How Does Offred Maintain Identity In The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood follows the narration of Offred, a young woman struggling to maintain her humanity in a sea of indignity and sexist oppression. Although severely restricted by the patriarchal theocracy of Gilead, Offred uses small physical activisms to maintain her individuality, regain her sense of control, and salvage any shred of agency possible, which ultimately help preserve her Pre-Gilead identity, despite her lack of power and slave-like position. Small acts throughout the story such as the act of theft, shows her willingness to rebel against the oppressive setting. However small, Offred's physical and mental activisms give her hope for the future and empower her to maintain her individual identity.

At the beginning of the novel, Offred is extremely adamant about maintaining who she was pre-Gilead. She believes that if she could maintain her identity, it will give her the will and the power to fight back and survive the torturous rule of Gilead. Offred explains as a handmaid, there are many things she is no longer allowed to indulge; such as, reading,

writing and something as simple as hand lotion. Offred remembers her mother saying, ""Humanity is so adaptable," my mother would say "Truly amazing what people can get used to, as long as there are few compensations""(Atwood p.271). This is demonstrated when we learn how the women

steal butter from their dinner trays and use it as skin moisturizer. "As long as we do this, butter our skin to keep it soft, we can believe that we will someday get out, that we will be touched again in love or desire. We have ceremonies of our own, private ones."(Atwood p.96,97). For Offred, the simple act of nourishing her dry skin is an act of defiance against the systems that oppress her. Recognizing that her body is still worth caring for encourages her spirit and keeps Offred’s pre-Gilead identity as a mother, wife, and generally liberated woman intact. Small forms of activism such as the butter theft serve as a link between her prior state of liberation and current state of oppression.

Along with a developed sense of ownership Offred takes part in mental preservation when engaging with her memories. Reliving and reimagining her own memories is her strongest link to her pre-Gilead identity. Offred sings an old song in her head, noting, “I don’t know if the words are right. I can’t remember. Such songs are not sung anymore in public, especially the ones that use words like free” (Atwood 54). Through the music, Offred reconnects with her old identity, rebelling against her current one. In addition to the music, Offred uses her memories as a coping mechanism, an escape from the treacherous reality of her daily life. At one point she says, “The night is my time out. Where should I go?” implying the escapist nature of her mind (Atwood 37).

Offred engages in passionate sex with Nick. Sneaking out at night to partake in an illicit affair with Nick reveals Offred’s growth as an individual. She risks her standing as a Handmaid for the pleasure and comfort of intimacy. Unlike her relationship with the Commander, Offred has control in her relationship with Nick, which is perhaps the greatest luxury in her life. Built on a foundation of sexual desire and simple companionship, Offred’s connection with Nick

serves as an indicator of her self-worth and agency: “I went back to Nick. Time after time, on my own, without Serena knowing. It wasn’t called for, there was no excuse. I did not do it for him, but for myself entirely” (Atwood 268). Like her use of butter as lotion, Offred uses Nick as a means for her own pleasure. By endangering herself with the affair, Offred again indicates her willingness to preserve her true self. These examples of physical activism show Offred’s increasing confidence in her actions as well as her commitment to maintaining some semblance of personal dignity.

Towards the end of the story, Offred's attitude toward self-preservation had changed completely from how the story started.

Rather than fighting to be a part of 'Mayday' and help with the resistance, she decided to succumb to the ways of Gilead and accept that life was not so bad the way it was. "Dear God, I think, I will do anything you like. Now that you've let me off, I'll obliterate myself, if that is what you really want; I'll empty myself, truly, become a chalice. I'll give up Nick, I'll forget about the others, I'll stop complaining. I'll accept my lot. I'll sacrifice. I'll repent. I'll abdicate. I'll renounce." (Atwood p.286) Everything that she had been engrained into her and the other handmaids at the red center has finally taken hold of her. Offred decided she would comply and do whatever she had to in order to stay alive with or without the hope of an end to being a

handmaid.

In the end, Offred escapes due to luck rather than resistance, although she did not know if she were being taken to a new life of freedom, or if she were being taken to her ending. All she knew, was that where ever that van was taking her, was better than the life she was living. This is a great end to her journey of self-preservation, though some readers may feel as though Offred was tricked by Nick and she was in fact, killed at the end. I personally feel that she made

it out of the Gilead limits and lived a free life, she would not have been able to put her story down, in any form, within the walls of Gilead. She can only tell it once she has escaped, which we learn at the end, in the Historical notes, that what we have read is a transcript of a jumble of cassette recordings that have been found on an archaeological site. What we have is a later reconstruction of Offred's reconstruction told after her escape.

While 'The Handmaid's Tale' is a work of fiction, everything Atwood speaks of in this story, are all things that have happened to women throughout history. We all need to be conscious of the issues happening around us and try to be thoughtful about how quickly change can happen. It is happening all the time, whether it be right here in the United States, or in another country, where we may not hear about i