THT - Moira AO1+AO2

thesis of Moira

• Atwood constructs Moira as the traditional rebel to demonstrate the importance of such individuals in maintaining hope for the oppressed.

• Note also that Moira serves as a dose of reality; she remains rational to keep other women safe.

• Ultimately, Moira's activism and homosexuality enables Atwood to reject the forthcoming Conservative revival.

• "It makes me feel safer, that Moira is here"

• "I feel ridiculously happy"

ch 13

• Moira's presence is a comfort to Offred, once again showing the importance of companionship - especially from other women - in times of hardship.

• Moira's arrival at the Red Centre is complicated though, for even though it provides Offred with a sense of safety and hope, it also signifies that Moira will be indoctrinated into Gilead and subjected to the same vicious oppression as Offred.

• "Remember, said Aunt Lydia. For our purposes your feet and your hands are not essential"

• "We stole extra packets of sugar for her"

ch 15

• By breaking Moira's hands and feet, the Aunts are taking away two of the most defining characteristics as humans and also take away Moira's sense of humanity and identity.

• In this part of Aunt Lydia's indoctrination, she is telling the Handmaids that they are only valued because of their wombs; the reader sees how violence - and the threat of violence - is used to force the Handmaids into their new, submissive roles.

• Moira's rebelliousness sets precedent; the Handmaids commit rebellion to exhibit their support for her.

• "I could kill you now, you know"

• "Moira had power now"

• "she'd set herself loose"

• "Moira was like an elevator with open sides"

• "Already were we finding these walls secure"

• "Moira was our fantasy"

• Moira's successful escape serves as inspiration for the Handmaids, as it shows how they can take power back from themselves, something that Offred describes as a "fantasy".

• While Moira's escape is an inspiration to the rest of the Handmaids, this scene in particular shows how Aunt Lydia serves as a gatekeeper between Moira and Offred's friendship, and more importantly signifies the battle between hope and resistance (Moira) and the forces that try to control it (Aunt Lydia).

• "She was not stunned, the way I was"

• "I'll go underground"

ch 28

• Moira's presence in this scene is critical.

• She is more intuitive than Offred, and picks up on the early warning signs of Gilead's rise to power.

• Moira is able to comfort Offred, and also provide her with a dose of reality, thus highlighting the depth of Offred and Moira's friendship and how friendship is a source of strength and resilience.

• "Moira slapped her across the face, twice, back and forth"

• "Her voice was low, but hard, intent"

ch 33

• Moira is the voice of reason and rationality; her rationality ensures the safety of other women.

• At this point, she has experienced the violence from the Aunts firsthand and wants to prevent the other Handmaids from receiving the same punishment.

• For all her activism and rebelliousness, Moira cares about the other women, and wants to keep them safe.

• Seems ironic; Moira is content to be direct herself but seeks to shelter the women around her; serves almost like a motherly figure.

• "She is frightening me now"

• "I don't want her to be like me. Give in, go along, save her skin"

• "I want gallantry from her, swashbuckling, heroism, single-handed combat"

• "Something I lack"

• Moira resigned to her fate and lost her fiery, rebellious nature, her "single-hand combat", signifies how Gilead's relentless oppression can break anyone's will. Atwood, then, draws on the vulnerability of humanity, despite their outward portrayal of strength.

• This exchange halts Offred's sense of hope; Offred's memories of Moira provided her with a guide for her own subversion, and thus the discovery of Moira's resignation to fate frightens Offred.

• Note, also, the increasingly disjointed, hyphenated, rhetorical questions; reflects Offred's panic/franticness.

• Note how Offred recognises and acknowledges her own passivity; Moira demonstrated something which she could never herself embody.