Hi there!
If you really want to get insight of this book, you need to know a little more about its characters. I’ll start with the major characters, and add some more characters later. Enjoy!
Best, Woutje
Offred
The protagonist of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. You are shown the story from her point of view. She’s a Handmaid, which is in this society a fertile woman, forced to bear children for the elite group of Commanders and their infertile wives. She always wears red dresses and white wings to protect her face, as all Handmaids do. The name of the narrator, Offred, is not her real one. It’s a constructed name, indicating that she belongs to her Commander; of-Fred. We never get to learn what her real name is or what she looks like. What we do know, is that she has viable ovaries.
The protagonist of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. You are shown the story from her point of view. She’s a Handmaid, which is in this society a fertile woman, forced to bear children for the elite group of Commanders and their infertile wives. She always wears red dresses and white wings to protect her face, as all Handmaids do. The name of the narrator, Offred, is not her real one. It’s a constructed name, indicating that she belongs to her Commander; of-Fred. We never get to learn what her real name is or what she looks like. What we do know, is that she has viable ovaries.
Telling us the story, the narrator glances back to the past many times, as her mind is easily distracted by flashbacks; however, she is always trying to listen to others, trying to be kind. She has a hint of a dark sense of humour, mocking some aspects of the Republic of Gilead, sometimes trying to manipulate her world in the little ways she can. She’s interesting in the men living around her, taking small digs at them. Also, she contemplates stealing things to take back a little of her power, or to use it as a weapon.
For her past: she’s a Handmaid who still remembers ‘before’. She had a husband, Luke, whom she loved deeply, and a daughter, living in their own apartment. She used to work for herself, but as the Republic of Gilead took control, she lost her job and started to do more in the household. Her daughter was stolen in this society, and she prays for her to be alive, although it would be easier to consider her dead.
The Commander
The Commander is the head of the narrator’s household. He works for the Republic of Gilead, dealing with important business. He seems a decent man, working hard for his household and Gilead. Nevertheless, he is into some illegal business. He visits Jezebel’s, a sex club for the elite, higher men in Gilead, and took the narrator with him as a result of some evenings they spent together. These nights, they would play scrabble, read or just talk. The narrator thinks of him as a sympathetic, friendly man, but the night after he took her to Jezebel’s, she wonders if that’s true, since he used the women like dolls, misusing his power, something he could easily do with her.
The Commander is the head of the narrator’s household. He works for the Republic of Gilead, dealing with important business. He seems a decent man, working hard for his household and Gilead. Nevertheless, he is into some illegal business. He visits Jezebel’s, a sex club for the elite, higher men in Gilead, and took the narrator with him as a result of some evenings they spent together. These nights, they would play scrabble, read or just talk. The narrator thinks of him as a sympathetic, friendly man, but the night after he took her to Jezebel’s, she wonders if that’s true, since he used the women like dolls, misusing his power, something he could easily do with her.
Moira
More than half of the narrator’s flashback, are looking back to her college time. The narrator’s best friend in that period was Moira, a feministic rebel, trying to cross borders, standing up against to world with the narrator. She’s a lesbian, and doing anything to escape from the laws the Republic of Gilead got upon her. Several times, she tried to escape from the Red Centre, succeeding once. She is caught though, the narrator found out, meeting her in Jezebel’s. Moira is the narrator’s symbol of rebellion, power, a voice screaming for reason and action. She takes care of people and herself, it gives the narrator hope that one day, this society will come to an end.
More than half of the narrator’s flashback, are looking back to her college time. The narrator’s best friend in that period was Moira, a feministic rebel, trying to cross borders, standing up against to world with the narrator. She’s a lesbian, and doing anything to escape from the laws the Republic of Gilead got upon her. Several times, she tried to escape from the Red Centre, succeeding once. She is caught though, the narrator found out, meeting her in Jezebel’s. Moira is the narrator’s symbol of rebellion, power, a voice screaming for reason and action. She takes care of people and herself, it gives the narrator hope that one day, this society will come to an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment