Though this scene Offred is at the doctors office. The doctor checks her out and then offers her a deal to get her pregnant. In the beginning of the close read, Offred describe the process of getting undressed and the moment for the doctor enters the room. She uses phrases such as, “ When I’m naked I lie down on the examining table, on the sheet of the chilly crackling disposable paper.” [60] This gives me a connotation of being closed off and cold towards the moment. It’s clear Offred doesn’t entirely feel comfortable about the doctors office. Another phase like, “At neck level there’s another sheet, suspended from the ceiling. It intersects me so that the doctor will never see my face.” [60] This further shows the connotation of being closed off and uncomfortable. This one adds another connotation of being cut in half, that could be used as a metaphor of the lower half of her body being the only useful part of her. Since the handmaid’s only job is to get pregnant and produce a baby without defects it doesn’t matter what they look like or sounds like it only matters of they have good enough equipment. When the doctor starts his exam, there are some “ground rules” Offred explains to the reader, “He deals with the torso only” [60] This goes back to the idea of only the lower half being useful. So we learn he only exams her midbody, front the neck to the upper upper thigh. She also tells us, “He isn’t supposed to speak to me except when it’s absolutely necessary.” So this means no interactions beside part of the body or getting pregnant. I also had a side thought of “Didn’t they kill a bunch of doctors? So why didn’t they kill this one?” I was just a little confused but my question never got answered. Towards the middle of the close read, Offred and the doctor start interacting. Some red flag went off in my head especially around the words, “honey”. Something about it felt wrong even though that’s a very innocent word. I guess it comes from her being so exposed to him and him calling her something endearing. But what was more concerning is her immediate reaction to him offering her help. Her reaction was, “Does he know something, has he seen Luke, has he found, can he bring back?” [60] My first reaction to that was exactly what he was actually asking her, I knew that he was offering himself to help her and my reaction was that was disgustingly and really gross, not to mention I also think it’s illegal. He says, “It’s time. Today or tomorrow would do it, why waste it? It’d only take a minute honey.” [61] He uses the word honey again but everytime he uses it it become more and more creepy. It adds on to the connotation of the doctor being mega creepy and perverted. Offred’s next reaction after figuring out what he was actually saying was, “I hesitate. He’s offering himself to me, his services, at some risk to himself.” [61] I was proud to see that she hesitated but I was disappointed that she was thinking about the risk to the doctor before thinking about the risk to herself. He says, “It’s genuine, genuine sympathy; and yet he’s enjoying this, sympathy and all. His eyes are moist with compassion, his hand is moving on me, nervously and with impatience.” [61] ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING! He is not offering this to help her, he is offering it for his own pleasure. He is using his power over women to get off on having sex, not to help them. He is saying, that it will help them but that’s not the true intentions behind his actions. But the best part is she said, “It’s too dangerous, I say, No. I can’t.” [61] YESSS OFFRED! I was so proud that she shit that idea down. Part of me actually thought for a second that she was going to go through with it, but I’m mega glad she didn’t. After reading this close reading, I learned the following things; Offred is an empath and care more about other people’s safety and feelings over her own. In short terms, She is a people pleaser. Doctors have the power to commit disgusting acts over their patients because they are behind close doors and that they can convince them it’s better for their health. Overall, I was very disgusted with this chapter more so because I know this stuff actually happens in real life. I’m always so surprised about how good The Handmaid’s Tale is about certain societal issues.

The word consent has two different types of meaning in my opinion. The first one being willing consent, this consent is more about “yes I want to do this” opposed to pressured consent where you said yes but you really don’t want to.

Offred feels the pressure to complete “her duty” even if it’s something she doesn’t want to do. Very clearly she doesn’t want to do this intimidate act with the commander but she agrees because she feels she has to. In modern times I see pressured consent around parties/rivs, drinking and smoking, we know this as peer pressure. 

“This was supposed to signify that we are one in flesh, one being. What it really means is that she is in control, of the process and thus the product.” (94)

[ This was supposed to signify that I was cool, an outgoing person. What it really means is that I need to been seen as cool, not only to myself, but also my peers.]

Offred’s hope for this to mean something different than it is, shows loss of control and meaning in what she’s pressured to do. I feel this when I go to the riv. I want to feel as cool as the people around me, it supposed to be a turning point in my character where I could be seen as enthusiastic and confident, but in reality I felt out of place and left behind. I see this a lot in kids I talk to about these parties, they say it’s not really fun but there go because all the “cool” people go and have fun, so why shouldn’t they?

”Maybe I’m crazy and this is some new kind of therapy. I wish it were true; then I could get better and this would go away.” (94) [ Maybe I’m boring and this is some new way to unlock something in me. I wish it was true; then I could actually have fun and enjoy my time.]

Offred’s coping mechanism is normalizing what’s happening to her even though it’s not normal nor morally right. My sophomore year I was asked every time if I was going to the riv and I had to say no, every single time. I had a really bad case of fomo (Fear of Missing Out). So come my junior when my parents let me go, I was ecstatic, imagining all the people I would talk to and all the features I would get on people’s story. When I got there I found myself standing in a corner to myself overwhelmed with the situation. I wasn’t feeling ecstatic liked I hoped, people weren’t taking pictures with me liked I hoped. So I convinced myself that this was an normal experience and that I would warm up to this feeling and I’m just acting crazy. I kept going to rivs praying with each one it would change so that I could actually enjoy my time.

”Kissing is forbidden between us. This makes it bearable.” (95) [ Atleast not everyone is crazy drunk or high. This make it bearable.]

Offred very clear is not enjoying this experience so she notes things to herself to make it seem like it could be worse than it actually is, in order to make herself more comfortable. I walked around these rivs looking for someone who wasn’t black out drunk to hangout with and I found maybe two people max, but even them couldn’t stick around, they had something else to accomplish. But atleast 15 minutes of this night was comfortable. I realized that the point of rivs wasn’t for talking and hangout with some alcohol, it was about getting drunk as fast as possible and finding a person to flirt with.

”There is a loathing in her voice, as if the touch of my flesh sickens and contaminates her.” (95) [ There is an inarticulate tone in her voice, as if the feeling of alcohol consumes and overpowers her.]

Offred feels a sense of disgust from the commander’s wife but it stems from her own insecurity of the intimate act she just did. My friend came up to me, she was slurring her speech and speaking in a really high pitched voice, laughing at everything a boy said. This is a side I never saw of her, it wasn’t who she was. She was independent and a man hater but something about this party culture and alcohol switch something off in her. I thought, how embarrassing and pathetic it seemed. As the night moved on I found myself doing that exact same thing and suddenly here I was feeling embarrassed and pathetic.

Through examining Offred’s experience in The Handmaid’s Tale alongside the pressures of modern party culture, it becomes clear that consent exists on a spectrum far more complex than a simple yes or no. Both Offred and countless young people today find themselves saying “yes” to situations they fundamentally don’t want to participate in, driven by social expectations, fear of exclusion, or the desperate hope that compliance will eventually lead to genuine enjoyment or acceptance. The parallel between Offred’s rationalization of her traumatic experiences and the way I convince myself that uncomfortable party situations are “normal” reveals how pressured consent operates across different contexts and time periods. The underlying dynamic remains the same: when choice is constrained by social pressure, fear, or the desire for belonging, true consent becomes impossible. Understanding this distinction between willing and pressured consent is crucial for recognizing these patterns in our own lives and creating spaces where genuine choice can exist.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​