Chapter 28 Analysis of The Handmaid's Tale

Summary

· Offred recalls how Moira disapproved of her affair with Luke, saying that Offred was poaching on another woman’s property. We learn that Moira was a lesbian. Offred accused Moira of poaching women, and Moira says it is different with women. It is hot in Offred’s room, and she has been given a fan. She muses that if she were Moira, she would know how to take the fan apart and use the blades as a weapon. She thinks of how strange it now seems to her that women used to have jobs. · Offred remembers the fall of the United States and the creation of Gilead. First, the president was shot and Congress was machine-gunned; then the army declared a state of emergency, telling everyone to remain calm. Islamic fanatics were falsely blamed for the -execution of the entire government. The Constitution was suspended. In shock, people stayed at home and watched their televisions. At this point, Moira warned Offred that something terrible was going to happen. Slowly, the newspapers were censored and roadblocks appeared, and soon everyone had to carry an Identipass. There was a crackdown on smut of all kinds: the “Pornomarts” shut down, and the “Feels-on-Wheels vans” and “Bun-dle Buggies” disappeared. · In Offred’s pre-Gilead days, paper money had been replaced by Compucards that accessed bank accounts directly. One day after the fall of the government, Offred tried to use her Compucard in the local store, and her number was declared invalid. She went to her job at the library, phoned her bank, and got a recording stating that the lines were overloaded. Later that afternoon, her boss appeared looking disheveled and distraught. He told Offred and her female coworkers that he had to fire them, because it was the law. The women had to leave within ten minutes. Two men wearing army uniforms and carrying machine guns watched over the procedure. · When she reached her home, Offred called Moira and learned that women could no longer legally work or hold property. Their bank accounts were transferred to their husbands or the nearest male family member. Luke tried to console her, but Offred wondered if he was already patronizing her. She realizes that the army men she saw were not members of the United States army. They were wearing different uniforms. In the weeks and months that followed, there were protests and marches, but the army cracked down hard on dissent and the protesting stopped. Offred and Luke never joined any of the protests, because they were afraid for their lives and for the life of their daughter. Remembering the marches makes Offred remember earlier protests in which her mother was involved. She remembers being an adolescent and being ashamed of her mother’s activism. · Looking out her window, Offred sees Nick come into the yard and notices that his hat is askew. She wonders, idly, what he gets out of facilitating her forbidden liaisons with the Commander, and she remembers their fleeting kiss in the darkened living room. Then she remembers how the night after she lost her job, Luke wanted to make love, but Offred felt uncomfortable, because the balance of power had shifted subtly. They no longer belonged to each other; instead, she belonged to him. She thought perhaps he liked the fact that she belonged to him. Now she wants to know whether she was right.

Characters

Moira · ‘If I were Moira, I’d know how to take it apart, reduce it to its cutting edges. I have no screwdriver, but if I were Moira, I could do it without a screwdriver. I’m not Moira.’ Page 180 o Moira is a sort of ‘alter-ego’ for Offred, as she has abilities that Offred wishes she had. In this case, Offred is coveting Moira’s resourcefulness and boldness. · ‘I said I was in love. She said that was no excuse.’ Page 180 o This shows the side of Moira that is rational and logical. Moira has a tendency to make her own mind up about things and express it in a forward and vocal way, which is evident through the various forms of rebellion against the regime she instigates throughout the novel. · Offred recounts an argument between herself and Moira (pages 180-181), which is evidence of the maturity of their relationship. Despite their disagreement about relationships, they are still able to maintain a strong and close bond. Their relationship is also close in the fact that Moira can make jokes about Offred’s mother, (pages 181 and 183) where in newer friendships, this may be inappropriate. · Moira is also politically aware of the governmental situation regarding the early signs of Gilead. She warns Offred over the phone (page 183) that this may be the beginning of a sticky situation for them both. When Offred invites Moira over after she has lost her job and access to her money (page 187), Moira is already one step ahead in comprehending the situation. She explains what has happened to Offred; ‘They’ve frozen them… Any account with an F on it instead of an M. All they needed to do was push a few buttons. We’re cut off.’ · After Offred loses her job at the library, she is unsure of what to do, but resolves to call Moira after her mother doesn’t answer. (Page 187) This reveals that Moira is a form of support for Offred, and that Offred is reliant on her, perhaps because she believes that Moira knows what to do. Given Moira’s political awareness, perhaps Offred thinks that Moira will have devised a solution to her problem. · Moira’s occupation is ‘working for a women’s collective, the publishing division. They put out books on birth control and rape and things like that,’ which shows how much importance Moira places on gender equality and the importance of women having control and rights. There is boldness in this campaign, as it goes against the values the government are trying to instil in their people. (For example, in Gilead, children are highly valued, so birth control is not used. The Ceremony could also be considered an act of rape, as Handmaids had little choice in deciding their role within the Republic of Gilead.) The lack of support for Moira’s work is also noticed by Offred; ‘There wasn’t as much demand for those things as there used to be.’ Overview: Moira is a character which Offred relies on. Offred looks up to Moira, as she believes that Moira always has an answer or a way out, regardless of the consequences of her rebellious behaviour. Offred admires her friend’s boldness and wishes that she was like her in some respects. Throughout the novel, thinking about Moira and her ridiculous escape attempts gives Offred hope. Offred values their friendship, and despite obstacles (like Moira’s sexual orientation) they’ve still remained friends; ‘We could fight and wrangle and name-call, but it didn’t change anything underneath. She was still my oldest friend. Is.’ (page 181) Luke · Offred’s affair with Luke was a form of escape from the austerity she was living in; ‘time off from the cockroaches, the dripping sink, linoleum that was peeling off the floor in patches…’ (page 181). · Offred is described by her husband as having ‘the mind of an antiquarian’ (page 182). The word ‘antiquarian’ describes a person who studies or collects antiques. This is a common interest between Offred and Luke, because Offred tells us ‘he liked old things himself.’ (page 182). · Luke is portrayed as being a caring character; ‘Luke knelt beside me and put his arms around me. I heard, he said, on the car radio, driving home. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s only temporary.’ (page 188) This illustrates that their relationship is close and Offred is a priority in his life, as it seems like comforting his wife is the first thing he does as he arrives home. · ‘He was still kneeling on the floor. You know I’ll always take care of you. I thought, already he’s starting to patronise me.’ (page 188) This shows how Luke’s caring side can be a form of irritation for Offred, because he has been given higher status and the ability to financially support her when she is unable to do so herself. Luke’s higher status is symbolised by the fact that he has to kneel in order to be on her level. Luke is not intentionally trying to patronise Offred, but because he is not experiencing the same disadvantage as she is, he is unable to comprehend how she is feeling. This lack of understanding, however slight, is a division in their relationship, which changes its overall dynamic. · Depending on your viewpoint, Luke could either be politically knowledgeable, like Moira, or patriarchal as Offred describes; ‘I didn’t go on any of the marches. Luke said it was futile and I had to think about them, my family, him and her.’ (page 189). In a sense, Luke was right about the futility of the marches, as they didn’t change the outcome of Gilead. However, this also reflects that Offred is the submissive partner in the relationship at this point, because the reason she gives for not going to the marches is that her husband thought they were ineffective. Perhaps this balance of power in decision-making is a result of the lack of Offred’s rights to work and have money in her name, as Luke had to assume the position of the dominant partner. It is evident that Offred believes their relationship has been reshaped by this imbalance of power. On page 191, she says things that suggest she is vulnerable; ‘I felt shrunken, so that when he put his arms around me, gathering me up, I was as small as a doll.’ Offred also feels powerless, as she is his possession; ‘We are not each other’s, any more. Instead, I am his.’ (page 192) She suspects he may be enjoying his power, but felt unable to challenge him; ‘Was I right? Because we never talked about it . By the time I could have done that, I was afraid to. I couldn’t afford to lose you.’ (page 192) Overview: Offred and Luke’s relationship was negatively affected by the beginnings of Gilead. Luke became the dominant partner, which meant Offred became his property and dependent. Luke was very much ‘under the thumb’ of his ex-wife, so perhaps he is exercising his dominance over Offred instead of being the submissive partner. Luke’s ex-wife · Offred mentions how she got a new apartment after Luke managed to ‘pry himself loose’ (page 181). The word ‘pry’ suggests there was difficulty in the marriage ending; it suggests that Luke’s wife was still trying to maintain a hold over him and convince him to stay. Offred’s mother · Although Offred’s mother has been depicted in a rather unruly and sometimes, an uncaring way – ‘I went to my bedroom to be out of their way. They were talking too much, and too loudly. They ignored me and I resented them. My mother and her rowdy friends,’ (page 190) – she is still shown to be caring in other ways. She was described ‘lingering over the photo albums in which she had me framed; these albums were thick with babies, but my replicas thinned out as I got older, as if the population of my duplicates had been hit by some plague.’ (page 190) In some respects, she was no different to other mothers, who take a lot of photographs of their children as young babies, but perhaps the novelty of having a cute baby wore off as Offred grew up. Perhaps Offred offered resistance towards her mother’s actions, whereas she didn’t when she was a young child. · When talking about the uselessness of money, Offred mentions how her ‘mother kept some of it, pasted into her scrapbook, along with the early photos.’ (page 182) This shows how she places value on the past and memory. Perhaps she feels the best times were in the past and she wants to relive it. · On page 183, Offred says Moira was quoting a saying of her mother’s; ‘It’s you and me up against the wall, baby.’ This sounds like an expression someone might use to persuade others that they should participate in a protest for rights. Specifically, Offred’s mother was concerned with women’s issues, such as access to abortion and the problem of porn, therefore, this saying might have been used to convince others they needed to join one of their marches. Offred’s mother was trying to convince others that having these rights were necessary, by saying they were ‘up against the wall’, or in other words, trapped. Offred’s mother used this phrase before any sign of Gilead’s establishment, which could mean she is prone to over-reacting and over-dramatizing the reality of situations. · Offred makes a comment about her mother’s living arrangements in this chapter; ‘She’d settled down more by then, she’d stopped moving every few years; she lived across the river, in Boston.’ (page 187) The history of moving around reflects immaturity and lack of security. Moving around is usually done by younger people who have few responsibilities, however, Offred’s mother does have responsibilities and has chosen to disregard them. Offred reveals that they moved around whilst she was growing up, by using the phrase, ‘one of our many apartments’, (page 189). They may have moved around for the sake of the marches and riots, which reflects that Offred’s welfare and the presence of stability in her life was less of a priority. Also, the lack of security caused by moving around is also reflected in the nature of how she spent her time. Riots are disorderly by definition, which links to the lack of organisation and or structure to Offred’s mother’s life. · Offred’s mother was involved in riots and marches, two of which are mentioned on pages 189-190, the porn riots and the abortion riots. On pages 189-190, Offred describes; ‘My mother had a bruise on her face, and a little blood. You can’t stick your hand through a glass window without getting cut, was what she said about it.’ The fact that she was willing, and even determined to continue to participate in these protests shows that she, like Moira, had the boldness to stand up for and advocate her beliefs about important issues. Also, her nonchalance about her injuries shows her strength and determination for the cause. · As a teenager, Offred gives details about why she was often irritated by her mother’s behaviour; ‘My mother and her rowdy friends. I didn’t see why she had to dress that way, in overalls, as if she were young; or to swear so much.’ (page 190) This is similar to how a lot of parents may describe their teenage children. This section of the novel reflects her mother’s desire to stay young. ‘She liked being more outrageous than I was, more rebellious,’ (page 190) shows how she set out to be more unruly than her daughter, who was in the social group that is widely known for rebellious behaviour. Perhaps this to prove that she has ‘still got it’ and is still young at heart. · Offred reflects on her relationship with her mother on page 190; ‘I hadn’t turned out entirely as she had expected. No mother is ever, completely, a child’s idea of what a mother should be, and I suppose it works the other way around as well. But despite everything, we didn’t do badly by one another, we did as well as most. I wish she were here, so I could tell her I finally know this.’ This reflects that although their differences caused challenges within their relationship, there was still love in it, and Offred now realise that in retrospect, her upbringing was not as bad as she had once thought it to be. Overview: Offred and her mother had a very unconventional and varied relationship. Offred’s mother tried to stay young in her behaviour (dressing in overalls, swearing and moving around for the sake of going to riots) and Offred was often regarded as the ‘prude’ (page 190) who tried to spoil her mother’s fun, which is the opposite of more conventional, mother-daughter relationships, where these roles are switched. Offred’s mother was determined and bold enough to make a stand for what she believed in, but had a habit of over-reacting and over-dramatizing different situations. This resulted in Offred’s childhood being unstable, and their relationship being perhaps weaker than more conventional mother-daughter bonds. Offred was forced to grow up fast, due to her mother’s lack of responsibility. Despite this, there was still love in their relationship. The woman behind the counter · This character is first introduced on page 183. Offred engages her in a little more in depth conversation than small talk. She brings up the topic of the Pornomarts closing, which indicates they have some sort of relationship, in order to discuss a topic like this. · This woman’s name isn’t mentioned, which could indicate that the views she expresses represent the wider views of a majority of women. · She is described as ‘older, with grey hair; my mother’s generation.’ (page 183) The reference to Offred’s mother’s generation could mean she holds similar views to Offred’s mother, or that she is giving a more balanced outlook on current affairs from the same sort of generational experiences. · She says to Offred, ‘Trying to get rid of them is like trying to stamp out mice, you know?’ (page 184) This reflects little worry for the amount of change that could potentially happen at this point in the novel. Although it does seem like pornography and prostitution had been outlawed by the Republic’s establishment, the existence of Jezebel’s and the Commander’s access to illegal magazines show that these things do still exist, despite the regime’s dominance. The man behind the counter · This character is first introduced on page 184. He is described as being about twenty years old. He could represent the views of some of the men towards the changes that are a part of creating Gileadean society. Since he is younger, we can assume this view is being encouraged among young men to agree with the regime. · Offred enters the shop confidently, and asks if the woman she usually sees is sick. He responds, ‘Who? he said, aggressively I thought.’ This suggests he is trying to cover up any trace of the wrong-doing (women prohibited from working) within the regime by responding with aggression and ignorance. · ‘It’s not valid, he repeated obstinately. See that red light? Means it’s not valid.’ (page 185) This shows that he is unmoved by Offred’s objections and attempt to persuade him. There is little emotion shown within his reactions towards her. He is described as ‘indifferent’ which means he has a lack of concern, sympathy and interest for her individual cause, much like the harsh norms of the regime. Offred’s boss · This character is first introduced on page 185. Presumably he is older than the man at the counter, and could represent other views of men towards the regime in Gilead. · The pressure to fire his female staff has a visible emotional effect on him; ‘He looked terrible; his hair was untidy, his eyes were pink and wobbling, as though he’d been drinking.’ (page 185) This could also be the case with other men who feel pressured into treating women a certain way. For example, in other points in the novel, the Commander shows signs of wanting to treat Offred as he would a woman he was dating before the regime was established, which reveals a reluctance to fully accept the regulations of the regime as the right way to treat people. · Also unlike the man behind the counter, Offred’s boss shows a lot of sympathy and concern for his staff; ‘I’m sorry, he said, but it’s the law. I really am sorry.’ (page 185) This links in with what the Commander says in another chapter that men still feel things, as it suggests that men are emotionally affected by the regime just as women are.

Narrative Style

· Suspense is generated on page 185, where Offred’s boss is about to tell his staff that they have to leave; ‘About two o’clock, after lunch, the director came into the discing room, I have something to tell you, he said.’ Usually, a paragraph ends with a full stop, exclamation point, or question mark, whereas commas are most commonly found in the middle of a sentence. This suggests to the reader that there is a sort of lingering tension in the room as he enters, it is hard to understand the full situation, as the sentence that hasn’t been finished. It could also mean the boss speaking interrupts Offred’s trail of thought or the normal running of the library. · The large majority of this chapter is told through flashbacks and Offred’s memory. The chapter starts with Offred describing where she is in the Commander’s house and what she is doing. She talks about the electric fan and then mentions how she thinks Moira could take it apart and use the blades for something else. Then Offred starts describing a discussion she was having with Moira in the past. There is no line break to show the transition between the present and past events. Instead, this shows how both the past and present are fluidly connected in Offred’s mind. (page 180) · There are line breaks on pages 181-190. Each of them is to show or represent something different. The line break on page 181 shows a different trail of thought, as Offred elaborates on the status of her apartment, whereas before this, she focussed on her friendship with Moira and only touched upon her apartment. This line break is a natural progression, like a change of conversation. Also, in the same natural and conversational way, the narrative evolves to discuss her job, money and the abolition of democracy. As this section of the chapter carries on, on page 183, the narrative style becomes less conversational and more similar to a stream of consciousness. The phrase, ‘Keep calm, they said on television. Everything is under control,’ sounds less like someone repeating something they have heard, and more like a direct quote. It is written in the same way as a newsreader or authoritative figure may say it. This suggests the following narrative is composed of a mixture of Offred’s thoughts and the memories of the different things she has been told. For example, ‘There wasn’t even an enemy you could put your finger on.’ (page 183) sounds more like her opinion of the political situation, not something she has heard. · The line break on page 183 shows a lapse in time, as Offred sums up a few weeks in the first sentence; ‘Things continued in that state of suspended animation for weeks, although some things did happen.’ Offred then goes on to tell the readers the important events within the time she had skipped over, such as roadblocks appearing, and Identipasses being issued. · The line break on page 183 also shows a shift back to the conversational style of narrative, where Offred is speaking aloud to her audience, telling the story in her own words. · The next line break is on page 186. The long section perhaps could show how Offred felt that everything on that day happened at once and there was no relief from the misfortune she experienced. · The page break on page 186 also shows a time lapse, as Offred skips to the point where she has arrived home, as the journey is not significant. · The frequent page breaks show how Offred’s memory is not continuous, and perhaps there are gaps in it. · This chapter is within the ‘Soul Scrolls’ section. In this part of the novel, Offred is aware of the resistance movement and is encouraged to feedback to Oflgen with information. This section marks where Offred is not alone in her resistance and reluctance towards the regime. The content of this chapter reflects a new-found confidence to remember and think her own thoughts, whereas in previous chapters, she said that remembering and thinking is dangerous. · There is scrupulous attention to detail, particularly in describing the woman, and later the man behind the counter at the shop. It’s not particularly useful to the readers whether or not the woman had grey hair or whether the man had pimples on his neck (page 183-184), but it gives us the impression that this time in Offred’s life is very clear to her in her memory, perhaps because it was important in shaping the next few years of her life. Throughout the novel, Offred also pays a lot of attention to small details, which may suggest that she is perhaps trying to distract herself or busy herself, as there may be nothing or something she doesn’t want to focus on.

Language

· On page 182, Offred says that her and her co-workers used to joke that the library was a ‘discotheque’, which is a public dance hall for dancing to recorded music. Because they were transferring books to discs, perhaps they are inferring that books may become like music – being recorded digitally. Perhaps it also means that books are like music to them, and Offred misses being allowed to read. · On page 180, Offred describes what she thinks her face must look like from the other side of the curtain; ‘bandaged mouth, blind eyes.’ This could represent the regime’s control, as she is not allowed to have freedom of speech or to see, because of the white wings on her veil and in the chapter before, Offred and Ofglen witness the Eyes kidnap someone, which they were trying not to see. · On page 181, where Moira and Offred are discussing Moira’s sexuality and gender equality, Offred remembers; ‘She said I had trivialised the issue and if I thought it was outdated I was living with my head in the sand.’ This is foreshadowing what is to come, as women lose their right to work or have their own money. · Similarly, Offred also dismisses Moira’s idea of living in a ‘women-only enclave’ (page 181); ‘Men were not just going to go away, I said. You can’t just ignore them.’ It is ironic that in the Republic of Gilead, this is what the Handmaids are supposed to do, as relationships with their Commanders or Guardians were strictly forbidden. o This phrase also has two different tenses. ‘Men were not’ makes it sound as if Offed was telling someone else this conversation, which we later learn that she was recording this over old mixtapes. The ‘were’ makes it sound like she is looking back from a future time, and is not fully in the moment. · On page 184, it says; ‘There was a lot more music on the radio than usual, and fewer words.’ This suggests that people do not know what to say about the state of affairs, or they are afraid of saying something wrong. · ‘No children walked to school anymore, there had been too many disappearances.’ (page 184). From this we can infer that children are becoming a lot more valuable, so people are going to extreme measures in order to get them. · When Offred loses her job on page 186, she describes the reaction of one of her co-workers like ‘something you would say in a movie.’ She also describes the armed men in the corridor as ‘too theatrical to be true…at odds with their surroundings’. This describes how she feels like what is happening is not actually real. She also says ‘there was a dreamlike quality to them’ which creates a sort of barrier between herself and what is happening to her, because she will be less affected by the events if she convinces herself it isn’t really happening. · ‘I remember touching things, not consciously, just placing my fingers on them,’ (page 186). This perhaps shows that Offred is trying to be more connected to what is happening so she can try and understand it. She previously vaguely described a separation between reality and her perception of it, which perhaps means she is a little numb from her surreal experiences. · On page 187, Offred says how she thought about her daughter’s school lunches and whether she’d given her too many peanut-butter sandwiches. This seems like quite an irrelevant thing to think about, considering what is happening to her, however Offred is most likely trying to distract herself. · Moira says to Offred ‘Ours is not to reason why’ (page 188), which foreshadows the encouragement in the Red Centre for women not to think about what is happening. · ‘I started doing more housework, more baking’, (page 189). This represents the shift back to a traditional division of labour in the home (the man earning the wage and the female staying at home).

Themes

· This chapter in the novel relates to mostly another flashback that Offred experiences throughout the whole novel itself. Also this looks into the theme of marriage as it refers to Offred’s relation with Luke as it also mentions a possible ex to Luke before Offred. · There is also the issue with identity that is referred to at the very beginning of the chapter. Offred is comparing herself to Moira and saying that if she was Moira she would be able to take apart the fan that is in her room. ‘if I were Moira, id know how to take it apart, reduce it to its cutting edges.’ (pg 180) · However not long after she clearly is aware of the difference in identity because she states that she is not Moira. Showing that she knows that she is her own person whereas nearly everyone in the entire of the rest of the novel has been stripped of their personal identity. · In this quote in the chapter this covers two of the main themes which is children and marriage simply by mentioning one of the words directly and the other by talking about the child that Offred had. ‘it was after we’d been married, for years it seemed; she was three or four, in daycare.’ (pg 184) This also shows that Offred clearly had a life of her own before the start of Gilead. · Passivity was another theme that had been introduced in this chapter when we find out that Offred has lost her job. It shows the beginning of the new Gilead showing that women now have no financial or social power even though Offred tries to gain some answers through this quote: ‘we’re being fired? I said. I stood up. But why?’ (pg 185)