Critical response of Offred

Question 1

What does Michele Lacombe argue?

Answer 1

Irony, language, insistence on retaining personal memories and even the fact she ‘wrote’ the tale in the first place means that Offred is subversive.

Question 2

What does Corale Howelles argue?

Answer 2

Storytelling is Offred’s means of survival and resistance, reinforcing her identity and challenging those who would silence her.

Question 3

Why are Lacombe’s and Howelles arguments weak?

Answer 3

Offred actually didn’t ‘write’ anything - the tale was reconstructed by male scholars with not very feminist opinions - if Offred’s power is language, it is silent and ineffectual.

Question 4

What does S. Anne Johnson argue?

Answer 4

Offred is less of a heroine and more of a victim. Her individuality is ‘inexorably’ broken down by Gilead’s brainwashing efforts. The inevitable defeat of the dystopian protagonist = trope of the genre.

Question 5

What does Chris Ferns argue?

Answer 5

In a world that outlaws passionate love, Offred’s relationship with Nick is subversive.