How do people live their live to the fullest, when every move they make is controlled by the society in which they live? Such a thing seems unrealistic to us but exists in Margaret Atwood's novel entitled The Handmaid's Tale. Through the eyes of Handmaids, the distress that the people in Gilead's society have to go through is unraveled. Many characters structure this fictional novel about the customs in Guild's society; however, Offred, The Commander and Serena Joy have the greatest impact. These characters represent the problems Gileadeans have to deal with in their society.
Offred is a crucial character in the novel. She displays characteristics that are important to the structure of the society. She belongs to a high class of women known as handmaids. Handmaids are important in the Gileadean society because they are the only fertile women. As a result Gilead depends on them to populate their country. If handmaid were to rebel, Gilead would become extinct. Instead of respecting Handmaids for their ability to reproduce, they are treated as sex objects and force them into motherhood for selected infertile couples. Handmaids were given some freedom in society, but not enough to have a chance to rebel. They were allowed to go for walks and associate with others, however, they were still under control. Offred states " A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays in the maze". Pg 206 This is a great analogy because it describes the amount of freedom handmaids were given in such a controlled society. Even so, Offred manages to find a way to rebel in small ways. Knowing that the Commander is sterile, she has sexual intercourse with another man in fear of loosing her life. If Offred was unable to produce a child after a respectable amount of time, the Commander would be consider her unfertile and send her away to the colony. She also rebels against society ways when she agrees to go out on a date with the Commander and sleeps with him afterwards.