Offred & Moira

Offred

Offred is the intradiegetic (within the story) narrator. Offred is the only main protagonist and is openly unreliable. She tells the reader: "This is also a belief of mine. This is also untrue".

Narrative style and character

Offred's story is full of time shifts, digressions, half-remembered memories and fantasies.
She shares her deepest fears and hopes with the reader as and when they come to her. Her narrative is like a stream of consciousness.
Offred seems to be an intelligent, witty and flawed human being.
She regrets her complacency in the past when she was aware of the grassroots of Gilead being formed.

Likeable, not feminist

Offred is likeable and sympathetic.
She has weaknesses that make her feel like a real person.
She is far from being a feminist character. She admits that she judges other women's actions and clothing. She admits that she became Luke's mistress whilst he was still married. She is passive and complacent when she begins her sexual affair with Nick.

Offred's "reconstructions"

The reader has to work with Offred's different versions of the truth, or as she calls them "reconstructions".
- The ending is ambiguous with her stepping into the van.
- Professor Pieixoto refuses to delve deep into her story.
  - Because of these ambiguities, the reader is still left with questions about her and what became of her.

Moira

Moira's ending in the novel is one of the most tragic. She is left in Jezebel's, servicing the sexual needs of men.

Moira's tragic ending

Moira appears to have lost all her sense of fight and rebellion which so inspired to Offred in her previous life.
- "She shrugs again. It must be resignation".

Genuine friendship and rebellion

Moira and Offred's friendship is the only genuine female relationship in the novel.
Their friendship gives Offred hope when she meets Moira in the Red Centre for the first time after her capture.
Moira embodies all that is subversive in the novel. Her sexuality is subversive as she is a lesbian, so she doesn't fulfill the basic reproductive requirements of Gilead.

Moira's escapes

Moira is the only woman who tries to escape, even after she is brutally beaten for her first attempt.
Her second escape - tying up an Aunt and wearing her uniform out of the Red Centre - shows her defiant nature.

A changed Moira

When Offred spots her again in Jezebel's, Moira is completely different: "what I hear in her voice is indifference, a lack of volition."
- Moira's passive acceptance creates a sombre end to the chapter.
- Atwood may be showing the overwhelming power of totalitarian regimes on even the most resistant and rebellious people.

1Author Background

1.1Margaret Atwood

1.1.1Margaret Atwood

2Chapter Summaries

2.1Chapter 1: Night I

2.1.1Chapter 1

2.2Chapters 2-6: Shopping II

2.2.1Chapter 2

2.2.2Chapter 3

2.2.3Chapter 4

2.2.4Chapter 5

2.2.5Chapter 6

2.3Chapter 7: Night II

2.3.1Chapter 7

2.4Chapters 8-12: Waiting Room IV

2.4.1Chapter 8

2.4.2Chapter 9

2.4.3Chapter 10

2.4.4Chapter 11

2.4.5Chapter 12

2.5Chapter 13: Nap V

2.5.1Chapter 13

2.6Chapters 14-17: Household VI

2.6.1Chapter 14

2.6.2Chapter 15

2.6.3Chapter 16

2.6.4Chapter 17

2.7Chapter 18: Night VII

2.7.1Chapter 18

2.8Chapters 19-23: Birth Day VIII

2.8.1Chapter 19

2.8.2Chapter 20

2.8.3Chapter 21

2.8.4Chapter 22

2.8.5Chapter 23

2.9Chapter 24: Night IX

2.9.1Chapter 24

2.10Chapters 25-29: Soul Scrolls X

2.10.1Chapter 25

2.10.2Chapter 26

2.10.3Chapter 27

2.10.4Chapter 28

2.10.5Chapter 29

2.11Chapter 30: Night XI

2.11.1Chapter 30

2.12Chapters 31-39: Jezebel's XII

2.12.1Chapter 31

2.12.2Chapter 32

2.12.3Chapter 33

2.12.4Chapter 34

2.12.5Chapter 35

2.12.6Chapter 36

2.12.7Chapter 37

2.12.8Chapter 38

2.12.9Chapter 39

2.13Chapter 40: Night XIII

2.13.1Chapter 40

2.14Chapters 41-45: Salvaging XIV

2.14.1Chapter 41

2.14.2Chapter 42

2.14.3Chapter 43

2.14.4Chapter 44

2.14.5Chapter 45

2.15Chapter 46: Night XV

2.15.1Chapter 46

2.16Historical Notes

2.16.1Historical Notes

3Dedications & Epigraph

3.1Dedications & Epigraph

3.1.1Dedications

3.1.2Epigraph

4Context

4.1Setting

4.1.1Setting

4.2Literary Context & Genre

4.2.1The Canterbury Tales & The Scarlet Letter

4.2.2Links to Dystopian Fiction

4.3Political Context

4.3.1Berlin & Iran

4.3.2The New Right in America

4.4Historical Context

4.4.1Puritan New England

4.5Parallels: Read World & Gilead

4.5.1The Underground Femaleroad

4.5.2Children of Ham & Soul Scrolls

4.5.3Offred's Tattoo, Salvaging & Illegal Abortions

4.5.4Unwomen, Colonies & Giving Away Offred's Daughter

4.6Religious Context

4.6.1Religious Context

5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques

5.1Narrative Structure

5.1.1Narrative Structure

5.2Literary Techniques

5.2.1Literary Techniques

5.2.2Colour Symbolism

6Themes & Imagery

6.1Themes

6.1.1Survival & Language

6.1.2The Female Body

6.2Imagery

6.2.1The Garden & Doubles

7Characters

7.1Female Characters

7.1.1Offred & Moira

7.1.2Offred's Mother, Ofglen & Ofwarren

7.1.3Serena Joy & Aunt Lydia

7.2Male Characters

7.2.1The Commander

7.2.2Nick & Luke

8Readings

8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale

8.1.1Eco-Criticism

8.1.2Complacency

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