Offred knows very little
about Ofglen's life before
Gilead and doesn't even
know her real name
The deixis "this one" dehumanises Ofglen
and suggests, at first, Offred just saw her
as another Handmaid, like she is
dispensable
The simile used at the
beginning of the novel, "like a
trained pig's on its hind legs"
shows how critical and cynical
Offred is of Ofglen initially
She is the first one to introduce "may
day" to the novel and is a symbol of the
underground movement
This is also shows at the Particulation where a
member of "may day" has been put to death so she
"kicks him in the head viciously" to reduce the length
of time he spends in pain.
This public display could have been what lead to Ofglen being found out
and he subsequently hanging herself
Ofglen 2.0
Offred describes her speech as "word perfect" when she says "I am
Ofglen". This creates imagery of robots, suggesting that Handmaids are
just on a production line and can be removed when Gilead needs it. This
replacement of Ofglen unsettles Offred and makes her feel vulnerable
again
As a result of Ofglen hanging herself, Offred says "I
feel, for the first time, their true power"
Relationship with
Offred
They're described as "siamese twins"
suggesting they're very similar
"Doubled, I walk the street" The first person pronoun shows how she sees both
her and Ofglen as one person, again highlighting that the Handmaids are not
seen as individuals, instead they're seen as a group of beings
Ofglen allows Offred's rebellious side to be shown