The Commander

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Who is the Commander and what is his role in the novel?

The Commander is the head of household.

He is a lonely man, who isn't close with his Wife, Serena Joy, which explains why he wants to play Scrabble with and talk to Offred.

He has connections with outside the Republic of Gilead. This is demonstrated when he takes Offred to Jezebel's, a place where men and women can socialise and fraternise freely.

In the Historical Notes, it is revealed he is either Frederick R. Waterford or B. Frederick Judd. Frederick R. Waterford is credited for designing the Handmaid's uniform and originally designing Particicution and possibly Salvaging. B. Frederick Judd was a strategic military mind working the CIA. In either case, he has a high position of power and status.

Atwood uses him to show that men suffer also from the rules of Gilead; 'The Commander, too, is doing his duty.'

He is also used to show the theme of rebellion within the novel. For instance, he rebels by seeing Offred behind his Wife's back, allowing Offred to play Scrabble (because women are not allowed to read) as well as dressing differently than her Handmaid's uniform. He also has contraband items to offer her (hand lotion and magazines) and takes her to an illegal club called Jezebel's.

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Quotes

'There's someone standing in the hall, near to the door where I stay. I can see now, it's the Commander, he isn't supposed to be here... He is violating custom.' (p. 59)

Before the Ceremony takes place, there is the Bible reading. The Commander enters the sitting room; 'He looks like a Midwestern bank president... His manner is mild... He looks over us as if taking inventory... He manages to appear puzzled, as if he can't quite remember how we all got here.' (p. 97)

The Ceremony takes place: 'What's going on in this room... is not exciting. It has nothing to do with passion or love or romance... This is not recreation, even for the Commander. This is serious business. The Commander, too, is doing his duty.' (p. 105)

'Then he says, "I want you to kiss me." ...I smell the shaving lotion, the usual kind, the hint of mothballs, familiar enough to me. But he's like someone I've only just met... 'Not like that,' he says, 'As if you meant it.' He was so sad.' (p. 149-150)

'I visit the Commander two or three nights a week, always after dinner, but only when I get the signal... The Commander and I have an arrangement. It's not the first such arrangement in history, though the shape it's taken is not the usual one... The difficulty is the Wife, as always.' (p. 162)

'To be asked to play Scrabble... seemed kinky in the extreme, a violation too in its own way.' (p. 163)

'For him, I must remember, I am only a whim.' (p. 168)

'When the night for the Ceremony came around again... there was an awkwardness now that hadn't been there before... He was no longer a thing to me. That was the problem. I realised it that night, and the realisation has stayed with me. It complicates.' (p. 169-170)

'He wanted me to play Scrabble with him, and kiss him as if I meant it...' (p. 154) 'It would be really hard to explain to her what he does want, because I still have no name for it. How can I describe what really goes on between us?' (p. 235)

''Tonight I have a little surprise for you,' he says. He laughs; it's more like a snigger. I notice that everything in this evening is little. He wishes to diminish things, myself included.' (p. 241)

'He's holding a handful, it seems, of feathers, mauve and pink.' (p. 242)

''Out?' It's an archaic phrase. Surely there is nowhere, any more, where a man can take a woman, out.' (p. 243)

'It was a hotel then. Now it's full of women.' (p. 246)

'He is showing me off, to them... but also he is showing off to me. He is demonstrating, to me, his mastery of the world. He's breaking the rules, under their noses, thumbing his nose at them, getting away with it.' (p.248)

'What have I been saying, and to whom, and which one of his enemies has found out?' - "Violation of State Secrets"

'I am above him, looking down; he is shrinking... Serena Joy goes white. 'Bitch,' she says, 'After all he did for you.'

Historical notes: ...'he was accused of liberal tendencies, of being in possession of a substantial and unauthorised collection of heretical pictorial and literary materials, and of harbouring a subversive.' (p. 322)

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How does the relationship between Offred and the Commander develop?

Essay plan.

Rough structure outline:

Introduce the Commander using the information in the Historical Notes

identify language and literary techniques and their effect on the reader

identify the context and what does it reveal about their relationship?

conclude: What was Atwood trying to show about Gilead through the Commander, and why is he important?

'This is not recreation, even for the Commander. This is serious business. The Commander, too, is doing his duty.' (p. 105)

short sentences, blunt; it is not dressed up by description, like the sexual act is not dressed up by the need for love or romance.

It is stripped down to its bare bones; the sole purpose is to reproduce.

Effect: readers get a sense of the abruptness of the act and how wooden it must feel; unnatural.

Effect: the bluntness communicates that Offred is matter-of-fact about it, separating her feelings from what she describes

The Commander has the most power compared to Offred and Serena, but he is unable to refuse to do this. Does 'doing his duty' mean he is not consenting?

Effect: reader feels sympathetic towards him, see similarity between Offred and himself. Is Offred sort of understanding him for the first time?

'Then he says, "I want you to kiss me." (p. 149)

'Not like that,' he says, 'As if you meant it.' He was so sad. That was a reconstruction too.' (p. 150)

The Commander's short pieces of dialogue indicate that he doesn't need to explain himself. The reason is simple; he has a lack of opportunities for relationships and he misses the romance of the past, hence the word 'reconstruction' being used.

Offred mirrors this, using simple narrative with little description, only presenting the heart of the matter.

Effect: readers understand the Commander through Offred's understanding. She brings this up because it's relevant in her eyes, because it shows they have a sense of mutual understanding, as they both miss love and being loved.

Offred now has a better understanding of what the Commander wants from her - he wants to feel loved. She also wants the same thing, but just not from him.

'He was no longer a thing to me. That was the problem. I realised it that night, and the realisation has stayed with me. It complicates.' (p. 170)

The phrase 'it complicates' is contradictory; a word like 'complicates' in a simple sentence is similar to Offred's role as a Handmaid. She has a very simple task of getting pregnant, but human emotion and desires complicate the situation.

Effect: It simply informs the readers, but urges them to read on, as they want more details as to why it's complicated, as the variety in the word 'complicates' could be anything.

The phrase 'no longer a thing' suggests that he was a thing before, with no relationship being allowed between them. People were used for a function instead of treated as people with individual autonomy and emotions. Offred now views him as a person, which goes against the demands of the regime, and he becomes more than just his 'use', and it is no longer a case of whether he is useful or not. This reflects that people are more valuable than their perceived 'use.'

However, by contrast to this revelation, Offred still treats the Commander as a useful asset to her life; 'It's something to do, for one thing. Something to fill my time, at night, instead of sitting alone in my room. It's something else to think about.' (p. 172) She also says, 'I want anything that breaks the monotony.' (p. 243)

'"Tonight I'm taking you out."

"Out?" It's an archaic phrase. Surely there is nowhere, any more, where a man can take a woman, out.' (p. 243)

The word 'archaic' means extremely old, or belonging to another period. Pre-Gilead seems to Offred like another era, as the time and cultural differences are emphasised.

'Archaic' can also mean primitive/under-evolved. Perhaps this is what the women have been told at the Red Centre, that a Gileadan lifestyle is better, as arranged marriages and Handmaids mean that less people are without a role in society.

Effect: Offred's shock emphasises the difference between Pre-Gileadan and Gileadan society. The use of the word 'archaic' may be an exaggeration, as Offred may not have been living in Gilead for that long, but she says her previous life 'feels like a lifetime ago.'

This little exchange reveals the Commander's intentions: to reconstruct the good parts of the past through his relationship with Offred. Pretending that Gilead isn't real is a form of escape.

It's interesting to note that during the early part of their relationship, Offred had a strong sense of boundaries; 'He isn't supposed to be here... He is violating custom.' (p. 59) But now she is happy to join in with his schemes and more comfortable with breaking the rules of Gilead.

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Serena Joy

Serena Joy is a woman with a great amount of power. This is demonstrated in the following examples:

She forces a sexual relationship between Offred and Nick.

She has knowledge and photograph of Offred's daughter.

She is sitting in a chair in the garden (p. 55), where Offred is not allowed.

"Your time is running out," (p. 214) - this declarative statement could be a threat as she has the power to send Offred away to either her third placement or the Colonies.

"It could be someone we trust," (p. 215) - she includes Offred and herself as the 'we', as one team that are going through the same situation together, when in fact, it is Offred going through it; she's making the decision for Offred, assuming that she trusts Nick as she does.

Offred asks the questions, Serena Joy has the answers. (p. 216)

"We just won't tell him, will we?" (p. 216) - this is almost a threat to Offred if she does tell the Commander.

'Serena Joy, what a stupid name.' (p. 55) - Offred offers her opinion of her, which indicates that she wants us to dislike her as well.

'Her speeches were about the sanctity of the home, about how women should stay home.' (p. 55) - This indicates we are also meant to dislike her, as she is in support of the values behind the Gileadan regime. Furthermore, as this is a feminist text, the readers of this novel are also likely to dislike Serena Joy as this may be viewed as a patriarchal view.

'She's lighting another cigarette, fumbling with the lighter.' (p. 215) - nervous, stressed or struggling with arthritis?