she does what she’s told. She obeys her Commander because to disobeying would be far too dangerous for her. However, it almost seems as if she’s accepted her fate and chooses to remain in her situation. As the novel goes on Offred is presented with more power. Her Commander wants to start an intimate forbidden relationship with her, treating her like a full-blown mistress and allowing her to do things that she would be reprimanded for, like playing scrabble, when the role of Handmaid is supposed to be centered around procreation and nothing else.

Her belief gives her a false sense of security as well as her unwillingness to rebel due to fear of the Eyes. Her conversations with others are "Praise be," "Blessed be the fruit," and "May the Lord open" it is difficult for Offred or any women to really have a meaningful conversation for fear that anyone is a spy. Everything that Offred does is now part of the norm of society. She doesn't question her duties just does what is expected of her. As Offred begins a secret relationship with Nick she believes she has reclaimed a tiny piece of her past. She becomes addicted to the small amount of companionship from Nick, causing her to turn a blind eye to the injustices going on around her. She feels empowered because it was her own choice. When in reality she did what was expected of her. Using her body in order to produce a child.

However, the theft of the women’s real names is the most devastating to characters like Offred because it strips her from her unique identity. Names carry an infinite amount of information that Atwood wants the audience to realize is often overlooked; factors such as the individual’s origin, information about their family, gender, and potentially their culture, commonly serve as the precursor for humans to predict how their interactions with one another will go. The language that Gilead uses to categorize and identify people within its society breaks unity among members, and completely changes the meaning and value of the word ‘feminine’. Addressing the females that are no longer able to reproduce as “unwomen” gives Gilead the power to take the only thing that remains to bond them. While it is not uncommon for different cultures to have varying views about how women interact within their civilizations, the officials of Gilead almost completely remove women as members of society. Atwood wisely uses names as a tool to connect with the audience because the use of names is a fundamental element of society that occurs routinely and at a high frequency. More importantly, Atwood uses her opinions about the value of a name, to serve as a lesson to readers; she insinuates that her audience should increase their awareness of the effects and potential

d. Offred is the protagonist of the story. She has the misfortune to be a handmaid in the town of Gilead. She

Moira: I miss you too, Offred. I am doing fine, but I won’t return to he Republic of Gilead. I am fine. I wont let this society break me.

Throughout the novel, Offred articulates a variety of stories which prove to be crucial for her survival. Specifically, the majority of her narratives center on her daily occurrences in Gilead which range from shopping with Ofglen to discovering various trifling details while exploring her room. While these stories may appear trivial at first, upon closer examination one can see that Offred’s retelling of these events acts as a survival strategy for keeping her sane and safe amidst the maddening society she resides in. Due to the restrictive nature of Gilead, Offred’s life is filled with constant paranoia and uncertainty; there is a relentless air of secrecy which

Handmaids wish to have. Moira’s key role was to give the reader and the characters

Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred recalls her past life before and during the creation of the Republic of

They begin to meet often and spend a lot of time together. First, the visits are friendly and nothing more than friendly interaction occurs. However, in one of their meetings, the commander asks Offred to kiss him. After a long time, Offred is still struggling to become pregnant. This is when Serena tells Offred to begin having sex with Nick in order to get pregnant. Serena wants to keep this behind her husbands back so she can then convince her husband that Nick’s child is his. She tells Offred that if she sleeps with Nick she will bring her a picture of her child (who Offred greatly misses and hasn’t been able to see). On the night where Offred is scheduled to have sex with Nick, the Commander takes the handmaid to Jezebel’s. There, Offred is reunited with her old friend Moira who is now a prostitute. Later on, the Commander has sex with Offred. Offred and Nick begin to regularly have sex and Offred becomes invested in the relationship. Serena soon finds out that the commander took Offred to Jezebel’s, and says she will be