Antagonist or Sympathetic Character

In The Handmaid’s Tale, I’ve come to realize the Commander is a very unique and complex character. When reading scenes involving the Commander, it’s hard to tell whether he’s a sympathetic character or the main antagonist. It’s easy for me to sympathize with him but it’s also easy for me to see him as the bad guy. Offred often feels sympathy for the Commander but, like me, she also understands that he is the main reason for his unhappiness because he built the system. Throughout chapter 36-38, the Commander takes Offred to Jezabel’s. Jezabel’s is described as a “brothel” or a “sex club” in which women are taken to by powerful men or even sent there if they are acting rebellious instead of being sent to the colonies. I want to really talk about chapter 37. Offred goes through similar emotions as me when trying to understand whether Jezabel’s could be a better choice for women instead of going to the colonies or if it’s just another way men take over women and objectify them. It’s so hard for me to read about the women walking around like objects and having to be okay with it. On page 235, she says “Some of them have on outfits like mine, feathers and glister, cut high up the thighs, low over the breasts. Some are in olden-days lingerie, shortie nightgowns, baby-doll pajamas, the occasional see through negligee. Some are in bathing suits, one piece or bikini; one, I see, is wearing a crocheted affair, with big scallop shells covering the tits.” The way these women are being objectified and used is infuriating to me. It makes me mad at the Commander. I was excited for offred to be taken out by the commander and made me have hope that the commander is a good guy and wanted to do something nice for offred but the fact that he took her here makes me think it was for himself just as much, or even more, then it was for Offred. I feel as though he’s taken advantage of Offred because he knew she hasn’t been out and dressed up in such a long time, so he knew she would go and he also knows that she can’t refuse to go because he has the power. “Well, what do you think of our little club,” he says on page 236. “His voice sounds pleased, delighted even,” says offred on 235. He says this expecting her to say she likes it and that it’s nice. He says it in such a proud tone that makes me think he is not only showing her off but he wants her to see the power he has and that he can break rules without being caught. Overall, it’s clear that I struggle with the idea that the Commander is a sympathetic character but I also struggle with the idea that he’s only the main antagonist. I’ve come to the conclusion that the world is not only black and white so why should it be in Gilead. I know some people in my life that are good people who do bad things so I also know that the commander can be one of those people.