This piece is of the scene in chapter 13, of the bathroom stalls with Moira and Offred. The two of them go into stalls next to each other so they can speak to one another. This scene represents the only safe place at the school where the maids could talk with each other. Without the Aunts hearing in on the conversations. They spent their time there to just be able to talk. With these stalls being one of the only places they could connect; through a small hole in the wall of the two bathroom stalls, a relic of the past. Offred mentions this on (pg.73) “In the wood there’s a small hole, at the back, next to the wall, about waist height, souvenir of some previous vandalism or legacy of an ancient voyeur.” This small hole in the wall is the only reason they were able to connect so I made it the center of the drawing. Though the stalls are next to each other in the book I wanted to put them side to side to be able to see the characters.

There is a slight yellow background since the bathroom is white enamel with yellow stains. To the right is Offred in her red maid outfit waiting in the stall while Moria sits on the stall to the left. Since this place used to be a boys bathroom and the urinals were left there I decided to put one inside the drawing as well. I put a shower in the background of the drawing to show what brought the idea of why Offred thinks why women don’t have to have to prove they are women to one another. Offred exclaims this on,(pg.73) “Why don’t women have to prove to one another that they are women?”. For the same reason in Offred’s thoughts there is a small blue badge with a “W” in it to represent the badge for women.

There are other thoughts going through their minds where Offred is thinking how she needs a cigarette, and Moira is thinking of these random letters to represent how she thinks the school and the people here are loony and are in a loony bin. There is a small symbol in the top right of a ear being crossed out to represent that the Aunts cannot hear them in here and they are able to talk freely. To the top there are windows, one covered with bars and one without. The window with bars represents how Moria sees this place and the other represents how Offred sees the school. Moria sees the school as a prison where she is locked in, while Offred doesn’t see it the same way as Moria so her window has no bars.

To the far left of the drawing next to Moria’s stall there is an imprint of where the mirrors that used to be bathroom used to be. I drew the mirror in the fashion to also represent how Offred saw it as a baby coffin. Though Moira has already lost her clothes and should be wearing the red dress I decided to dress her in the clothes she was wearing when she came in and would usually wear because she does not see this dress as herself and is constantly fighting back against it.

In the first chapter, Margaret Atwood says “ in their red shoes, flat-heeled to save the spine and not for dancing. The red gloves are lying on the bed. I pick them up, and pull them onto my hands, finger by finger. Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us.” While the book may seem disconnected from the real world there are many explanations of similar dress codes being used in the real world. The most famous example of this may be the Taliban however I think that a more prudent expansion would be the country of Iran. In Iran, the dress code is for “women to have their legs covered down until the ankles and wear loose tunics or coats that cover their lower waist and have long sleeves.” While the dress code is not as severe as it once was under other dictatorships the potential result could be for you to end up to 10 years in prison. The idea of a region-wide dress code is not unique to Iran. It is very common in religion to have a section on how you should dress and what you can wear. This is going to be more common in theories where the state is a religion. Just like Gilead, the government of Iran uses religion to institute the dress code in their society. All three of the main Abrahamic religions have some sort of verse about how to dress conservatively and be okay in the eyes of god. For example, in Christianity, the bible says “… also that the women should dress themselves in moderate clothing with reverence and self-control, not with their hair braided or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes …” In a movie that looks just like the bible the Quran says “Revering God is the most important guideline for women when they choose their dress. The righteous reverent woman will know that God is always watching her, she will therefore dress modestly and in line with God’s requirements for decency and morality.” This idea of the need to portray a form of humbleness and sanction through dressing is taken to a new extreme in The Handmaid’s Tale. There are not just restrictions on the people’s dress but as stated they have their own “uniforms”. You can tell it is not just with the lowly handmaids but also with the Aunts who were in a brown uniform and the blue wives. It also makes the appearance of knowing what role you have in society. One of the clearest examples of this is when Atwood says “Frowning, she tears out three tokens and hands them to me. Her face might be kind if she would smile. But the frown isn’t personal: it’s the red dress she disapproves of, and what it stands for. She thinks I may be catching a disease or any form of bad luck.” The conflict in that shows the roles of the society and just how low certain women go. Another thing that Iran and Gilad have in common with the dress code is just how important the code is for a revolution. We know that there were ordinary protests that got shot at. This can also be compared to the recent protests that happened when Mahsa Amini was killed by the Iran secret police. What happened was a large-scale protest that was crushed after a decent amount of time. We can infer that a similar thing did happen in the early days of the revolution where the protesters were shot at and killed. The dress code was a huge element in the Iran protests with women burning their hijabs. We did not hear things like this in Gilead but we do see in the brothel that people see it as a way to rebel. What we can see is that in the end what people were has a large dictation of how society reacts to them. In the maiden’s tale, it seems as a system of repression and It helps the government fit the people into their class roles. While in Iran it is a religious belief it still leads to the untutored role of oppression in the society. This type of operation will hurt people overall and allow us to have a large correlation between societies. While one is fiction the the other is fact it still leads us to have to have to be careful where we go through our government.

College English Lit Log # 1 The Handmaid’s Tale Rae Alexander October 12, 2023

Color and Style has been used to make statements and convey meanings between people for a long time. It’s all part of the 70% of communication that is non-verbal. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the characters are given uniforms with certain colors and style that communicate their status just like some of our own politicians do in our modern day. In the beginning we meet Offred, a woman with a blurry memory of her life from the time before and who is a handmaid. The handmaids have an interesting uniform. Offred says, “ Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood which defines us. The skirt is ankle length, full, gathered…”(8).Offred is swathed in a red cloak with “white wings” surrounding the face. Red is often recognized as the color of passion, or fierceness or blood. White is often associated with purity. Even without it being clearly stated we can see that there is a message being told to the reader about Offred and her role. In the world of Gilead, the Handmaids are respected by most of the public and carry a decent amount of status. Later on we learn that this is because their role is to “bear fruit” or carry the children of the commanders. They’re surrogates. Their role and the colors associated with their role tell not just the reader but the characters handmaid’s interact with in the story a great deal. Reflecting on how the characters of Gilead perceive the handmaids and their status and what it means within the society, is not completely a work of fiction. There are instances where women use colors and style to send a message to the public. For example, in 2019, congress women wore white as a call back to the suffragette white. It was said to be a “beacon of rebellion”, and was meant to emphasize the female presence on the house floor. Another instance was when Vice President Kamala Harris wore a purple inauguration coat. The mix of Democrat blue and Republican red, was a way to show unification between the two parties. To reference the quote cited earlier, Offred has to wear a long and flowing red cloak. It hides her figure for the most part, and covers a lot of skin, save for her face. There is a tone of modesty in the clothes she wears. Despite her role as a surrogate for the commander and his wife, Offred is shown to dress modestly and the white surrounding her face suggests a certain level of purity. “The white wings too are a prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen.”(8). The handmaids are supposed to be modest and are forced to not be seen and to not see. They are hidden and made to hide. The reader may come to think that modesty is an oppressive kind meant to keep the citizens ignorant. Something akin to this-albeit to a lesser extent-is how dress codes are somewhat gender targeted. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had worn red nails and it became her signature. But when she was oathed, the dress code banned any ‘flamboyant’ nail polish colors and so her red nails were no more. There we again have that almost oppressive modesty. The color red is referenced again in real life and The Handmaid’s Tale. Justice Sotomayor’s signature red nail is banned because of its flamboyant nature. Red, once again, is a color of controversy, especially when women wear it. A lot of the time, in the real world, there is a push to stay away from red as a young girl or as a wedding guest because it draws attention. Red draws attention. Many people debate whether said attention is good or not but what people can agree on is that it certainly has all eyes on the person who wears it. Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is known for wearing a red lip a lot of the time. She says it’s a shout out to her Puerto Rican roots and it gives her a boost of confidence. It draws attention and boosts her confidence. But for red to be known as a traditionally bright and beacon of a color for the handmaids to have it as their color yet be said to not be seen is ironic. They’re bodies and status are to be seen but not talked about or acknowledged and their faces are surrounded in white. This could be a hint at perhaps their faces and individually not mattering anymore because of their status as surrogates to the commanders.

MAKE IT HOME - AUGUST ALSINA

This song tells the story of one’s hardscrabble upbringing, and how in your darkest seasons you have to unfortunately involve yourself in unwanted situations to get by in life. In the Handmaid’s Tale, Offred has a very difficult lifestyle as she has been held in Gilead for years against her will. There are extreme measures to ensure that everyone in Gilead follows the rules that apply to their identity. With the terrorizing restrictions against women, Offred tries to come to terms with the circumstances by viewing herself the same way a man would to keep herself sane. “Nor does rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for. There wasn’t a lot of choice but there was some, and this is what I chose.” (94). This quote expresses that Offred has turned this ultimatum of surviving in Gilead into a choice. In the first verse of August Alsina’s song he sings “I don’t always do what I should, but I do what I gotta do. When you been at the bottom you see the hunger inside of you. Don’t say what you won’t do cause it can all change. When the going gets tough, it’ll drive you insane.”. This significantly represents Offred’s morals and viewpoints of herself as a woman living in Gilead.

LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE - DRAKE

Offred talks about the dynamic she had with her mother before life in Gilead. Their relationship consisted of lots of arguing, but the love they shared for each other always triumphed over their fallouts. “I admired my mother in some ways, although things between us were never easy… I am not your justification for existence, I said to her once. I want her back. I want everything back, the way it was.” (122). With that being said, it is evident that Offred misses her mother, and wishes she still had her around to cherish her, even though they argued most of the time. Drake created the song Look What You’ve Done to share his appreciation for his mother and aunt who impacted his life growing up despite the obstacles they faced towards one another. In this case, the first verse of the song is dedicated to his mom which correlates to Offred reminiscing on her mother. “And I sit next to you, and I lecture you because those are deadly. And then you ask shit, and we argue about spendin’ money on bullshit. And you tell me I’m just like my father, my one button you push it. Now it’s ‘Fuck you, I hate you. I’ll move in a heartbeat.’. And I leave out and you call me, and you tell me that you sorry. You love me and I love you. Your heart hurts, mine does too. When it’s just words, and they cut deep But it’s our world it’s just us two.”

BEST MISTAKE - ARIANA GRANDE

Ariana Grande’s song Best Mistake contemplates one’s emotional status in their relationship.There’s a story being told of two people struggling to make up their minds about realizing there are no real issues affecting one another. This song connects to Offred because she regrets not appreciating the life she had with Luke. It pains her to think of how she realized too late how good they were for each other. ‘What could be done? We thought we had such a problem? How were we to know we were happy?” (pg. 51). This quote demonstrates Offred’s thinking process towards her discerning the connection she once shared with Luke. In Best Mistake, Ariana sings “Can we please make up our minds, and stop acting like we’re blind? Cause if the water dries up and the moon stops shining, stars fall, and the world goes blind boy, you know, I’ll be saving my love for you.” I think this quote correlates with Offred and Luke because

IF I WERE A BOY - BEYONCE

“If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone. Tell everyone it’s broken, so they’d think that I was sleeping alone. I’d put myself first and make the rules as I go.“. In this song, Beyonce shares her idea of what life would be like if she performed as a “boy”. The stereotypes of men and women are no different in the Handmaid’s Tale than in the real world. There has always been a stereotypical narrative that men need no serious responsibility to maintain credibility. It’s as if it just comes easy to them, while they remain immature. With all these points to consider, Offred wonders what life is like for the commander as a man. “To be a man, watched by women…Still, it must be hell, to be a man, like that. It must be just fine.” (87 &88). She is genuinely intrigued to put herself in the shoes of the commander, given she spends majority of her time analyzing his behavior to properly switch scenarios.

CLOUDED - BRENT FIYAZ

Clouded provides Brent’s concern with being remembered or leaving an impact on the world. He lingers on the important aspects of society, while providing insight on his inconvenient life experiences. I can distinctly attach this song to Offred because I see her as a woman who is lost in her identity, and is unsure about her purpose in life. She tends to let her experiences define her as a person, which gives the impression to readers that she finds herself insignificant. “Is anybody gon’ remember me? If I go tonight, I doubt the world’ll change. I just pray they don’t forget my name. Is it game rules? I can’t lose. When it’s all said and done, will I still be cool?” This reminds me of Offred because she doubts the relevance of her existence constantly unless it is in the favor of men. She snuck out of her room one night to steal a daffodil for a future handmaid as a representation of her existence. “I will press this, somewhere. Under the mattress. Leave it there, for the next woman, the one who comes after me, to find.” (98).

Giavanna Jackson

Ms. Pahomov

College English

October 13, 2023

In the Handmaid’s Tale, readers will come across many moments that make them feel uncomfortable or uneasy. As I was reading, I was mostly uncomfortable reading scenes where Nick made romantic advances towards Offred. In chapter 14, Nick stands behind Offred during the ceremony in the sitting room. He stands so close to her that his foot is touching the back of hers. “He’s so close that the tip of his boot is touching my foot. Is this on purpose? Whether it is or not we are touching, two shapes of leather. I feel my shoe soften, blood flows into it, it grows warm, it becomes a skin. I move my foot slightly away.” (81) This scene makes me uncomfortable because it is clear that Offred is pulling away and rejecting his advances. She knows the others are watching and that at any moment they could see this interaction. She is not able to say anything to him because then she would be seen speaking to him. This is risky for both Nick and Offred since fraternization of any kind between Handmaids and guards is strictly forbidden. As much as Offred wants to feel physical touch and be loved by someone, she wonders if it’s worth dying for. Since Offred pulled away from Nick, I interpreted that as her not wanting to pursue this as of then. So why did Nick continue to push her and move his foot closer? What little boundaries Offred has are being crossed and that makes me uncomfortable. I also want to mention that Nick’s timing was very off. I questioned why he chose to do this at the ceremony, of all places. Technically no place is appropriate for this behavior but a religious ceremony most certainly does not seem like the time.

Later in chapter 17, Nick approaches Offred again in the sitting room but this time she is alone. She snuck into the sitting room hoping to steal anything she could however Nick stumbled upon her before she got the chance to. From the doorway, Nick whispers to her “don’t scream”. As Offred freezes Nick takes the opportunity to step closer to her. “I don’t answer. He too is illegal, here, with me, he can’t give me away. Nor I him; for the moment we’re mirrors. He puts his hand on my arm, and pulls me against him, his mouth on mine, what else comes from such denial?” (98) My initial reaction was worry for Offred because Nick was the one who initiated this interaction so he is intentionally putting her at risk without allowing her to have a choice in the matter. Offred’s situation with Nick is very complicated because she has to consider the fact that Nick could be an Eye and he could be testing her. So for me as the reader, I am uncomfortable by Nick’s advancement towards Offred because if she directly tells him no then she could suffer the consequences for talking to him. However, if Offred goes along with it, she will still be breaking Gilead laws and would still suffer the consequences for rebelling. Nick has put her in this compromising situation, something that he should have never thought was okay to do.

As the scene progresses, we learn more about what Offred is thinking in the moment. The reader gets to see a romantic spark between Nick and Offred develop. We also see them both give in to this romantic craving that has been building up. This moment makes Offred’s entire body tense up as she hasn’t been touched for love in over three years. “I want to reach up, taste his skin, he makes me hungry. His fingers move, feeling my arm under the nightgown sleeve, as if his hand won’t listen to reason. It’s so good, to be touched by someone, to be felt so greedily, to feel so greedy. “ (98-99) My Immediate reaction was to physically recoil in disgust. The arms on my hair stood up and I had goosebumps all down my arms. The words the author chose to use to describe her crave for him are such a bizarre way to explain it. It created a very grotesque image in my mind. This whole scene makes me cringe. The author chose to use taste and touch, two of the five senses, to make the scene a lot more descriptive and easier for the reader to envision. However, that clear image of the scene created a more uncomfortable reading for me.

College English

Ms. Pahomov

Tybria Bowser

Oct. 12, 2023

There are many possibilities and outcomes within our universe. One action can proceed to throw anyone and everyone off course, in theory. I heavily believe in this theory. I’ve thought about this a lot and have relied on it to kind of predict the future a bit. Every action comes with the thought of what could happen after. To keep myself from disappointment and also encourage myself in a way. You can see this tendency within Offred too.

Offred had a husband, a husband who she has been separated from because of the situation in Gilead. We aren’t sure what has happened to him and she is just as clueless. But her approach to his lack of existence in her life is to make a new life for him. In her words “I believe Luke is lying face down in a thicket… What is left of him: his hair, the bones…”. Offred believes that he is dead but she also believes “Luke is sitting up, in a rectangle somewhere, gray cement, on a ledge or edge of something, a bed or chair”. Then there is also that belief of him still existing, peacefully. Those aren’t her only “beliefs” there are beliefs that he was captured, thrown into an animal cage. A belief he was killed fast, no pain and even a belief that he escaped and is working hard to find a way to bring Offred back to safety with him. Offred has so many beliefs to make up for the lack of knowing. As she says “But I believe in all of them… This contradictory way of believing seems to me, right now, the only way I can believe anything. Whatever the truth is, I will be ready for it”. To her it seems that this way of thinking is preparation for good news or bad news. To me, it is the only way to move forward for people who would put themselves into the cynical category.

I believe the same way Offred does. I believe that I’ll get plenty of scholarships, go off to college, finish with no debt, and have a fruitful career. I also believe that I’ll only be able to partially cover college with scholarships, go into debt, and pay it off with my job. Not as fast as I would like, but it will be paid off. But then there is also the possibility that I won’t get any scholarships, I’ll still go to college. Maybe I’ll go to community college and save money or just take on hundreds of thousands of debt. Maybe I’ll never pay it off and I’ll be stuck working until I’m put into a nursing home. There is a tension between my past, present, and future. The tension keeps these scenarios spinning within my head, never stopping until whatever is on my mind has happened. But at least I know whatever happens, I’ll be prepared.

Offred and I will be prepared, I don’t think we have much of a plan for when it happens but emotions won’t be much of a problem in that moment. There is a type of comfort in knowing that everything could go right and at the same time everything could go wrong. Indulging in those negative emotions leaves less time for grieving but there could also be something disadvantageous within that. It could also lead to low-balling myself. It leaves lots of room for self doubt. I find myself often taking the safe route, whatever it takes to get a feeling of security even if I have to sacrifice something like my happiness for that security. In Offred’s case, it keeps her in a docile state of mind. “Just wait and good will come” type of mindset. Both are a form of self harm. Letting the feeling of not knowing control your every action.

I look forward to seeing how the story develops further and finding out whether the question of “what happened to Luke?” is finally answered. Like Offred I believe he could be within a rebellion, looking to come and save her. He could be dead or being tortured. I even believe he could have moved on, now living an unrestrained life of freedom from Gilead. As long as none of these are true or false, all of these are true. There’s also another side to this curiosity. I believe Offred will never find out about Luke, that she’ll continue to live a docile life or grow sick of Gilead and become another Moira. Or maybe she will find out about what happened to Luke and find no reason to live anymore. There’s even a possibility that Luke may come riding in on a horse with a battalion to save Offred. All of these are true and untrue at the same time. As someone who takes the safe route I hope that Offred doesn’t. I hope she goes out with a bang and leaves all of those possibilities behind. I hope that we make our own path instead of waiting for the ones running through our minds to come true.

In Chapter 12 of The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred’s description of her internal struggles presents feelings of reflectiveness and dejection in me. On page 65, she says “I think of the others, those without. This is the heartland, here, I’m leading a pampered life,…and I start to eat the food.” When I first read this part I was immediately taken aback at just how much control is taken from Handmaids. They are supposed to feel thankful for everything, despite having nothing they can truly call their own, not even their own life. They have barely any autonomy over their own decisions or actions. This quote stuck out to me because of my relationship with food at times. I took away my freedom not to eat because I didn’t want to seem wasteful or unappreciative. Food waste is a problem because I care about the environment, but eating to the point where I feel overstuffed isn’t good for my body or health. I have to keep myself from overeating and try to do things to cut down my portions.

Though my situation is quite different from Offred’s as she has to worry about being reported for wasting food, the external circumstances of forcing yourself to eat still stand. I felt obligated to clear my plate, yet the health problems I could be at risk of because of weight gain from overeating sit at the back of my head. There is a never-ending internal debate between my morals and my health, but I am constantly working through them to better myself. There’s a lot that can be changed about my relationship with food, but Offred does not have the luxury of improving her quality of life like I do, which is why this quote had such an impact on me. It really made me realize that I can grow and I don’t need to be forced into “gratefulness” just because of what I have access to.

I also connected to the part of the chapter on page 66 where it says “In my stomach the food balls itself together, a handful of damp cardboard, squeezed.” This part initially made my stomach turn. I was reminded of a time when I was in a similar situation. I have also had points where I forced myself to eat despite not wanting to because of the emotional state I was in. I once got furious after an argument with a family member and burst into tears, but it was in the middle of dinner so I had to go back and finish my food despite not wanting to. I let myself calm down and, after a while, went back to finish my meal. You have an obligation to yourself to provide sustenance for your body, but being in a bad emotional state, whether it’s nerves or rage, keeps you from doing so. It’s hard to take care of yourself while regulating your emotions and keeping yourself calm in front of others, but it is also healthy to let your emotions out loudly, however difficult it may be to do so. For me, the food didn’t necessarily feel like damp cardboard, but an unwanted, yet remaining presence that irritated me. It felt like the cause of my anger personified, something I could not get rid of and would thus have to learn to live with.

On page 66, it also says “My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born.” When I first read this quote, I understood Offred completely and sympathized with her. Society creates a space where people often don’t feel comfortable presenting their authentic selves to the world. When people say they have to keep their composure, they have to maintain the “made self” they have created for public viewing, despite it being extremely challenging when humans aren’t robots that can become emotionless at the drop of a hat. I have done the same in the past because it is easier to deal with things on your own than with other people. Perfection was an image I wanted to portray, and I wasn’t being myself for fear of rejection and unacceptance. I know now that you shouldn’t live your life like that, but past me wanted to seem smart, kind, and incapable of mistakes, always having the right answer. I’ve learned from all of these experiences to focus on what is best for me instead of what some non-existent or irrelevant person thinks of me.

In the first 24 chapters of The Handmaid’s Tale there are a number of sections that seem to contradict each other. It is not clear to me whether these are just oversights by the author that might be a result of her crafting an overly complicated world, or whether these were intentional and either say something about the narrator Offred, or exist to leave the reader in some confusion about Offred’s world.

One of the most obvious contradictions is the information we’ve been given about Moira. On page 124, while Janine is giving birth, the handmaid next to Offrred asks her, “‘Are you looking for anyone?’” to which Offred responds, “‘Moira.’” At first this seems to make sense because Moira was Offred’s and the reader is never told what happened to her, but a few pages later, new information makes this conversation very confusing. Pages 129 through 133 describe how Moira escaped the Center and on page 133 Offred tells the reader, “We expected her to be dragged in at any minute, as she had been before. We could not imagine what they might do to her this time. It would be very bad, whatever it was. But nothing happened. Moira didn’t reappear. She hasn’t yet.” If Moira escaped the Center and nobody has heard from her since it makes very little sense that Offred would expect to find her amongst the Handmaids. As we learned in Offred’s interaction with the doctor in Chapter 11, having sex with someone other than a Commander would be punishable by death for a handmaid, and handmaids who can’t have children are sent off to the colonies. This makes it seem very unlikely that if Moira were to have escaped the Center by dressing up as an Aunt they would have just let her return to being a handmaid. We also learned at the beginning of the book that gossip spreads amongst the women, especially through the Marthas. This makes it hard to believe that even if Moira was found and still became a handmaid, that Offred wouldn’t have heard about it.

This inconsistency in what we know about the fate of Moira could have a number of explanations. It could be a reflection of the desperation Offred feels to learn what happened to her friend, it could be that Offred knows more information than she has revealed or it could have been an oversight by the author, though this seems unlikely because these two moments happen close together in the book and are relatively significant. In the remainder of the book, some information might be given to clear this up, but details that don’t align in books are a major pet peeve for me and right now this inconsistency and others I’ve noticed in The Handmaid’s Tale, such as details we’ve been given about Offred’s mom, are lowering my overall opinion of the book considerably.

If the author does plan to address this particular inconsistency, it would have been my preference that she set this up in a different way. In mysteries, I personally like to be given enough information to at least make a guess at the solution, but in this case, at the very least I would have liked the author to make it clear that more information will be revealed about what happened to Moira. This way I would at least be wondering about that new information and not whether or not the author somehow made what seems to me to be a pretty obvious mistake.

Another contradiction that I’ve noticed is in the stories that Offred tells about her mother. The first of these stories is on page 38, where Offred describes a book burning that her mother took her to. Offred explains that a group of women and some men are burning magazines. One woman asks Offred’s mother if it is okay for Offred to burn a magazine which Offred describes as having a “pretty woman on it, with no clothes on, hanging from ceiling by a chain wound around her hands.” Offred’s mom agrees but tells the woman not to see the content of the magazine. This even seems to reveal two things about Offred’s mom: that she spends her time doing things like burning explicit magazines, which based on the setting of The Handmaid’s Tale in an ultra-religious society might lead the reader to believe that Offred’s mom is quite religious herself, and that she wants to protect her daughter from sexual material. Both of these ideas however are refuted later in the book.

In Chapter 20, Offred describes movies she and other women are shown in a reeducation camp, of events meant to shock the women into submission including women being tortured, raped and killed. One of these movies was different and showed Offred’s mom with a group of women carrying signs with messages such as “Freedom to Choose” and “Recapture our Bodies.” These signs indicate that this is some sort of feminist rally, which shows that she is very much against the patriarchal Christian movement that formed Gilead. Then, on page 145, Offred tells the reader,” The mistress – my mother explained mistress, she did not believe in mystification, I had a pop-up book of sexual organs by the time I was four.” This quote contradicts the idea that Offred’s mom wanted to protect her from sexual material. While it is possible to argue that Offred’s mom could have both been against pornographic material and relatively progressive in other areas of gender and sex, all of these moments taken together seem to give us an inconsistent picture of Offred’s mother. If she “doesn’t believe in mystification” and is okay with her daughter learning about sexual organs at the age of four, it doesn’t seem that she should be so worried about the destruction of sexual material, her daughter catching a glimpse of it.

These details about Offred’s mom, seem less significant than those about what happened to Moira. This means that I see no purpose for the author intentionally creating this inconsistency, which is particularly bothersome to me. While I don’t think that these inconsistencies make a huge difference in how I understand the story, they are something that I notice and have difficulty ignoring.