The Handmaid of Fred

    In The Handmaid's Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, the main protagonist is Offred.  Living in the theocratic society of Gilead where the pregnancy rate is steadily decreasing, she plays the role of a handmaid; a woman who bears children for the upper class society.  As a handmaid, she is obliged to don a shapeless robe "the colour of blood" and a headdress of "white wings" to prevent others from glimpsing her face (8).

   Caught between the overturn of the democratic government, her life changes drastically from a society where women are free to roam where they desire and speak their mind to being "a rat in a maze [that] is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze" and fearing every conversation is being overheard by the government's many eyes and ears (155).  Before the totalitarian government took over, she was involved in a relationship with Luke, and had a young daughter.  But when the family could no longer withstand the ridiculous new laws, they decided to sneak across the border to a neighboring country not caught up in this turmoil.  Unfortunately, they are caught and separated; since then, Offred has not seen them.   She was then imprisoned and trained to be a handmaid because her daughter confirms that she is one of the few who are able to become fertile.  All handmaids are then sent to different elite households, in her case, the family of Commander Fred (handmaids are named after their Commander) and his wife, Serena Joy. 

    Motivation is a rare emotion when your future is one straight path already laid out for you.  For Offred, it is very much the same, however her spirit is not yet broken by the strict society.  She is motivated by a sliver of hope that she might see her best friend, Moira, again because Moira was also sent to be a handmaid but was only shipped off after several attempts to escape.  But most of the time, Offred is like most other handmaids, they desire the afterlife: "Death is a beautiful woman, with wings and one breast almost bare; or is that Victory?" (156).  However, the government is aware of their wishes so every object that they may harm themselves with is put out of reach. 

   In an imperfect society, many problems arise; Offred is faced with both internal and external conflicts.  Although Commanders and their handmaids should not develop any special relationship, Offred's Commander is different, when his wife is out Offred is invited into his study where they play Scrabble and end her visit with a requested tender farewell kiss.  Before the secret meetings, every time she is required to participate in the Ceremony where the Commander and she bed, in hopes of impregnating her, she feels emotionless as though she is only fulfilling a duty.  Afterward, "he occupies space, he is more than a shadow" but she doesn't "love the Commander...he's only of interest to [her]" which makes her confused and wondering if what she is doing is right because their arrangements are "prohibited by law and punishable by amputation" (153)(145).  An external conflict that Offred is involved in is with Serena Joy, the Commander's Wife. As a wife and a woman, Serena is envious of Offred's ability to become fertile and perhaps land a place in her husband's heart and because of this "she doesn't speak to [Offred], unless can't avoid it" (13). But though the handmaid is "a reproach to her", she accepts the fact that Offred is "a necessity" (13).