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An Inconvenient Truth
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale tells a story of mystery, passion, and lies. The novel is about a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead named Offred (“Of Fred”). The Republic is the totalitarian remains of the United States after the president and members of Congress were assassinated by the architects of Gilead to ultimately gain complete control. Offred and the other handmaids were once regular women leading regular lives, that is, until Gilead. In the time of Gilead, the women were taken from their homes where they were brainwashed by speeches from their “Aunts” who argued that “such a social order ultimately offers the women more respect and safety then the old, pre-Gilead society offered them” (Sparknotes). In their new age, they’re simply used to run errands and bear children in the homes of Commanders that have trouble conceiving with their wives. They are fed small bits of information on what is going on in the Republic and are expected to be content with just that.
Offred spends a great amount time thinking of her old life with her husband, Luke, and their young daughter. Then, one night her Commander asks to see her privately where they play Scrabble (which is illegal because in Gilead, women are not allowed to read) and she is allowed to look at old magazines; to conclude these secret encounters, the Commander asks Offred to kiss him. One day during a shopping trip, her partner handmaid, Ofglen, reveals that she is a member of “Mayday”, an organization whose sole purpose is overthrowing Gilead. Knowing of Offred’s secret meetings with the Commander, she asks her to gain bits of information for Mayday. But Offred, caught up in her affairs with both the Commander and Nick, the guard, soon ignores these requests. When Offred expresses her unhappiness to the Commander he simply states that “you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs” (Atwood 211). Shortly thereafter, Offred’s affairs are found out by Serena,...