The Handmaid's Tale - Key Themes and Interpretations

"Gender treachery" (homosexuality) was historically associated only with men, as women were believed to lack sexual desire.
Laws against homosexuality primarily targeted men; female homosexuality was not recognized.
Historical belief that women must control male sexual urges.

Offred resents and distrusts Ofglen.
Offred experiences internal rebellion and mocking thoughts as a form of resistance.
Offred considers suicide, fixates on a knife as a means.
Offred observes the hypocrisy of excusing male desire and behavior.
Offred's child was taken away, alluded to through internal narration.

Ofglen uses "May Day" as a coded signal for help, hinting at a hidden network of resistance.
The phrase "Under His Eye" is ambiguous, implying both divine and state surveillance; Ofglen's hesitation highlights this.
Aunt Lydia misquotes the Bible (e.g., "All flesh is grass"), highlighting Gilead's manipulation of religious texts.
Gilead employs a "divide and conquer" strategy: Aunt Lydia warns Handmaids to expect resentment from Wives, framing Wives as "defeated women" (infertile).
The narrative serves as a warning against laughing at powerful, dangerous individuals, citing historical examples of such figures gaining power.

Serena Joy, a former televangelist advocating female domesticity, is ironically now silenced and confined to her home.
Offred and Ofglen share a "primeval empathy" when witnessing the Econowife carrying a deceased fetus.
Pervasive envy and division exist among women within the household.