English- Handmaid's tale key moments

Chapter 1- The Red Centre

-Opens with handmaids in repurposed gymnasium

-Opening does much to set the tone- disturbing sense of a world utterly changed. References to weapons + guards are menacing- first hints of a dystopian society

-Ideas of imprisonment are immediately present; strong sense of system and control under the implied new regime

-Opens in media res. Reader therefore questions how and why everything has changed- sets up the novel to fill in these gaps using flashbacks

-Text is palimpsestic (original detail has been overwritten but still shows faint as traces. Description uses sound, smell and colour to create a vivid sense of a life and time now lost

-Elements of modern life are presented as shadows, echoes, makes the text all the more threatening

Chapter 3- First meeting with Serena Joy

-Offred enters her new placement and meets the Wife of the house, Serena Joy

-SJ having two traditionally feminine hobbies related to fertility begins to show the extent to which she is controlled

-Gardens rampant blooming contrasts the sterile world of Gilead, tulips' colour links them to Offred

-Childish scarves show SJ's desire to create and protect

-SJ presented as a hypocritical but rebellious figure- upholding Gileadean law but also rebelling through smoking

-SJ shown to be a religious figure before Gilead- irony of Atwood presenting even those who believed in the routine previous to it's implementation finding it constricting and overly controlling (hence her need to rebel). Atwood commenting on the extent to which we can be responsible for our own entrapment, and also on Gilead as a theocracy

Chapter 6- Seeing bodies hanging at the wall

-Offred and Ofglen visit the Wall, where bodies are hanging

-Bodies of hanged men are a disturbing visual reminder of the brutality that lies behind Gilead. Offred also fears that this might have been Luke's fate, which emphasises the anguish she feels

-Identity is explored- the concealed faces of the men and the objectification of the bodies through use of language and description reminds us that in Gilead, identity is striped away. Theme of survival also relevant

-First indication in the text of the fear that permeates life in Gilead

-Immediately after encounter with tourists- shocking

-Hooks are described using impersonal, factual detail which emphasises Offred's shock. Imagery compares bodies to various inanimate objects, desensitising Offred to them

-Church, once a place of sanctuary and refuge, now a place to showcase violence and threat. Gilead's way of trying to convince people that this was their fate all along (more difficult to question the morality of these murders as the setting implies that they are 'sinners' within the theocratic democracy that is Gilead)

Chapter 11- Visiting the doctor

-Offred finally visits the doctor after the whole section has been called 'Waiting Room'- implies nervous anticipation of this moment

-Chapter opens with a shift from active to passive, as stated by Offred herself- demonstrating her acceptance of her lack of autonomy

-Reader becomes complicit in horrific events when 1st person accounts appear in literature (e.g Lolita)

-Imagery mirrors Rita prodding the plucked chicken; Offred is presented as a passive object with actions being done to her

-Uncomfortable + distasteful vocabulary highlights her discomfort- yet her acute attention to detail shows her desire for intimacy

-The modesty screen has an eye on it- even this performance of privacy implies they are always being watched

-Her body is likened to a fruit, being checked for 'ripeness'- another symbol of fertility that Offred is being tied to

-Offred immediately thinks the doctors offer of help is to find Luke- shows how love and reignition of connection is her main priority over sex. Also shows how she has not accepted the system- help has not yet become 'help me to fulfil my role', it is 'help me to return'

-The doctor is clearly not acting with purely unselfish motivations- yet he respects her no

-Offred's refusal of the offer demonstrates how Gilead, despite it's horrors, provides a safety for her in it's clear cut rules

-Continued power imbalance between male + female is shown

-'we are all honey'- double entendre, all the handmaids are a sweet, desired luxury to be indulged in, but also shows how all are the same- Offred is not granted the individuality to feel special, or wanted, which is her strongest desire

Chapter 12- flashback to daughter?

-Offred bathes before the Ceremony, has a flashback to her daughter

-Bath before ceremony- readying women for the male gaze, prioritising male desire over female comfort

-Bathroom decor (blue flowers, blue curtains) is symbolic of Virgin Mary, reminder to handmaidens to retain pure thoughts despite nakedness

-Offred finds her own nakedness strange and indecent- showing the extent to which indoctrination has already taken place

-Memory of her daughter comes quickly, uninvited, brought on by just a familiar scent. Shows how memories begin to control her as much as she utilises them to keep herself grounded

-Remembers some of Luke's insensitivity- marriage was not as perfect as she would like to think. Unlike previous memories, this memory feels out of Offred's control- she cannot only focus on things that bring her joy or pleasure, or nostalgia

-Aunt Lydia stating that materialism is bad shows how female selflessness (sexism) still is cultivated within Gilead, whilst Commanders are allowed all these materialistic goods

-Compares herself to the surface of the moon; beginning of her comparisons to celestial objects and realms in reference to her body

-Offred steals the butter- her first rebellious act that sparks a chain reaction throughout the novel

Chapter 13- Testifying (Janine)

-Offred has time to spare in her room, and spends it reflecting on the past, namely a moment when her and other girls at the red centre testified against Janine

-Changing timeframes within this Chapter is disorientating

-Shows how Gilead is fostering an 'every man/woman for themself' mindset, to keep people in line + ensure no alliances are formed (no unification against the regime itself)

-Hatred + distrust is encouraged, esp women on women

-Offred demonstrates this indoctrination unconsciously, Janine demonstrates it in real time by accepting the gang-rape was her fault

-Janine is shown to be very malleable, showing how Gilead targets vulnerable victims (such as victims of abuse)

-Offred feels some guilt at how quickly her sense of empathy has been warped

-As a result she feels the need to rebel, due to her guilt about her compliancy in the Testifying (hence why she meets with Moira, who embodies rebellion for her + gives her hope that defiance is possible)

-Atwood's way of warning readers how quickly and subconsciously indoctrination can occur (shown by Offred's pure disgust at Janine crying)

-Deep down, Offred understands that the regime can only be overturned if enough of them unite- yet fear (and to some extent, comfort) keeps them from doing so, and turns them on each other (compliancy without belief)

Chapter 13- Offred's attempted escape

-Offred reflects on her body as something separate to herself, and then has a nightmare, which we find out is recurring, about the night she tried to escape with her daughter. It's unclear whether all of this is truthful. First sense of Offred as an unreliable narrator

-'Boredom' and 'blank time' are phrases used at the beginning of the chapter, yet we begin to see here how reflecting can bring pain, as well as comfort, for Offred

-Clear sense of dissociation from her body at this point

-When in her empty apartment, she seems unsure of her surroundings- this reconstruction is not fully accurate

-Reference to Gilead using drugs and force to control Offred and her thoughts, restraining her

-First mention of her daughter too- distance imposed almost immediately

-IMAGERY - metaphor of the moon for her menstruation and fertility, and the sea for her beating heart. Indicates she feels her life balances on the edge of fate, some uncontrollable force of nature- feels she has no autonomy (as the moon controls the tides, so does her fertility determine her survival)

Chapters 14-15- Pre-Ceremony

-The Chapters leading up to the Ceremony between Offred, Serena Joy and the Commander

-Offred oscillates between savouring the power she holds over the household due to her fertility, and accepting (with an air of resignation) her simultaneous lack of power in the household and within Gilead itself. Represents her lack of commitment to the resistance she feels internally; keeps hastily returning to the safety of compliance whenever her internal rebellion gets too strong out of fear

-Slips back into supposed comfort of memories of her daughter and her failed escape with Luke. Her escape was reckless and not well thought out- likely a last resort, aligning with her internal denial that the regime is here to stay (through passive refusal to let go of the past

-Bible verses are altered to twist minds to follow Gilead's regime. It is also locked away- ironic that the theocracy is based upon it so much yet those it affects the most are unable to read it

-Commander is ambiguous- Offred cannot read him and therefore finds it difficult to find power in judging him as she judges Serena Joy. Switches between pity + disgust

-Offred's body is abused, but that which makes her valuable is protected, like raw mineral of the earth

Chapter 16- The Ceremony

-Offred performs the Ceremony with the Commander + Serena Joy

-Offred keeps her eyes shut, removing herself from physical aspect, and allows her mind to wander- but does not picture Luke as she does not want to invoke any kind of pleasure. Describes herself as separate from 'the lower half of my body' to ensure a distinct line is drawn

-Aggressive use of the word 'f*cking' instead of 'making love', for example, to describe sex conveys the aggression, anger + disgust Offred feels. Feels this is an act being done to her rather than one she is playing an active role in, furthering her dissociation from her body. Language gives her some control

-Surrounded by images of purity and fertility, contrasting the horror of what is going on (e.g flowers, white carpet, great drapes of canopies reminding her of a swollen ship, like a pregnant stomach)

-Gilead has outlawed love during sex- merely a business transaction

-Serena Joy implied to be feeling sexually frustrated + jealous of Offred, despite Gilead's attempt to combine the two. This may invoke more sympathy for SJ, as it seems almost cruel to have her watch over this ceremony, in control but completely devoid of it at the same time

Chapter 17- Stealing a flower + first kiss with Nick

-Offred uses butter to moisturise her skin. She then goes downstairs in an act of rebellion and looks around for something to steal, eventually choosing a dried daffodil. Nick catches her there, and they embrace and kiss, before he leaves abruptly

-Offred has to resort to most minimal form of self-care- pity is evoked as she simultaneously longs for intimacy and affection

-'like a piece of toast'- metaphorical of her and her situation; reducing herself to an object to be consumed, but in an ironic way, like a self-deprecating joke

-Wives are the ones that grow the flowers- Offred stealing one is a parallel to Wives stealing the handmaids' babies

-Considers stealing a knife but instead only steals a flower- shows the small extent to which she is willing to rebel (only stealing something that is synonymous with female fertility, in a way reclaiming what she has lost)

-Speed of interaction between O+N indicates not only suppressed desire, but also secrecy, indicating that the forbidden need for connection cannot be repressed

-Difference to the Ceremony- this breathless, intimate and intense expression of desire feels much more real than her time with the Commander. Different kind of tension portrayed

-Exposing vulnerability of patriarchal inheritance

Chapter 21- Birth day

-Offred attends the birth of Janine's child, along with all the handmaids and Wives in her community

-Communal experiences both solidify and contrast Gilead's teaching (handmaids come together as one to experience the culmination of all their efforts, playing the role they are meant to play. However, the unity between the handmaids feels removed, like they have collectively risen above it and are together in their superiority). Despite Gilead's attempts to animalise the birth, the handmaids are elevated here

-Religious imagery during birth itself

-Constant use of 'we' shows community

-Ritualistic nature of the event induces women into wanting to participate too

-Patriarchal societies manipulate into upholding their own oppression

-Atwood adopts a clear mocking tone, ridiculing Gilead's attempt to pretend the Wife is in any way involved in the birth- it is so performative it is humorous, it clearly isn't fooling anybody

-Stark difference between luxurious treatment of the wives and Janine elicits a shocked sympathy- even in the state in which Gilead values women the most, the regime reminds her that she is nothing more than vessel

-Lack of privacy, even in most vulnerable state

-Intense maternal connection is almost immediately disrupted- reminding handmaids they are simply there to birth babies, not to connect to them

-The section about a woman's culture links ideas of feminism to Gilead, implying there are not as many differences between the two as one might imagine. The fine line between the two is one the handmaids must walk to preserve their sanity and remain grounded, which is why Offred is constantly making distinctions between things she finds similar, to remind herself the two are not in fact the same

Chapter 22- Memories of Moira

-Offred reconstructs (and partly invents) the story of Moira's escape from the Red Centre, using Janine as a vessel through which the story is told

-Janine is used as a tool to explore survivalism; doing what will win her the good favour of others. She is looked down upon by other handmaids for this, despite them doing the same thing. Lack of empathy, women turning on women

-Moira is used to embody rebellion for the other girls. However, she does not inspire them to do the same- rather, she becomes the fantasy to which they can turn to whenever they are feeling rebellious themselves. Taking credit for her actions despite being completely passive themselves- hypocrisy

-Offred states her view of Moira using a collective 'we found this frightening' - still unable to face the fact that she herself is not as rebellious a figure as Moira

-Moira makes her 'dizzy'- an indication of how the difficulty to choose between two sides of one's personality can disorientate and confuse a person's self of self

-'In the light of Moira'- religious imagery, Jesus often being referred to as a light (i am the light of the world). Moira, once gone, loses all tangibility and becomes a figure in which the other handmaids can revel in, idolise, like she is not, and was never, real. This foreshadows Offred's disappointment later on in Chapt 37-38 where Moira falls short of these impossible expectations; despite the reader understanding that she was doing what she had to do to survive, as Offred had raised Moira so far above being a human being with flaws and a survival instinct, this realisation hit her even harder

Chapters 23+24 - Playing Scrabble with the CommanderPt 1)

-Offred reflects on the nature of narrative and storytelling, as well as going to the Commander's office to play Scrabble with him, unbeknownst to SJ

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-Offred enters the Commander's office with the resolution that she will try and manipulate him in some way

-Although not acting violent, the Commander is still placing Offred in a situation where she must do as he says, even if the action itself is luxurious. This is familiar of men abusing the power they hold over women in our world- even this small taste of 'freedom' is under his control

-Reminiscent of an affair (like with Luke)

-The breaking of so many rules at once after having followed them so meticulously makes us fear for her safety

-Offred adopts a sympathetic tone towards the end of the Chapter when he asks for a kiss, whereas from an outside perspective we can see that he likely was attempting to win her affections for his own purposes, evokes a sense of dread

-Emasculates him- simultaneously humanising him + justifying her attraction to him

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-Sense of disorientation, unsure on beliefs about Gilead, the regime + the Commander, her self-preservation etc

-Lack of decision on whether to tell her story makes her narrative voice less reliable- memories could be a coping mechanism. Start to see Offred as someone who struggles to make decisions for herself, possibly due to having been surrounded by strong + independent women when growing up

-Understands she has the power to omit or make up whatever she wants

-Acknowledgement of the fact she has a choice in whether or not to be complicit in the awful reality of the regime. Understands that this is the easy route out, and how easy it is to invent humanity for anyone, including herself

-Change in viewpoint is jarring and adds to her confusion + despair- also debating whether or not to cling to her old name

Chapter 25- Serena Joy's garden/ Vogue magazine

-Offred describes the nature around her + Commander shows her a magazine

-Interpersonal relationships being disrupted

-Commander longs for intimacy just like Offred does- even a system that favours men has made them long for what is lost

-Cognitive dissonance demonstrated by Offred here

-Offred feels intense desire for the magazine- urge to laugh due to the ridiculousness of something so small being such a desired object in her mind

-Magazine is presented as luxurious; one of the first descriptions of women from our current time, striking how 'moreish' they are made to seem, despite being the norm for a contemporary audience

-Surrounded by temptation in the garden, teasing sexuality and expression. Cruelty on Gilead's part; forced to partake in a biological role of reproduction without the beauty of embracing the new life. Prompts the handmaids to act more rashly on their desires- dangerous, reckless

-Sibilance is used to link sensuality of the natural world with that of words + language

-IMAGERY= fruit + flowers. Both represent fertility, new life + growth, as well as constantly explicitly being compared to female reproductive organs. Symbol of rebellion for handmaids, but also one of sexual expression for the Wives, who grow the flowers

-Use of lyrical, visual, heady + sensual imagery is used, eliciting physical + sexual responses from Offred

Chapter 33- Prayvaganza

-Offred + Ofglen go to the Prayvaganza. Offred discovers Janine's baby was a 'shredder'. Offred has a flashback to the Red Centre where Moira has to slap Janine to snap her out of trance

-Atwood is clearly critiquing the commercialisation of religion here, namely under totalitarian systems (where ideology becomes a tool of state propaganda

-PRAY and EXTRAVAGANZA= prayer being juxtaposed with humility and personal repenting, combined with the excessive showiness that 'extravaganza' conveys Atwood's unmistakable irony

-Janine's lack of status shows the fragility of all they work for- can all be taken away so quickly. Impossibility of success in a regime that is designed to exploit her

-Psychological impacts on other individuals apart from Offred are explored here; Janine blames herself so wholeheartedly that the belief in her own sin has taken her sanity

-Offred suspects this is Janine's way of finding purpose + meaning in her life

-Flashback- the placing of Janine, Offred + Moira in the same setting highlights the contrast of their different ways of coping in the regime: JANINE mentally collapses and embraces her trauma, is a symbol of victimhood. MOIRA is blunt and tough in the face of trauma, is a symbol of resistance. OFFRED struggles to pick a way of dealing with her trauma, preferring to psychoanalyse others (rather than herself) + pay attention to details

Chapter 37+38- Jezebels (PART 1)

-The Commander takes Offred to Jezebels, where she runs into Moira

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-Jezebels presents a superficial form of freedom; this is just another way of exploiting the women of Gilead

-Offred's view of the Commander is constantly changing; from belittling him through understanding his selfish motivations, to idolising him through her gratitude. This furthers the reader's view of Offred as an unreliable narrator- as we see the world through her eyes we are also unable to form a concrete view of the Commander

-End of Chap 37 shows extent to which Offred's self-esteem relies on male validation. Unwittingly gives men power over how she views herself. Possibly the key to why she will never consciously rebel- she cares too much about how she is perceived under the male gaze

-Hints at a fear of female power; the Commander's pseudoscientific justification of male desire echoes his earlier statement about how porn made men uncomfortable. There is a certain absurdity of the commander's justification of Gilead- starts using the environment to prove that men have no self-control, and due to being lacking in this they need to control women in order to control themselves/their desires

-Element of self-inflicted problems/suffering; to a certain extent this chapter demonstrates how responsible they are for their own indoctrination

-Women are described as adhering to various male sexual fantasies- they are granted 'freedom' in the most twisted sense of the word (still defined by male desire)

-Offred describes women using predatory language (blood-dipped and glistening)- shows she is almost scared of the power she believes these women hold

-'Collection' likens them to objects, or animals- men "trying them on" and discarding them as they please

Chapter 37+38- Jezebels (PART 2)

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-Lots of language that objectifies women; 'working flesh' reduces them to just their bodies, yet at least here the flesh is 'working', contrasting the handmaids yet still showing that these women are just as sexually exploited as Offred herself

-Offred fills in the gaps of Moira's story for her; cannot help reconstructing even when it is not her story to tell. Gives her control over the truth; coping mechanism

-Offred is disappointed with Moira- her one symbol of rebellion is reduced to something so broken, ridiculous almost. The one firm grip she had on her past, her reason to believe there were people out there to fight her battles for her, is shattered

-Acknowledges she misses Moira's rebellious side for purely selfish reasons- feels betrayal but understands she should instead be feeling anger

-Realises it is every woman for herself- this frightens her as she knows herself to be incapable of actively resisting, meaning she is trapped (acknowledging her hypocrisy, easier to sympathise with her)

-Demonstrates a self-loathing at her own compliance

-Offred is easily persuaded by Moira's attempt at teasing- shows how quickly she can be won over by a mere act (similar to how the Commander treats her). Offred is compliant in this treatment as she is protected from having to take any accountability; however her conscience starts to bore away at this compliance

-Admission that Offred never saw Moira again is a flash-forward; contrasts her preferred style of reminiscing. Makes it all the more tragic is it shows her dismissing Moira- compared to prev chapters, latter chapters mention Moira very little, simultaneously Offred becomes more + more comfortable where she is

-Losing faith in her reconstructions as she has found one of them to be false- realises weakness of finding comfort in memories

-Remains only for her daughter

Chapter 38- Colonies

-Moira was shown terrible videos of the colonies, where people who do not adhere to the theocracy

-The life expectancy is three years and Unwomen must clean up radioactive spills and bodies from war

-People sent to colonies are the lowest social class in Gilead. Unwomen (are usually older), gender traitors, nuns and other social Pariahs are sent there

-Explores themes of class and environment- Atwood was a well known environmental activist ,and therefore one possible interpretation of THT is as a warning to society about our treatment of the natural world and the consequences it could have for humans

-Reclassification as an Unwomen is often used as a threat to the Handmaids, Aunts and Marthas- representative of the regime's harsh control over women, turning them into disposable labourers once they have served their role

-IMAGERY: references to physical decay and suffering of both the natural and human role, implying the two go hand in hand

-Diction- the colonies are described as cold, harsh and clinical, reflecting the unforgiving and dehumanising nature

-Allusion to environmental concerns links the individual suffering of women to a larger, global issue

-Juxtaposition between idealised roles that women are supposed to fill in Gilead and the brutal, degrading fate that awaits those who lose Gilead's good favour

Chapter 40- Offred and Nick

-Offred meets with Nick for the first time

-Rebellion looks different for Serena Joy + the Commander- SJ is longer term, less selfish, Commander is more concerned with immediate gratification + fun

-Themes of reconstruction, loss of meaningful relationships, guilt and desire

-First recount of interaction- more passionate, mutual, short phrases strung together with commas (caught up in her own desires)

-Second recount- more detached, thoughts kept to herself, more awkward and flirtatious, realistic in a sense

-Varying versions capture Offred's attempt to capture the feeling of the situation with words rather than trying to express a fact

-Dual narrative structure underscores the subjectivity of experience and the ways in which trauma and oppression distort memory

-Oscillates between yearning for control and succumbing to passivity

-Question as to whether truth is subjective or whether it's something external to human experience

-Clandestine meeting place- connotations of secrecy, transgression and intimacy (mirrors yet simultaneously contrasts Offred's relationship with the Commander)

-Liminal space where societal rules momentarily dissolve, highlighting the precariousness of human connections under Gilead's regime

-Act becomes a symbol of commodification of intimacy and the erasure of genuine human connection under Gilead's patriarchal control

Chapter 42- Salvaging

-Three women are hanged (two handmaids and one wife). Women are forced to observe. Offred notices Aunt Lydia overseeing the hangings on stage

-Demonstrates the disturbing and brutal use of violence as a form of enforcement of Gilead's regime

-Highlights the dehumanisation of women and instilling of fear to maintain control

-Ritualised violence- making a spectacle of it

-Offred's understanding that she is compliant in the deaths of others (forced understanding, Gilead does not allow them to forget this. Almost like they are gloating in the power they hold over their consciences)

-Themes of power, control, oppression, indoctrination, resistance vs complicity, mob mentality

-Key moment in Offred's awareness/ realisation of Gilead's brutality

-Disturbing + gruesome reminder of the constant surrounding violence

-Explanation of how Gilead still doesn't have complete control over rebellions + resistance

-Irony- salvaging suggests redemption or some form of saving: entirely contrasting the brutal reality of the executions that take place

Chapter 43- The Particicution

-The Handmaids are encouraged to brutally attack and murder a man convicted of rape (in reality he was a political aid of Mayday)

-Cruel irony of an aid of the Handmaids being murdered by those he was trying to help

-Offred uses many similes in this Chapter, removing herself from reality and creating a landscape that she feels more comfortable in

-Offred feels a 'bloodlust'- she is caught up in the energy of the crowd. Yet, she sticks to her morals and acknowledges she cannot hurt him, a sign of her morals/conscience remaining solid despite her previous complicity

-The man is dehumanised- again, Offred chooses to describe what is happening rather than partake, either for good or bad. She lets Ofglen help the man rather than take action herself

-Janine has completely succumbed to indoctrinated madness, the intention of Gilead. Offred envies her obliviousness, implying she would prefer this to constantly observing along with the guilt of not outwardly rebelling

-Recognises her lack of empathy and desensitisation to violence, and blames Gilead. Lack of accountability

-Innate survival need is demonstrated- Gilead enforces so many rules that this expression of pent up energy is necessary for the Handmaids to remain complicit. It is just a sick and twisted joke that Gilead channels it into the murder of an ally

-Heightened desires are shown at the end- shows the effect of violence on increasing the unpredictability of her own body

Chapter 45- Offred's pleas for survival

-Feels relief when she learns that Ofglen has hung herself. Feels also that she will do anything to survive- completely at the mercy of the authorities

-First time Offred truly recognises the terror caused by the regime and how that affects her directly. Becomes more self-absorbed as chapter progresses

-Ofglen's death presented (or interpreted by Offred) as a sacrifice- links to religious language expressed throughout the chapter

-Paranoia has taken control much more noticeably than before

-Embraces concept of fertility manifested within nature- could be a sign of acceptance, or a desperate last attempt at survival- trying too late to spur a true 'Janinian' belief in the regime

-Religious language used sporadically at a time of despair and uncertainty, adherence to survival and possibly the language pushed by the theocratic regime

-Pleas for survival are all internal; never objecting to Serena's comments. Potentially Offred wants to redeem herself, or perhaps recognises the power that SJ has over her

Chapter 46 + Epilogue- Rescue/arrest + historical notes

-Offred goes with the Eyes after Nick tells her they are Mayday. Historical notes are a transcript of a symposium held in 2195 after Gilead has fallen

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-Importance of identity in Gilead (Nick calling Offred by her real name)

-Duality and sisterhood is shown as a theme in this chapter; despite isolation plaguing Offred enough for her to find solace in illicit relationships with Nick and the Commander, in the end she comes to the realisation that the woman before her and the women around her are who have been keeping her going

-Offred also starts to become increasingly sympathetic towards SJ as a victim of the system- recognises parallels between them that she previously ignored

Historical Notes

-Serve as a metafictional account of Offred's tale + provide a broader historic perspective on Gilead (irony of us looking back on 17th century Puritanism with a similar attitude)

-Displays that misogyny is a systematic concept not specific to Gilead- rampant in society due to the ever-constant implementation of patriarchy

-Pieixoto displays a shocking amount of misogyny and supposed political correctness; perhaps suggests Gilead shouldn't be judged too harshly- connects to modern-day revisionism and moral relativism

-Determining Offred's identity through her connection with Gileadean men also speaks to how Gilead's erasure of Offred's personal identity was largely successful

-P uses language which glorifies men in Gilead, showing how this is the case throughout history

-Offred is stripped of any identity she has provided to listeners of her account and is instead reduced down to an account that should belong to her, but is instead revised, edited and named completely by men

Much like Eurydice in classical mythology, her fate is placed in the hands of a man who is perhaps driven by love (like Orpheus) or the state agenda