Household, Before the Ceremony

I chose to depict the scene before the Ceremony, when everyone gathers in the sitting room to read the Bible. This scene is very visual and physical, with everyone gathered awkwardly, waiting for the Commander. Everyone has their spot in the room, dictated by their role in the household. I could very clearly picture this scene - everyone in their distinct colors, in this ornate, victorian sitting room that seems unused until this moment.

When the Commander comes in, Offred says “He manages to appear puzzled, as if he can’t quite remember how we all got in here. As if we are something he inherited, like a Victorian pump organ, and he hasn’t figured out what to do with us. What we are worth.,” (Atwood, 87) The people waiting for the Commander are presented as an assortment, a collection even, and one that doesn’t seem very valuable. The image is even clearer after she says this, and so is the significance of this moment. This is the gathering of the household, revealing the true hierarchy - the Commander above all else. The wife is stripped of her illusion of power during this moment and the rest of the Ceremony. This is not her house, as much as she acts like it is. They are all under the rule of the Commander, under the ownership of the Commander. Offred asks, “…If he were to falter, fail, or die what would become of us?” (Atwood, 88) They are nothing without him. He provides them with the small amount of safety and power they have now. They are his property. Like objects, they will be sent off to an unknown place, lost, powerless, and purposeless without him. All of that becomes clear in this moment, for Offred and the reader.

I chose to depict the women and Nick as mere colors, with no other identifying features, because they aren’t seen as fully human by the Commander and the larger society. They are defined by their duty to their society and have no value outside of their household role. They are painted, rather than drawn to differentiate them from the Commander and the room, his room. The Commander is depicted as a human because his humanness is the only one that is valued by this society. The others are just extras, a piece of his world.

I also read the description of the room very carefully and tried to replicate it the best I could. Offred mentions the symmetry of the room, so I made the room completely symmetrical except for the group of people and the table with the Bible. She talks about the daffodils on the table next to the sofa, and the ornate chairs the Commander and Wife sit in. The mantel is described in great detail, with dried flowers on either side and silver candlesticks on either side of the mirror, which is flanked by old paintings of women. I included all of these because the physicality and atmosphere are very important in this scene - the ornate, unused sitting room makes the Ceremony even more awkward.