characters Flashcards
offred
Offred
We never learn her real name – only identification is through the patronymic Offred.
She is both protagonist and narrator and is the most realised character.
Reader has great sympathy for Offred but feels let down by her marginalisation.
Previous life is characterized by motherhood, marriage, work and friendship.
She was not political and did not foresee what was going to happen.
Only means of survival is through small rebellions.
She has an ironic, cynical sense of humour and a strong sense of holding onto the past. As a result,
she never adopts the role of Handmaid psychologically.
She separates her body from her mind to prevent a mental collapse.
Her life is very restricted so in order to remain intellectually healthy she plays word games with
herself.
She is an astute observer and describes those around her in a satirical and precise way.
She is a self-conscious narrator – she reminds the reader of the flaws in the act of storytelling.
She is only human after all. Hers is a very subjective narrative. She has to recount unpleasant
experiences in order to communicate the truth of her experiences.
She retains a sense of privacy – we never hear about her first night with Nick, her daughter’s real
name or even her own.
She is both independent and feminine – middle ground between extremes of feminism.
She is educated and intelligent – recognises and highlights the ironies and contradictions of the
‘time before’ and of the Gileadean regime.
She has limited choices but takes responsibility for her actions.
quotes for offred
‘Thinking can hurt your chances and I intend to last.’
‘Waste not want not. I am not being wasted. Why do I want?’
‘The night is mine, my own time, to do with as I will, as long as I am quiet.’ (pg 48)
‘We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance. You have to work at it.’ (pg 66)
‘I wait. I compose myself. Myself is a thing I must now compose as one composes a speech. What I
must present is a made thing, not something born.’ (pg 76)
‘What I need is perspective. The illusion of depth…Otherwise you live in the moment…Live in the
present, make the most of it, it’s all you’ve got.’ (pg 153)
‘I’m sorry there is so much pain in this story. I’m sorry it’s in fragments, like a body caught in
crossfire or pulled apart by force. But there is nothing I can do to change it.’ (pg279)
‘What else do we know about her…Not very much’
commander
The description of the Commander is constantly changing as Offred’s feelings towards him
change.
He is quite an elusive character despite the fact that his is the strongest relationship Offred
has.
Ruthless and imposing, well educated and clever.
Among the elite who are responsible for the implementation of the Gileadean regime.
He is blind to the effects of the regime he helped to introduce. He genuinely believes that the
regime is a good thing.
He shows no remorse over the death of the previous Offred.
He too is lonely and isolated in his own regime and has to break some of the rules he introduced.
Becomes more and more unlikeable as the novel progresses.
Paternal and patronising to Offred.
His behaviour at Jezebels reveals his ignorance and deeply sexist opinions.
Appears to be a vulnerable old man as he watches Offred being taken away.
He gives the regime a human face. He seems to be an average kind of guy.
commander quotes
‘I can see now, it’s the Commander, he isn’t supposed to be here … He is violating custom.’ (pg 59)
‘He looks like a midwestern bank president…his manner is mild…He looks over us as if taking
inventory…He manages to appear puzzled, as if he can’t quite remember how we all got in here.’ (pg 97)
‘This is not recreation, even for the Commander. This is serious business. The Commander, too, is doing
his duty.’ (pg 105)
‘For him, I must remember, I am only a whim.’ (pg 168)
‘How can I describe what really goes on between us?’ (pg 235)
‘Tonight I have a little surprise for you,’ he says. He laughs; it’s more like a snigger. I notice that
everything this evening is little. He wishes to diminish things, myself included.’ (pg 241)
‘He is showing me off, to them…but he is also showing off to me. He is demonstrating, to me, his
mastery of the world. He’ s breaking the rules, under their noses, thumbing his nose at them, getting
away with it.’ (pg 306)
serena joy
Serena Joy
Most important female figure in Offred’s daily life.
Representation of the spurned wife. She is desperate to have children but unable to, so she
suffers the procreation arrangements.
Indulges her mothering instincts by nurturing plants in her garden and knitting.
Serena Joy is trapped in her own ideals.
Frustration and unhappiness are evident in her chain-smoking and surly manner.
Characteristics are: jealousy, gossiping, cold and vindictive.
Serena Joy believes in love – her love for her husband verges on possessiveness.
She is both wretched and generous to Offred.
Mixed feelings when Offred leaves.
Serena Joy arouses the reader’s sympathy.
serena joy quotes
‘I am a reproach to her; and a necessity.’
‘‘Which of us is it worse for, her or me?’ (pg 106)
moira quotes
‘She was now a loose woman.’
‘I’d like to say she blew up Jezebel’s, with fifty commanders inside it…But as far as I know that didn’t
happen. I don’t know how she ended…because I never saw her again.’(pg 262)
moira
Moira
She is a very strong character with a strong sense of survival which pervades her actions.
Possibly the most influential character on Offred. She is a beacon of hope for Offred.
Unconventional and self-assured, individual and funny.
Her humour at the Red Centre is important to the other Handmaids as it is the only weapon they
have against the tyranny of the Aunts. But she jokes about everything and tries to laugh off
danger.
Politically feminist and lesbian. Very conscious of her rights.
Betrays herself and her ideals at Jezebel’s.
Despite several attempts to escape, she is captured and condemned to a factious life within the
regime.
nick
Attractive and sexy but with an air of mystery. His motives and desires are never revealed.
He is an Eye and a trusted member of the Commander’s household.
He shows a rebellious streak when he winks at Offred and touches her feet during the Prayers.
He fulfils Offred’s fantasy of being rescued. Possibly a member of Mayday.
luke
‘New man’ of the twentieth century: involved in child rearing, cooking, household chore and is
supportive of Offred when she loses her job.
Presented as a shadowy figure in Offred’s narrative – perhaps suggesting that he is (or she
believes he is) dead.
His memory is vital to her survival.
He is the only person from the ‘time before’ who never resurfaces.
Note that Offred’s relationship with Luke began as an extra-marital affair and they enjoyed
wordplay, yet Nick is Luke’s mirror in Gilead.
offreds mum
Member of the Women’s Liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s.
Records of her participation in events such as book burnings is based on facts – he exploits are
taken to the extreme in Gilead.
She is disappointed that Offred takes for granted the advances in women’s rights that her
generation achieved.
Links to Moira are obvious.
Also links to Serena Joy – each woman is undermined by her own ideals in Gilead.
She is reduced to being an Unwoman, clearing toxic waste in the colonies. She is used as an
example in documentary films.
‘Mother, I think. Wherever you may be. Can you hear me? You wanted a women’s culture. Well, now
there is one. It isn’t what you meant, but it exists. Be thankful for small mercies.’ (pg 137)
ofglen
Altruistic heroine – works tirelessly for the resistance movement. She shows mercy and bravado.
Represents collective resistance in opposition to Moiré’s lone rebellion.
Where Offred struggles with cowardice, Ofglen is decisive and courageous.
Reacts very differently to Offred when she knows the black van is coming for her.
Is her suicide an act of valour?
janine
Victim of freedom and oppression.
Rape is a crime of power – Janine suffers twice in different ways. In the ‘time before’ , when
women were not protected she is gang raped, and as a handmaid, her Unbaby is destroyed. In both
situations, she is a powerless individual woman, victimised by a powerful group of men.
She is a devout believer in the system but is destroyed by its practices – she goes mad.
profesor pixieto
Tries to be analytical and impartial about the text he is studying.
Does not take Offred’s testimony seriously because of his inability to place it completely in a
context of known historical facts.
‘The past is a great darkness and filed with echoes. Voices may reach us from it; but what they say is
imbued with the obscurity of the matrix out of which they come; and, try as we may, we cannot always
decipher them precisely in the clearer light of our own day’ (pg 324)
aunts
Older women who train Handmaids, deliver births and preside over Salvagings.
Betray other women through their collaboration with the new regime.
Use physical punishment as a means of control.
Names suggest that they are caring and supportive.
‘The Republic of Gilead, said Aunt Lydia, Knows no bounds. Gilead is within you.’ (pg 33)
‘There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In days of
anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.’ (pg 34)
