Moira Flashcards
Describe Moira’s personality.
She’s a fighter - tenacious, rebellious and stands up for herself.
Why is Moira’s personality tragic in the end?
The fact that she is eventually tamed by the terrifying society of Gilead makes it even more tragic than it is with other, less fiery, characters.
What does Moira provide the other women with after her escape?
A sense of fantasy and dread. While they are starting to succumb to the Center’s brainwashing and feel comfortable there, Moira never does; she is never willing to concede her freedom:
‘Moira was like an elevator with open sides’… (22.45-47)
What gives the narrator hope and makes her life more bearable?
Remembering Moira’s story of breaking out. This is why it’s so awful to find Moira working at Jezebel’s and learn that Gilead has finally managed to beat her into submission:
‘She is frightening me now’ … (38.62)
What does Moira represent for the narrator?
Moira represents courage and hope for the narrator, a will and an agency that others have lost. As long as Moira had these qualities, it was okay that the narrator didn’t, because at least she knew they still existed in the world. If Moira has lost them, Gilead has really won.
What does Moira’s failure to escape suggest?
If Moira, the resourceful two-time escapee, only made it as far as Jezebel’s in her attempt to get out of Gilead, things don’t look good for any other woman trapped in this hellish society.
