Analysis Of The Handmaid

The temporary cessation of most vital functions without death

- The narrator compares herself to the women in the paintings. Just as how they were “objects not in use,” the narrator feels that she is being kept from using the very parts of herself that make her who she is. Instead she is being treated as an inanimate object and only being used when needed.

- Theme of passivity. This demonstrates how terrible society had become in Gilead for the handmaids. That they had just as much as freedom and say over their bodies as a woman in a painting would.

The narrator now goes in depth with the character, Moira. I believe, the reason why the narrator gives a thorough description about her time spent with Moira, and not any of the other girls introduced

When the commander was reading excerpts from the bible for them, Offred flashbacks to the time when she was at the red center and the Aunts were reading out loud similar quotes. It is likely that they would read them this because the handmaid’s entire life revolves around these few lines. They basically state that the handmaid’s main purpose in life is to reproduce, in order to increase Gilead’s population, or else they are worthless. It is as if this excerpt from the bible is preparing them for the life they will have to experience once they leave the

‘The message’ is something Offred had conjured up in her own mind. It had given her purpose in life, and the motivation to keep moving forward. It symbolized a new beginning for her, and the fact that ‘the message’ was nothing more than a mere fantasy, she had imagined, shows her positivity.

The author has now revealed to us the reason behind why each handmaids name starts with an ‘Of.’ Each handmaid is named after her commander and the word ‘of’ comes before it to show possession.

Immediately at birth, the baby girl’s destiny was already planned. I believe Margaret Atwood uses this line to show how girls would never be happy, as if being born a girl was a pity and the fact that Offred is aware of this shows how serious the situation is.

Theme of subversion of authority. Moira had now become someone all the handmaids looked up to. She had done something most of them thought to be impossible. She now symbolized rebellion and gave the rest of the handmaid’s confidence to stand up against the Aunts and to not fear them as