Essay On Non Existentialism In A Handmaid's Tale

The Non-Existential Life of Offred

Everyday people are faced with many situations where they will have to make important decisions. In present day, people understand the difference between right and wrong, virtuous or vicious, blaming others or accepting one's fate. Non-existentialism is defined as blaming outside forces on what a person really has done. This is prominent in Margaret Atwood’s, A Handmaid's Tale as the characters live in a non-existentialist society where the character Offred, is influenced by many external forces that help shape her character, as well as the story. Religion, the Red Center and the commander are all major influences to Offred’s character and how she lives in a non-existentialist society.

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Offred, as punishment is sent to the Red Center to learn to how to become and act like a Handmaid. The Red Center is actually called the Rachel and Leah center because of the Bible passage which inspired them to have Handmaids. It is the nicknamed, the Red Center because the Handmaids are forced to wear red. Aunt Lydia is her main influence while at the Red center since she is her instructor. She is Offred’s mentor and teaches her everything that is essential to becoming a Handmaid. The chants, quotes, and videos used to teach Offred trigger many flashbacks. Aunt Lydia ensured that all her students would remember everything they were taught, even if they did not believe that she was a good teacher. This results in Offred becoming her puppet as she is forced to obey everything she says. “‘Ordinary,’ said Aunt Lydia, ‘is what you are used to.’ ‘This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.’” (Atwood 189). Offred, in this quote daydreams about a lesson she is taught from Aunt Lydia. Offred is afraid to stand up to her aunt which allows Lydia to tighten the strings on her little puppet. She does not to endure the pain of the whip, just as her best friend Moira had to. An example of when Moira got whipped was when she wanted to stay downstairs longer because she did not go to sleep.

The commander forces Offred to sneak out of her room every night to come meet him in his office. This is a big risk because if she gets caught leaving her room she could get whipped. Moreover, women, in general were not allowed to enter the office, however she did anyways to obey the commander’s request. Many forbidden things are done in the office. One of the many prohibited things that the commanders influenced her to do is to play scrabble. “I’d like you to play a game of Scrabble with me.” (Atwood 176). This was not allowed, since it involved a lot of reading and writing. He also made Offred change into different outfit so she could leave the house to go to a club, late at night. Even though he was a poor influence, Offred thought that saying no would put her in a large amount of danger. He also controls Offred, pressuring her to be an intimate partner. “I want you to kiss me.” (Atwood 176). The commander asks Offred for a kiss and he convinces her to have sex with him in a hotel room. She did not want this to happen, but she could not push her away, it was too much of a risk. The last thing he made her do is to drink and smoke. As a Handmaid it was forbidden to drink and smoke because it can be harmful to the baby. The commander forced her to drink, and for the first time she declined, but he kept insisting until she did. This is connected