The Importance Of Handmaids In Gilead's Tale

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When Gilead first enforced its laws and Offred became a Handmaid, Offred had to leave a whole family and a love behind which allowed her a new start; one that she did not take full advantage of. Offred had a toxic relationship with Luke and she also has a toxic relationship with Nick, therefore there is no evidence that shows that Offred will have any different of a relationship with Nick. Living in such a judgmental environment like this one, Offred must be very cautious of what she does. She must always count on her friends and their opinion; because of this type of society one doesn’t have many people that they can count now on or people that they can trust or people that they can become friends with. Moira disapproved of the affair that Offred had with Luke …show more content…

“Atwood looks explicitly at the thesis that we are our own enemies,” (Feuer). What Feuer is trying to explain is that the women in the Gilead society feed into the treatment of feminism and do nothing to stop it. This goes hand and hand with Offred's problem with her relationships. Offred sets her relationships for failure when she begins a relationship in a sticky situation. As a handmaid, she is not allowed to see Nick or have any relationship for that matter. Because of the riskiness, the relationship was doomed from the start just as the one with Luke. As soon as Offred got comfortable with Nick and they were intimate, Offred began analyzing so many things and questioning everything, but she gave into herself as she is her own enemy. She was incapable of standing up to her temptations and therefore Offred did not learn to become a better person. Aside from Nick, Offred also had a forbidden relationship with the Commander. Offered was still a Handmaid that abided by the rules before she went to her secret meetings with the Commander. Offred “...constructs her own subjectivity through language as a mode of survival…”

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