Offred In The Handmaid's Tale

Offred also says that she would really like to steal a knife from the Commander, but she is not ready to do that yet. So she stares by stealing smaller things from his kitchen, “things that will not be missed” (Atwood, 112). She also risks her safety by sneaking into the Commander’s office to read his books

His and all of the commanders maltreatment of women presents itself throughout Offred's story. Offred’s commander however, begins an unusual relationship with her, by seeing her outside of his home and creating moments of intimacy, which is highly unusual between a Handmaid and those she serves. After several attempts to conceive with Offred, those surrounding the Commander begin to suspect that he is actually sterile, which could be a potentially embarrassing discovery if anyone outside the household found out. At that point, Serena Joy, fearing the consequences of her husband being sterile, encourages Offred to have an affair with Nick and attempt to become

Paula Hawkins, a well-known British author, once said, “I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.” In Margaret Atwood’s futuristic dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman named Offred feels she is losing control over everything in her life. Offred lives in the Republic of Gilead. A group of fundamentalists create the Republic of Gilead after they murder the President of the United States and members of Congress. The fundamentalists use the power to their advantage and restrict women’s freedom. As a result, each woman is assigned a specific duty to perform in society. Offred’s husband and child are taken away from her and she is now forced to live her life as a Handmaid. Offred’s role in society is to produce a child

Offred makes a habit of visiting the bathroom, not to use it but to communicate with Moira. Moira is slowly luring Offred to break the rules, trying to turn Offred from being a submissive woman to a woman who 'll stand up for what she believes in.

In the novel A Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood uses different descriptions of Offred’s room to illustrate the government’s control over her and her role in the society. She uses the room to allude to her situation almost because she is unable to explicitly state her discontent with her current conditions.

Despite the little dependence on women, they are still objectified and subjected to injustice because of their gender, regardless if they were a female in general or as a poor female. As something as simple as what a person is born with affects the respect that is given to them. Margaret Atwood formulates Offred’s personality much like any other handmaid in the community. Offred becomes familiar with the functionality and role of women in the community, therefore she adjusts herself in order to be up to par with the unethical standard. “I wait. I compose myself. My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born. (Atwood, 75). To be what is required of her, Offred must act unhuman because the expectations of females exceed the

Offred, within the novel, is seen as being in one of the lowest classes within the hierarchy of women only putting her above the women who are sent to the colonies. Unlike the handmaids, the Martha, who are helping ladies to the Wives, talk about Offred like she is not in their present but viewed her as “a household chore,one among many”(Atwood 48). Although the Martha are women too, they have more control than Offred. By viewing Offred as a household chore conveys that Offred is an inconvenience but still a necessary part of Gilead. Speaking about Offred like this emphasizes that she is below them in the status of society and they are not seen as equals. In addition, Offred, being a handmaid, wasn’t allow to talk to the Wives in a direct manner (Atwood 14-15). By Offred not being allowed to talk to the Wives illustrates that the Wives authority over the handmaids. Furthermore, the handmaid’s are viewed as less and “[reduced]... to the slavery status of being mere ‘breeders’” (Malak). By conveying the handmaids are slaves shows are they force without consent to have sex with men and that the handmaid focus is to breed, unlike the Martha, aunts, and Wives. Moreover, the class system within the female hierarchy of Gilead is utilized as a political tool thus adding to the assumption

There are many instances in the novel, where Offred pauses in the middle of her story and in a way complains to the audience about how hard it is to tell this story. For example: “It’s also a story I’m telling, in my head, as I go along. Tell, rather than write, because I have nothing to write with and writing is in any case forbidden. But if it’s a story, even in my head ... But it’s not good, because I know you can’t.”

Offred and the commander play scrabble, kiss, go to a brothel and they have intercourse that is not overseen by Serena Joy therefore it is illegal. Offred gets gifts from the commander as a reward. These gifts involve her learning what a latin sentence means that has been etched into her closet and receiving some lotion to use. It is easy to see that the commander is very found of Offred, but in the show it is plain as day. During one of the ceremonies, the commander struggles to produce his end of the job and is unable to go through with it. When Serena Joy attempts to help him he dismisses her and follows through the night by playing scrabble and enjoying the company of Offred. Although this is illegal, Offred likes the idea of doing something she shouldn’t. It makes her feel alive. As for Serena Joy, she too believes that Commander Waterford is sterile therefore she asks Offred and Nick, the driver of the Waterfords, if they will have their own ceremony in hopes that Offred can get pregnant and Serena can finally have a

“The van waits in the driveway, its double doors stand open...whether this is my end or a new beginning I have no way of knowing: I have given myself over into the hands of strangers, because it can’t be helped.” (295) While it is unknown whether or not Offred successfully escaped, it is unlikely. Certainly, there is a strict punishment, whether death in the Colonies or social rejection, awaiting her and anyone like her in the event of being

Offred who is the protagonist of the book “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood is having a interior monologue in Chapter one. Offred is remembering whens she first gets to the house and she is still sleeping in the centre with the other women. She feels alone because she cannot speak freely and express her herself also because she is not with any family or friends. Whenever she gets the chance to speak to someone or be intimate with her friends because they are lacking, it has to be secretive because they are not allowed to hold hands etc. The other women as well as her have suffered a lot physically and psychologically and it seen through the way she expresses herself in this passage.

Offred’s dissociation suggests that it’s her way of solidifying her chances of survival against the harsh society of Gilead, which is important because in furthering her own continuity, she becomes averse to the idea of taking any risks that might harm those chances. This can be observed during the monthly ceremony performed with

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.

Although Offred accepts the standards and criterions of her society, she keeps her individuality and refuses to forget the past. She remembers having had an identity of her own and strives to hold on to it as best as she can. She puts a claim on her temporary room in her Commander's house; it becomes a sanctuary for her true self. Her room becomes a place of

reader can infer from Offred’s monologues that she, to some extent, wants to be a