The Handmaid Character Analysis

557 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The different roles of the women of Gilead essay

The commander is viewed to be sympathetic due to the gifts and presents he

brings to the handmaid, Offred. He sneaks her out to a private club, and he feels

forsaken along with wanting a more intimate relationship with the narrator.

Following the copulation between Offred and the Commander, the man of the

house stealthily sneaks a private meeting with the Handmaid. During this time, the

house holder presents to her magazines as a gift, as a sign of compassion.

Knowing that magazines are illegal, it shows his friendliness towards Offred, as

she states "…Mademoiselle magazine… Old Esquire… A Ms… And a Readers

Digest." (184). In the course of the same gatherings, the Commander interrogates

the narrator, desiring to play a game of scrabble with her. At that point of time

when the Commander voices, " I'd like you to play a game of scrabble with me."

(138), and when Offred questions the danger that it will place her in, he replies to

her, saying "Now it's forbidden… Now its dangerous" (138). As the enjoyment of

the game of scrabble was prohibited, due to the re...

Show More
Related

  • Personal Discovery of the Protagonist in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...es these experiences to remind herself that she is no longer alone. Offred does not have a living friend or companion beside her, but instead the companion is inside her. It is herself who is guiding her in the life she is now living. In the end it is clear to Offred that she is still the same woman as she once was, the changes with the new government did not change her the same way it changed other individuals. A discovery was made, she was no longer Offred the Handmaid; she was June.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Handmaids

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which define us”(8).

    Read More

  • The Most Unorthodox Characters In The Handmaid's Tale

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    Offred is one of the Handmaid’s in the Republic of Gilead. This used to be known as the United States of America but now it is Gilead, a theocratic state. Because of an issue that occurred, women lost all of their money and rights. Handmaid’s were then assigned to higher class couples that were unable to have children, that was the new job for the Handmaid’s. Offred was assigned to the Commander and Serena Joy, his wife. Offred was once married to a man named Luke and they had a baby girl together. When this issue started occurring and Offred lost her rights, her, Luke and their daughter tried to escape to Canada but were caught. Offred has not seen Luke or her daughter since that incident. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the most unorthodox characters are Offred, Serena Joy, and The Commander.

    Read More

  • Compare 1984 And The Handmaids Tale

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are two possible events that can occur with Offred's arrest and readers have the ability to open the book to new possibilities. If Offred is arrested, she will likely be tried for treason and killed. However, if she escapes into freedom, she will have a new lifestyle away from Gilead. She is different from Winston as she only wants to survive and survives because of her memories of her past Conclusion:

    Read More

  • Conflict In The Handmaids Tale

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Offred is a handmaid, in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood, who no longer desired to rebel against the government of Gilead after they separated her from her family. When Offred was taken away from her family the Government of Gilead placed her in an institution known as the Red Center where they trained her along with other women unwillingly to be handmaids. The handmaid’s task was to repopulate the society because of the dramatic decrease in population form lack of childbirth. Handmaids are women who are put into the homes of the commanders who were unable to have kids with their own wives. The Handmaids had very little freedom and were not allowed to do simple tasks by themselves or without supervision like taking baths or going to the store. There was an uprising against the government of Gilead and many people who lived in this society including some handmaids looked for a way to escape to get their freedom back which was taken away from them and to reunited with their families which they lost contact with. Offred was one of the handmaids who was against the government of Gilead before she was put in the Red Center, but she joined the uprising after she became a

    Read More

  • Gender Role In The Handmaid's Tale

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    Offred, among other women depicted in this novel, tries to overcome this dominion. In her own way, she attempts to do this by ensuring the Commander’s expectations of her behavior which could result in her freedom. Thus, there is a present power struggle between the Commander and Offred throughout The Handmaid’s

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Handmaid's Tale

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Margaret Atwood uses the culture of how handmaids dress to psychologically change how Offred sees and thinks about the world and others. On the way home from shopping with her partner Ofglen, Offred sees a group of tourists who are dressed how women used to dress before the war. Offred and Oglen stop and watch the tourists; "We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed" (28), Offred then remembers that she too used to dress like that. Offred's reaction shows that being a handmaid and having to dress so modestly can alter how you think about yourself and

    Read More

  • Essay on the Character of Offred in The Handmaid's Tale

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    Offred can not escape the fact that, in spite of the treatment from Serena Joy and the commander, that they both will have, if not already, an impact on her life. Not to mention Nick also. Nick gave her the comfort and the security that she wanted, and in the end nothing done to her by the commander or his wife mattered to her. Living in the Republic of Gilead will always be a memory that she will probably try to forget. & nbsp;

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Punishment In The Handmaid's Tale

    1700 Words  | 4 Pages

    To deal with the desolation that he feels, he illegally seeks out to meet with Offred, his handmaid. They make “ an arrangement. It’s not the first such arrangement in history, though the shape it’s taken is not the usual one”(Attwood 154). The Commander puts their lives immediately in danger after the first time he asks Offred to join him in his room. She is not the first handmaid that the Commander has outreached to, and she soon realizes why his previous handmaid hung herself. He justifies his illegal desires with an excuse that he simply wants Offred’s life more bearable to her. She realizes that “the Commander exists in a different realm altogether (a realm of duty, obligation; a realm in which love does not exist)” and does not realize how miserable Offred really is (Miner 154). He does not offer her love in return for everything that she has lost, but he does allow her small physical freedoms like reading and lotion. The things that Offred wants, seem ridiculous to the Commander which “wasn’t the first time he gave evidence of being truly ignorant of the real conditions” that handmaids live under (Attwood 159). What he does not want to admit is that he needs Offred’s company as much as she needs his. The Commander uses Offred as someone to relax

    Read More

  • Handmaids Tale Analysis

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, social turmoil after a staged terrorist attack has led to a totalitarian Christian regime. In this dystopian future, the roles of men and women are much different than in today’s society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are unequal because they have no choice about their bodies, their dress, or their relationships.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Gender Roles In The Handmaids Tale

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Symbols and Lenses Role in The Handmaid’s Tale Makeup symbolizes the stereotypical women attributes in our modern society. Women are expected to look their best, not necessarily feel their best. In The Handmaid’s Tale, makeup plays just that. Gender roles relating to power, as well as changing appearances, loss of freedom, their past lives, and how the femininity has changed since their society was overthrown. Makeup isn’t mentioned as frequently as the word red, but it is a common theme throughout the novel.

    Read More

  • Handmaid's Tale Scene Analysis

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Offred answers that she is not yet pregnant, Serena Joy mentions that the Commander might be sterile. This moves the plot further. By telling Offred this, Serena has taken a large risk. Offred can report her to an Eye or tell the Commander. She shows Offred that she is willing to trust her, which makes Offred more willing to listen to her proposal. When Offred agrees, she is taking a large risk as well, and her agreement also furthers the plot. Then, Serena Joy suggests that Offred “should try it another way” and then offers the idea of the arrangement, which is her purpose in this scene. Offred considers the idea and says, “Not with a doctor”, signaling that she is taking the idea seriously. This moves the plot further because then Serena Joy sees that Offred is willing but she wants to negotiate the details of the arrangement. Next, Serena Joy offers the idea of having the arrangement with Nick. This is important because it leads to Offred’s affair with him later in the story. Offred finally agrees and this begins her arrangement, and later affair, with Nick. In appreciation of Offred’s cooperation,

    Read More

  • Feminist Criticism Of The Handmaid's Tale

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though Offred is developed as a character through her opinions on female sexuality, she is further characterized by her individuality and willingness to defy her social expectations as a female, assigned to her by her government. In Atwood’s work, the narrative is told by an intelligent individual named Offred who is oppressed by Gilead’s female expectations but is not afraid to defy these assigned roles despite not being a traditional heroine (Nakamura). Even as Offred’s previous identity is stripped away from her, she retains small pieces of her womenhood and individuality through defiant actions such as manipulating men with her feminity from swaying her hips slighty in their line of sight to making direct eye contact with certain men, which she is forbidden from. On the other hand, a major act of rebellion from

    Read More

  • Essay On The Hierarchy Of Women In The Handmaid's Tale

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    Offred’s journey is a prime example of the appalling effects of idly standing by and allowing herself to become a part of the Gilead’s corrupt system. This woman is a Handmaid which was recently placed within a new

    Read More

  • Book Analysis: The Handmaid's Tale

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Offred is assigned to be the handmaid for the Commander and Serena, his wife. Every month when Offred is fertile in her point of her menstrual cycle, she is forced to have sex with the Commander. He reads them the Bible before they have sex. When they sleep together, Serena holds Offred’s hands during it. No one says a word while they have sex. This is called The Ceremony.

    Read More

More about The Handmaid Character Analysis

Open Document