The Two Sides of Offred

  "My self is a thing I must now compose as one composes a speech. What I must preset is a made thing, not something born."
          

      In this quote, Offred illustrates two contradicting messages about her position as a Handmaid. On one hand, she must act unattached due to the limits of the dress and lifestyle. The comparison of her life to the composition of a speech demonstrates this bleak tone by separating her thoughts and ideals from her body. She begins the separation by stating that her "self" is "a made thing", implying that she has been molded rather than developed naturally or "born".
 
      However, Offred doesn't seem to lose all of her hope. According to the first part of the quote, she must compose and preset herself. Fearing the effects on her unborn child, the officials of Gilead will not beat her into submission. She owns very little, but she still holds implicit power with every thought and slight movement that she makes, such as her accounts of her life and the Latin writing in her room that she doesn't show anyone. Gilead has pressured her into becoming a cautious Handmaid, but she still makes her own decisions, even if they are small and surreptitious.

       These two sides of Offred deepens her character. On the surface, she is a resource who must obey official authority. Under white wings and red dress, she holds tightly onto scraps of the past and aligning them with her present situation to preserve her individual power. The existence of these two sides shows readers of the Handmaids Tale the possible differences between the surface and the true nature of individuals.


Image courtesy of OWNI.eu
Quote courtesy of The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

In Der Nacht.....

          Today marks a gruesome day in fictional history. There were troubling times in Gilead as the Eyes and Rebels engaged in a stealthy trench warfare. On one side, Eyes wanted to contain the Handmaids and squelch the Rebels. On the other, Rebels took great risks to free the Handmaids. As I stand near the Wall, awaiting my "just" end, I shall recount the events from my perspective.

        On my first day as a Handmaid, I eyed everyone in the room suspiciously. Points were rewarded for surviving, and I couldn't trust a single person if I were to earn at least 20 of them; this was the objective the Handmaid's Mayday. The air was casual, and I spat out the greeting, "Praise be" to lessen anyone's suspicion. Recently, and tentatively, to be honest, I had become a Mayday Rebel. The day passed quickly in my furtive investigation to find any Eyes--- the treacherous fools--- and the first night came.

         As I feigned slumber in the classroom (I refuse to call it my classroom), I first tried to be furtive and peer through the gaps of my crossed arms as the music and patting began. As my head slowly rose, I counted three other unanticipated others who were valient enough to join my ranks in liberation. Just in case my fellow liberators have continued in their heroism, I will name them: Mophead, Flaxen, and Chestershire Cat. All four of us didn't know who to choose, so the first Handmaiden to select was a great risk. As I lowered my head and the night went on, I noted that only one person left. Even when I could hear the Eye music play, there was no audible sign of immediate execution. Praise be! We were successful.

          The next couple of days and nights went on just as smoothly as the first, give or take the dissappearance of an Eye (good riddens!). On the fourth day, however, I noticed that Flaxen was missing. Immediately, everyone noticed her absence. Sarah quickly figured out that a rebel must have been executed, and my blood rushed. I couldn't help but wonder if I could be discovered now that the number of Handmaids diminished. That night, as I rose with Chestershire Cat and Mophead, the group decided to chosoe another Handmaid to liberate. The music covered my steps, but I was still nervous when I woke Emily up. With a grin and an extended hand, she silently chose to become one of Us.

        After Emily joined, I began to gain confidence in my safety. Then, as I lied back down to rest, I realized that one of the Handmaids shifted to peak. Corina, a possible traitor or friend, had turned her head so quickly that I almost didn't notice. Just as I realized this, someone tapped my shoulder. It was a small tap, but it terrified me at first because it was during the rhythmic sound of Eye music. Looking over my right shoulder, I saw Derrel. What? "Are you an Eye?" she mouthed. For some reason, at that exact moment, I couldn't lie. Upon joining the Mayday Rebels I thought I could, but I just couldn't lie! So, in less than five seconds, I ended up where I am now, with a bag over my head and only minutes away from execution.

                   ****************************************************************

       At the end of the day, I don't have many regrets.  I learned that I should walk more quietly and that a certain extent of trust will always prolong my existence, since my fellow Rebels kept me alive longer than other Handmaids. However, I also learned from the experience that I shouldn't discount people who look nice (like Derrel) from having the boldness to passively murder me or sentence me to death. In the obscurity of the night, anyone can be merciless.

      Overall, The Handmaids Mayday was fun because I was able to live vicariously through the daily threat of persecution and death of the Handmaids. The thrill that I lived through during the class activity kept me interested with the plot of the Handmaids Tale by giving me more personal experience on the risks that Offred often tries to avoid. Now I have a deeper understanding of Offred's first person view.

Sewn Shut From Sisterhood

"Fraternize means to behave like a brother. Luke told me that. He said there was no corresponding word that meant to behave like a sister. Sororize, it would have to be, he said." Chapter 2; page 11

         The ownership of women by men is implied throughout the first four chapters of The Handmaid's Tale. In this dystopia, each Handmaid is assigned a name according to their individual husband, they are not allowed to read, and they are monitored by male dominated officials, such as the Guardians and the men in black vans. Succinctly, Offred's quote of the meaning of "fraternize" implies the social order of Gilead.

        Throughout The Handmaid's Tale, women, from the secured Handmaid's to the working Econowives, are clearly not allowed to socialize with one another; this parallels with the fact that sororize doesn't exist. The only existing word for sororize is sisterhood, but its "s" sound is passive in comparison to the clear sound of the "f" and "b" in fraternize and brother. Sororize doesn't have a position in dictionaries, just as every wife in Gilead cannot form friendships, but their guardians can fraternize. This quote illustrates through word denotation and connotation, the rift between the men and women in Gilead.

Image courtesy of ISP - Handmaid's Tale