I chose to paint the scene from page 39 of The Handmaid’s Tale, after Offred’s daughter has been taken from her and she is presented with a photograph as proof of her child’s safety. The painting is of this photograph. The book states:

“They showed me a picture of her, standing outside on a lawn, her face a closed oval. Her light hair was pulled back tight behind her head. Holding her hand was a woman I didn’t know. She was only as tall as the woman’s elbow. You’ve killed her, I said. She looked like an angel, solemn, compact, made of air. She was wearing a dress I’d never seen, white and down to the ground” (39).

With the information given, I depicted Offred’s daughter standing beside a faceless woman. She is faceless because Offred does not care to know what her face looks like. She is only concerned about her daughter. The woman and the child are holding hands, as the book states, but they stand far apart. Between them is a gap wide enough for a third person. This is meant to represent the lack of emotional connection between the child and the person who is presumably her new caretaker. I find it unlikely that the people Gilead chose to care for the children are there to make them feel secure and loved. It’s more probable that they are only there to indoctrinate the kids and make sure that their worldview aligns with Gilead’s values. This matches Offred’s description of “solemn”. If the child actually felt at home, she would be more relaxed and carefree. Instead, Offred now sees a sort of seriousness in her young daughter.

In Offred’s view, her daughter is “like an angel”, so I painted her with a halo and wings. She also does not have a shadow on the ground, whereas the woman holding her hand does. This is because Offred says “you’ve killed her”, implying that the daughter she once knew is now deceased. Both the child and the woman are wearing shapeless, floor length gowns. This is in accordance with the ideals of Gilead, which deprives women of any sort of individuality in order to maintain the societal structure they have implemented. It makes sense that the children they abducted would be made to learn these values from a young age. That’s why I chose to paint the daughter wearing a shapeless, plain, high collar dress. It seems like something Gilead would make her wear.

Aside from the two figures in the painting, the background is dull and uninteresting. This is partly because Offred likely does not care much about the background, only briefly noting that the two people are “standing outside on a lawn”. Other than Offred’s perception of the photograph, the other reason I made the image so dull is because it reflects the lack of mental stimulation under Gilead’s control. Gilead wants the lower class, especially the women, to think as little as possible. Offred has mentioned throughout the book that she is bored. Therefore, it makes sense to reflect this in the painting. Because the child is a girl, I doubt Gilead is giving her anything to do that requires any critical thinking. She’s probably just being taught her future responsibilities as either a handmaid or a wife. The painting is purposefully dull as a reflection of the child’s future if Gilead continues to stand.

** note that though I tried to make the painting dull, the effect is not as pronounced as this picture would make it seem. The lighting was just bad.

link to doc

While reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, I experienced a combination of disturbance and strange familiarity. Atwood’s portrayal of Gilead is brutal but also mirrors certain aspects of real-world experiences, especially in how people adapt to the systems of control and power. The book’s scenes, symbols, and main themes Atwood tends to draw are the traditions of religious justification, women exploitation and objectification, power dynamics, and the journey to love and freedom. Even being a male reader in the world world, I found myself connecting to these themes through my own personal past experiences and history. My reaction comes not from sharing the same oppressions the female characters face, but recognizing how power, fear, and identity shape people in different ways. A powerful object in the novel that seems to be mentioned often is The Wall. Early in the book, Offred and Ofglen walk by during their grocery-run where Offred narrates, “What we’re supposed to feel towards these bodies is hatred and scorn. This isn’t what I feel. These bodies hanging on The Wall are time travelers, anachronisms” (page 31, pdf) For me, it would become weird that I would strangely relate to a wall, but that became the case. The Wall is decorated with dead bodies organized in a certain way to symbolize their punishments and the consequences they’ve deserved for their crimes against Gilead, sometimes having a yellow star next to them to show that they’re a Jew. Personally, I would’ve freaked out but Offred doesn’t seem to show any uneasiness or panic, but learns to adjust her emotions in a way to adapt to an environment of fear. In my own life, The Wall resembles my parents’ strict discipline growing up. I’m not objectifying my parents that they’re literally a wall, but the fact that they instilled great discipline in me and redirected me from the unrighteous things in life that made me the person I am today. They represented a kind of firm, moral, and source of fear when it comes to the daily decisions I make. Whenever I would make bad decisions, their punishment wasn’t cruelty, but rather harsh love meant to correct my growth. Over time, I learnt to associate the fear of their discipline with making more morally right choices, just like how The Wall in Gilead stands as a visible reminder of the consequences of disobedience. In a strange way, The Wall became the reminder of moments in my childhood that shaped me into who I became today because of the discipline I’ve been raised on. It helped me understand why Offred doesn’t blatantly rebel on certain occasions because fear causes people to be silent and obedient. Another scene that deeply impacted me was when Offred reflects on her loss of identity due to the environment of Gilead in how they’re misrepresenting women specifically. Offred says, “I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping.” (page 64, pdf) This occurs as she began to see herself through the role that Gilead had forced upon Offred and other women. The role being a reproductive vessel. Offred no longer felt like a human nor a whole person, but just a body with one singular function. Additionally, she was stripped of her responsibilities, financial state, and relationships simply because of Gilead’s substantial power imbalancement. In Gilead’s hierarchy, men are viewed as more dominant, strong, and having more control over women. Especially on how this hierarchy works–their idea of utilizing women for reproduction, objectification, and lustful desires–exploits women completely and changes their whole entire identity. Even if I have never experienced anything like this level of control, I’ve always become an identity that wasn’t me. In school, I remember how I acted dependent on who I was around with. When I was around the “cool kids” and popular people, it meant that I needed to be humorous, chill, and more overreactive. But over time, being around those types of people did not truly make me a better person. I felt detached from my true self and it felt like I had put on a mask just to feel socially accepted, just like how Offred would obey if only there are guards around but wants freedom at the end of the day. At times, I would be caught under the principal’s hand of mischief by the amount of peer pressure that I’ve gotten to do whatever I needed to please those types of people. Both situations reflect on how environments shape behavior, often in ways that make us feel powerless and put on a show. After all, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood didn’t just become a book about women exploitation and gender inequality, but causes a deeper connection with the reader to reflect on their own past experiences similar to the characters and events that take place in The Handmaid’s Tale.

Secret Relationships

College English Ms. Pahomov Beau Riviere October 13th, 2025

Reading Chapter 23 of the Handmaid’s Tale I found the scene in the Commander’s Study gave me a whole new view on how the people in power are actually affected by the system they created. When I read the moment where Offred is summoned to the Commander’s forbidden room and plays Scrabble with him and later finds out he wants a kiss from her, I was surprised by this moment. But what really intrigued me was trying to understand why he wanted this type of relationship with Offred at all.

Offred describes her approach to this moment with the Commander with fear and thinking about the ways she could be punished for it. She says “My presence here is illegal. It’s forbidden for us to be alone with the Commander”(136). This detail goes into how women are supposed to be just the things in the society that are able to give birth which makes it clear how restricted her existence is. Although as I continued to read this section I realized that the Commander was also restricted just in a completely different way.

When the Commander reveals he wants to play scrabble with her, I was taken back at first. But then I started thinking about what this really means. Offred describes his nervousness and how “sheepish” he looks, like “the way men used to look once”(138). He’s embarrassed to ask for something so simple. This made me realize that the Commander is starving for something his own regime has taken away from him. He can’t play scrabble with his wife , or have a normal conversation with her, or be a regular person anymore because Gilead has turned him into something else.

I think what surprised me the most was realizing that even those who are in power are trapped by the system they created. The Commander has all the control he could and authority that he could possibly want, but he’s so isolated and lonely that he has to sneak a Handmaid into his study room just to have a conversation with someone who can think for themselves. He is willing to break the rules that he enforces because he needs to feel like a normal human. He has this want and need to be seen as a regular person and not just a Commander.

The way Offred describes the Scrabble game shows how much it means to him to be doing such a simple activity. She says “The feeling is voluptuous. This is freedom, an eyeblink of it”(139). But I realized that Offred isn’t the only one experiencing freedom from this moment. The Commander is too. For him having someone to talk to and play a game with is like finding a crack in the wall that he built around himself. He is so desperate for human connection that he’s willing to risk everything to have it.

What really made me interested in why the Commander wanted this was understanding that his need for Offred isn’t just about romance or attraction in a normal sense. It’s about his need to connect with someone who can understand him and who he can be somewhat of himself around. In Gilead the Commander is surrounded by people who fear him and the power he has, but no one actually knows him on a personal level. He has created a world where he has total control but no real connection and that’s making him miserable.

Another thing that showed me how desperate the Commander is was the way he asked Offred to kiss him like she meant it. He says “Not like that”(140). This moment revealed that what he actually wants isn’t just physical affection. He wants to be wanted by someone else. He wants someone to choose him, not because they have to, but because they actually care and want to. This is something Gilead has made impossible for him with his Wife or anyone else in his position. The rules that kept Offred as just a womb also keep him from ever having a genuine relationship.

By having Offred come to his study in secret the Commander is essentially admitting that the system he represents is broken. He has the power and the control, but he’s completely alone. He needs her to need him back even if that need is complicated and dangerous. He’s looking for someone who understands what freedom and normalcy used to feel like. Someone who remembers that life could be different.

Overall the scene in Chapter 23 where the COmmander and Offred are together alone provided me with a new view on how the system built in Gilead affects and hurts everyone involved. What surprised me the most was understanding that the Commander’s need for Offred isn’t a sign of weakness in him, rather it’s a sign of how suffocating Gilead’s system is. Even those in power are starving for something their regime does not allow, which is genuine human connection and to be truly seen by another human.

Sounds of Gilead

Sailor Song By Gigi Perez: (https://youtu.be/1lrFsXkT_rM)

Sailor Song by Gigi Perez reflects on queer relationships in a society that isn’t accepting. The lyric, “love me like a sailor,” signifies that love is a commitment and true love endures the highs and lows of life, like a sailor enduring the rough sea. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Gilead bans any real relationships. The government forcefully separated Offred and Luke. Luke’s whereabouts are still unknown, and Offred has become a Handmaid. Her duties aren’t easy; even so, she still loves Luke and chooses to believe that he is waiting for her. While thinking about him, she tries to believe, “they didn’t catch him or catch up with him after all, that he made it, reached the bank… It comforts me to dress him warmly” (105). She remains hopeful that he is free and comfortable, even though she is living in oppression. Her mindset is similar to how mothers love their children and constantly wish the best for them. Offred shows commitment and love towards Luke when Serena suggests she produce a child with Nick. She recalls, “One and one and one and one doesn’t equal four” (192). The mathematical equation makes sense; however, she is referring to how Luke is more valuable to her than Nick or the Commander, thus they aren’t interchangeable. Even as society has forcefully pulled Offred and Luke apart, her love for him is enduring.

Friend By Benson Boone: (https://youtu.be/GF7_KGSJjTM)

Friend by Benson Boone expresses loneliness and longing for friendship. The narrator of the song has been running alone in the world, desperately craving emotional connections and support. Boone writes, “I’ve been on my own, tryin’ to carry this alone. Only so much weight my back could take, I’m sinking like a stone.” This shows that loneliness is exhausting, and over time, it emotionally and physically erodes people down. Friendship is a support system that helps you when you feel lost or stressed. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Offred feels alone. She often talks to Ofglen and sometimes the Commander, but she feels empty. She is constantly asking people about her friend Moira, who ran away from the Red Center. While they were both still in the center, she says, “It makes me feel safer, that Moira is here” (71). Moira was someone who understood Offred because they were friends, and that made Offred feel safe to see a familiar face. But after so much time alone, away from Moira, she began to crave an emotional bond, but she says, “There’s nobody here I can love” (103). Everyone around Offred seemed like coworkers. The Marthas made her food, and the other Handmaids were just like her. No one understood her like Moira did. Finally, when she reunited with Moira at the hotel, her response was, “I touch her arm again. Then I begin to cry” (242). This shows that Offred was broken from being alone for so long; she cried when she saw Moira again. But it also shows the depth of the bond between the two friends because crying in front of someone is a sign of vulnerability and trust. Like the narrator in the song, Offred really needed a friend, and Moira was that friend.

Simple Joys By Yanti Niels: (https://youtu.be/f2JPXjCj0Fs)

Simple Joys by Yanti Niels reflects on all the little things in life that make life better. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, there isn’t much joy in Gilead. Women are banned from reading and playing games. The most that Offred can do is go on walks and speak quietly with Ofglen. When the Commander secretly asked Offred to play Scrabble, the readers can see her light up with happiness like a child. She states, “The feeling is voluptuous. This is freedom, an eyeblink of it… What a luxury. The counters are like candies, made of peppermint, cool like that” (139). This moment shows that Offred was having fun playing Scrabble. The words “voluptuous,” “freedom,” “luxury,” and “candies” have very positive and happy connotations. Similarly, these are all things that aren’t present in Gilead, showing that she is enjoying Scrabble a lot, but also that when society oppresses and restricts certain freedoms, the small things we never batted an eye at before turn into joys. While the song reminds us to appreciate the small things in life, the novel warns us of a future where the things we take for granted become forbidden.

Numb By Linkin Park: (https://youtu.be/kXYiU_JCYtU)

In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Janine was turned into a common hatred by the other women in the Red Center. While in the Red Center, she testified, “she was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion… She seemed almost proud of it” (71). Janine recounts the horrors of her past life, which should be taken with sympathy. However, in Gilead, abortion is illegalized and having an abortion became one of the worst crimes a woman could commit. In her moment of vulnerability, rather than receiving caring words, the other women chanted, “Her fault, her fault, her fault” (72). Janine initially believed that she had done the right thing, but now feels ashamed of her actions. Similarly, the song Numb by Linkin Park refers to the feeling of being constantly reminded of your mistakes, that you become numb. You start to accept the negativity. That was the whole point of the testifying activity: to emotionally break women down and rebuild them according to Gilead’s laws and values, such as anti-abortion. Like Janine, the other women in the Red Center were also constantly judged by each other and had grown to accept the judgment as reality. They’ve grown numb.

I’m Gonna Be an Engineer By Peggy Seeger: (https://youtu.be/m1gf7JENZHI)

I’m Gonna Be an Engineer, by Peggy Seeger, released in 1979, represents the stereotypical role of women in society and the massive pay gap between men and women. In the song, the narrator wanted to be an engineer, but everyone around her pushed her towards stereotypically feminine roles, such as obeying her husband, managing the house, and having kids. On the other hand, her husband went to school and became an engineer. Later in her life, she does become an engineer, but her boss refuses to pay her equally. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Gilead is much worse than 1979 America. The expectation for women in society is to be vessels for babies. Offred explains, “I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object” (73-74). Women aren’t seen as people in Gilead. They are a “national resource” (65). They are nothing more than their reproductive organs, the “central object.” Women aren’t just discouraged from education. They are entirely banned from reading and writing. They are forced into stereotypical feminine duties by the government, while men are allowed greater freedom and knowledge, similar to how the narrator’s husband from the song was able to pursue an education in engineering. But she was told to stay home and be a wife. Both the song and the novel show the societal oppression of women in different time periods.

Tiles on the table

In front of me

CMSEIR and a blank.

Command.

Motherhood.

Sex.

Elation.

Illegal.

Real.

And future possibilities.

I command. I am a commander.

I know all the rules.

A commander is me.

I think not.

The world drifts from my grip like the sands of time

Why grip harder?

Mothers are to be cherished.

We value struggle.

Whose struggle?

Sex is our tool.

Use it for good.

For whose good?

I can’t be so generous for long.

Elation requires its equal.

Nothing is comparable to the call of the world beyond

Who receives?

Care was for the poor.

This doesn’t pay.

I mustn’t contemplate it

Who pays its cost?

Why are we still here?

Not for love or hate

This world can’t accept either.

I just put the tiles down.

What is a tile?

To hold on.

Their struggle, our gain.

I wish I knew. Who does?

Not I. She.

Wooden. Solid. Easily lost. Easily forgotten.

Rarely found.

Now there are crimes on this table.

Only the future remains.

Artist’s Statement:

This poem contains many references to the themes of The Handmaid’s Tale. A few things to point out if the reader hasn’t yet noticed them: Readers will note that each of the middle stanzas is an exploration of one of the commander’s thoughts as he plays his opening move of scrabble against Offred. The last stanza refers to scrabble only in part. Don’t read too much into it. You might find something if you do.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT STATEMENT:

There was nothing to find. Unless, of course, you wanted there to be.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT STATEMENT STATEMENT:

The thing with art is that people see what they need to see. “‘I’m significant’, screamed the dust speck.” “Questions I know the answer to, I don’t need to ask, right?” -Jesus, Pat Buchanan, Kublai Khan, and/or King Joseph I of Spain.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT STATEMENT STATEMENT STATEMENT:

You don’t need this one. Nor the next. You already understand this poem as much as you’re going to, and you’re unhappy about it.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT STATEMENT STATEMENT STATEMENT STATEMENT:

Why are you like this?

REAL ARTIST’S STATEMENT BECAUSE THE OTHER ONES WEREN’T ACTUALLY ARTIST STATEMENTS THEY WERE JUST EXTENSIONS OF THE POEM, IN A SENSE: ALSO IF YOU’VE SEEN THREE IDENTICAL CATS LINGERING BY YOUR DOORWAY PLEASE CONTACT THEM AND TELL THEM YOU DON’T CONSENT TO BEING WATCHED.

Yeah, sorry about that. Those were not four random historical figures all the way back in “ARTIST’S STATEMENT STATEMENT STATEMENT”. They each have something to do with creation, sex, reproduction, and birth, in that order. PS. This website completely messed up the formatting

In the Handmaid’s Tale, Offred and Nick both share a romantic interest in each other. Throughout the book, they exchange glances and give each other looks that say what words can’t. They’re forbidden to speak to each other, and the type of relationship they want is one that would certainly not be allowed. Despite Offred’s growing interest in Nick and him reciprocating the same, their interactions make it obvious to the reader that Offred doesn’t actually like Nick, she just craves the human connection that has been lacking in her life by being a Handmaid and seeks the rebellion that comes with it. Offred has no control over her life or her decisions. She’s forced to have intercourse with someone she doesn’t know and her husband was taken away from her. Offred’s infatuation with Nick revolved around this; she only wants him in her life for the excitement of it. In Chapter 17 when Offred goes to see the Commander, while waiting in his sitting room, she runs into Nick, who both are not supposed to be there. They suddenly embrace each other and share a kiss, something they both had been waiting for. Offred says, “Both of us shaking, how I’d like to.” (p. 98). Offred is “shaking” from the rebellious nature of it all. The excitement of being with a man for the first time since Luke is making her want to do more. She’d like to take things further and explore. This is the first time she’s been connected with a man since Luke, which is what she has been craving during her time of being a handmaid. The Commander doesn’t fulfill her any emotional needs so she’s left wanting more, extremely unhappy with her life. She hasn’t mentioned anything about what she likes about Nick or anything good about his personality. Offred is just in it for the thrill of it, understandably, since she’s been deprived of a real connection with a man. Additionally, Offred’s want to rebel is displayed even more in the next sentence. She proceeds to say, “In Serena’s parlor, with the dried flowers, on the Chinese carpet, on his thin body.” (p. 98) It shows the nature of this situation, and how dangerous it is for them to be doing this. “In Serena’s parlor” implies that Offred is proud of her actions. Serena will never know what’s happening under her nose and that gives Offred power over her. Also, “on his thin body” demonstrates her need for a physical connection and her focus on the scandalous situation going on. Again, she says nothing about what she actually likes about Nick. She barely knows him and they’ve only really exchanged looks before and they jump straight to kissing. Offred just wants to feel like she has some sort of control over her life and this is her way of doing it. Lastly, during this forbidden interaction between the two lovers, Offred says “A man entirely unknown. It would be like shouting, it would be like shooting someone.” (p.98) Offred is admitting that she doesn’t know the man before her. She doesn’t know him like she knew Luke and she feels guilty for what she’s doing. Yet, her craving to do something, to have some sort of sense of control over her life, is too strong. She knows what the worst case scenario is. For this, they could be executed, put on the Wall. She thinks she won’t mind the consequences in the moment. Offred is attracted to Nick but not for the right reasons. The shallow nature of their relationship reflects the control society had over them. They had no will of their own; people aren’t supposed to mingle like that. “It would be like shouting” means that Nick and Offred in that living room was them asking to be caught. It was such an obviously stupid thing they were doing that Offred knew she was lucky that they weren’t executed on the spot. Essentially, Nick and Offred’s relationship reflects the rebellious nature of Offred and her desires. What she truly wanted wasn’t a relationship with Nick; she doesn’t even know him, and she still misses Luke. Yet, she’s deprived of all human connection in her oppressive society, so she’ll take what she can get and get into a romantic relationship with Nick so that she can have some sort of sense of control over her life. This demonstrates the importance of relationships in our day to day lives; human connection is an important thing, and it’s crucial that we maintain those relationships in our lives in order to truly be free and happy.

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.

In Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks, the character, Lord Rufus Crabmiser, says a line that heavily reminds me of the current position of women of Gilead: “ The only thing a crab is good for is holding back other crabs. A crab doesn't want to see another crab make it.” Margaret Atwood’s depiction of Gilead is only possible with the acceptance and collaboration of other women to oppress each other. This is most prominent in a chapter of the book, in which Offred is forced to participate in the ritualistic shaming of Jasmine, another handmaiden in training. It's one of the most outright depictions of the ways that the women in Gilead are trained to blame each other

” Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison. Who led them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us. She did. She did. She did. … Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson”(72)
The handmaids, including Offred, all shamed Janine for events that she was clearly a victim of; it was obviously not Janine’s fault for being raped, but in the new culture of Gilead, she is at fault. The Aunts who are indoctrinators for the Handmaids are paramount to constructing his style of culture within Gilead. Their main goals are to create an environment in which handmaids have no trust between each other and do not have the solidarity to stage any disruptive activity, as well as to normalize the degradation of their bodies into vessels for men to impregnate. This undoubtedly uncomfortable scene is so spot on when it comes to the discourse that surrounds women whenever they come out as victims of rape. Atwood is practically bashing you over the head with the comparisons of Janine and female victims in real life.

Janine, finally broken from the constant derision of her most traumatic experience, broke down and admitted that it was her fault. Even the clear victim in this case eventually became brainwashed into thinking that it was her own fault. In a lot of ways, it's deeply realistic as many people are brainwashed to admit that the traumatic experience that they where subjected to was their fault. 

“That was last week. This week, Janine doesn’t wait for us to jeer at her. It was my fault, she says. It was my own fault. I led them on. I deserved the pain. Very good, Janine, says Aunt Lydia. You are an example.” Atwood’s depiction of Gilead is so radical that it has set up a system of industrialized victim-blaming, in which the handmaids give in to the reactionary demons inside their own heads. Demons that have their roots in the ugliest parts of American culture and its destructive ideas on women’s rights. They were taught that Janine’s pain and, subsequently, all of the pain that she would feel at the hands of men was justified.

Throughout the flashback, it’s very apparent how women are pitted against each other; however, what stands out even more than that is the way Atwood portrays them. Up until this point, Offred had been discussing the red centers in very neutral terms, as she rarely questioned the authority of the Aunts or the guards outside. Offred primarily blames herself for partaking in the group shaming. This feeling of learned helplessness permeates the pages of The Handmaid’s Tale as all of the women are forced to live in conditions that were made against their freedom. Now the only “freedom to” is the freedom to survive, and survival is just a synonym for submission.

In just this short section, there’s a booming microcosm of what America has eroded into. a fascist state in which sister is turned against sister, Aunt against niece. a state that shames women for being promiscuous when they get raped, yet simultaneously forces women to give birth as slaves, a contradiction that reinforces female bodily autonomy. By far the darkest part of Gilead is that it isn’t a detached science fiction Empire, or a piece of ancient history, but it is America. Atwood’s depiction of America takes place in the 1980s. coming out of a decade of police brutality, crackdowns of anti-war protests, and COINTELPRO. She barely even had to exaggerate when it came to the top-down complete domination of the government that we see throughout the book, something that also reflects in the culture. The Handmaid’s chant of “her fault” Is echoed throughout American Halls of power.

The loud, almost alarming energy of “Sirens” by Black Panther instantly makes me think of the Red Center, where Offred and the other women are brainwashed at the start. In Chapter 13, there’s the scene where Janine is forced to confess her gang-rape was her own fault. Offred describes, “Her fault, we chant in unison. Who led them on? She did. Who was bad? She was” (p. 72). That chanting is terrifying, and the song’s beat feels the same way like a constant alarm that doesn’t stop. Just like real sirens warn us of danger but also freeze us in fear the women’s voices drown out Janine’s individual voice until she has no choice but to agree. This track captures how Gilead uses fear and noise to control people, making it hard for anyone to think for themselves or break away.

“New Kind of Love” – Imogen Heap

This soft, almost dreamlike song connects to Offred’s flashbacks of Luke, her husband from before Gilead. She tries to hold onto the memory of their closeness, but it feels fragile, like something fading away. In Chapter 11, she remembers her body differently than she once did I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation… Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object” (p. 73). Imogen Heap’s ghostly voice mirrors how Offred clings to the idea of real love, but in Gilead, love doesn’t exist like it used to. Instead, there’s only survival, power, and forced reproduction. The title itself, “New Kind of Love,” is almost ironic because Offred’s new reality is about anything but love. Heap’s song underlines the difference between the warm, messy memories of before and the cold, controlled version of relationships in Gilead.

“Same Script, Different Cast” – Whitney Houston

Whitney’s song could be Serena Joy’s personal anthem in the early chapters. The lyrics are about a woman warning another woman about a man who hasn’t really changed, even if he has a new partner. Serena’s whole life reflects that bitterness because her marriage to the Commander is hollow. In Chapter 8, Offred remembers Serena’s past as a televangelist: “She doesn’t make speeches anymore. She has become speechless. She stays in her home, but it doesn’t seem to agree with her. How furious she must be, now that she’s been taken at her word” (p. 45). Serena used to argue that women should stay in the home, and now she’s stuck in the same cage she built. The song title “Same Script, Different Cast” perfectly shows how men like the Commander keep running the same pattern—using women, then replacing them. Serena knows it, but she can’t change it, which makes her resentment grow even more.

“The Other Woman” – Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey’s vocals match Offred’s role as the Commander’s secret partner. In Chapter 16, during the Ceremony, Offred describes, “My arms are raised; she holds my hands, each of mine in each of hers. This is supposed to signify that we are one flesh, one being. What it really means is that she is in control” (p. 94). Offred is caught between being the Commander’s mistress and being completely powerless. She’s literally “the other woman,” but not by choice. Later, when he sneaks her into his study to play Scrabble (Chapter 23), it feels like the song fits again. Even when she admits, “I want to be here, with him, here, so badly. I want to be held and told my name” (p. 112), she knows she’s being used. Lana Del Rey’s song captures that confusing mix of guilt, desire, and hopelessness that Offred feels in her double role.

“The Girl with the Tattoo” – Miguel

Miguel’s song is the perfect match for Moira. Confident, bold, and unforgettable, she is the “girl with the tattoo” who keeps fighting back against Gilead’s control. In Chapter 22, Offred remembers Moira’s daring escape from the Red Center: “Moira had power now, she’d been set loose, she’d set herself loose. She was now a loose woman” (p. 133). Miguel sings about a girl who leaves her mark, and that’s exactly what Moira does for Offred. She becomes a living reminder that resistance is still possible, even in a world designed to crush it. Just like the song admires the girl’s strength and mystery, Offred admires Moira for being the one who refuses to disappear.

Closing Thoughts

These five songs echo beneath the surface of Atwood’s world. Black Panther’s “Sirens” captures the terror of indoctrination. Imogen Heap’s “New Kind of Love” mourns how intimacy has been twisted. Whitney Houston’s “Same Script, Different Cast” channels Serena’s bitterness. Lana Del Rey’s “The Other Woman” mirrors Offred’s role as the Commander’s hidden partner. Miguel’s “The Girl with the Tattoo” celebrates Moira’s courage. Music might not exist in Gilead, but thinking about these songs proves something important no matter how strict the silence, voices still find ways to break through.

Living in Gilead and following its strict societal rules will definitely take a toll on anyone living there. We don’t see a lot of talk about mental health throughout the book, and I think this is because they were being brainwashed and don’t want to let ideas of health get into anyone’s head. We do get some insight into how Offred copes with her world. Chapter 23 starts with Offred lying in her bed, contemplating. “This is a reconstruction. All of it is a reconstruction. “ (134) I interpreted this as her talking about the society as a whole, and how the Martha’s influence the girls to think in a certain way. They show them things from the world outside of Gilead to push them into thinking that they are in a better place, doing things the right way. They’ve been trained to believe that intimacy is a crime and that their only purpose as women is to have children. I found it interesting how she cuts herself off in her thoughts and redirects herself. It’s like she’s snapping out of her thoughts. “If I ever get out of here- Let’s stop there. I intend to get out of here.” (134) This quote stuck out to me in this chapter because it reminds me of a phenomenon that we discussed in class, Meta-narration. This is when, in a book or a song, they break the fourth wall, or call their life a story, or sing a song. It’s interesting because she starts on a topic, then interrupts and corrects herself, exactly like how someone would think in the moment. This shocked me because the rest of the book has been her thoughts, but she hasn’t slipped up or had a moment like this before. I also see a little character growth or reflection from her in a sense, she explains an idea that happened earlier in the book. “But if you happen to be a man, sometime in the future, and you’ve made it this far, please remember: you will never be subjected to the temptation or feeling you must forgive, a man, as a woman.” (134) This made me think of when the handmaids listened to Janine’s story about her experience with sexual assault, and they shamed her for it and said it was her fault. She had to apologize for existing in a way, for ‘tempting’ the men. They yell at her and say it’s her fault. But I don’t think this is her feeling sorry; I think it’s her noticing patterns and reflecting on where she is in this society.

“But remember that forgiveness too is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest.” (135) Upon reading this, I first wondered if this is her way of being positive about her situation, or just her honest view of things. She’s referencing herself and the handmaids as the ones withholding the power, the power being fertility and birth. Offred mentioned this powerful idea earlier in the book, too; she is trying to find some sense of control in her situation by acknowledging that this society does need her. On the other hand, when she mentions bestowing that power, she’s referring to the commanders and how they have the ultimate power. But also, in general, there is a power struggle that shows up in different ways. I do wonder what specifically she’s referring to when she says that to beg for forgiveness is a power, maybe the ability to reach someone after wronging them, or it’s something about hope. “Maybe none of this is about control.” “Maybe it’s about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it.” (135) I notice her talking a lot about forgiveness in this chapter, which confuses me. I wonder if she feels like she can forgive the people who put her through all of this, or if she’s talking about forgiving the commanders and the wives. I believe she sees that no one else really wants to conform to the rules they have set up for them, which we saw during the ceremony. I wonder if there’s a specific person she wants to forgive, or if this isn’t about forgiveness, and it’s just her thinking about her place in society. I also think part of her really wants to find hope for herself and is actively looking for a way out.