The two Handmaids communicate when nobody is around, coping with the pressure of oppression together. They exchange their troubles, their thoughts, their emotions. All this talk also helps Ofglen influence Offred's beliefs and position in Gilead. Then there are the times when the "eyes" and the government actually let the girls interact. These occasions are extremely rare, though they are rather exciting. At the birthing ceremony, the Handmaids drink a grape drink and Offred mentions, "Someone has spiked the grape juice. Someone has pinched a bottle, from downstairs. It won't be the first time at such a gathering; but they"ll turn a blind eye. We too need our orgies" (125). The girls are let loose for a short amount of time, during which the "eyes" "turn a blind eye." They are not actually allowed to talk in the crowd, but the "eyes" cannot tell whether one is praying, chanting, or plotting rebellion. Throughout the novel, Offred communicates constantly to keep her individuality alive, coping with oppression.
Offred seeks the feeling of power through small, inactive rebellious actions such as stealing. In an oppressed position, the Handmaids have no power whatsoever. Their objective is to find the slightest implication of power that they can possess without being marked as a troublemaker. "[Offred] tears off a corner of the napkin, wraps the butter in it, takes it to the cupboard, and slips it into the toe of [her] right shoe" (66). Offred slips a piece of butter from her meal into her personal belongings to use it as skin lotion. This desire to have soft skin is a type of inward rebellion, though it does not actually do anything against the society. It is more a rebellion against the beliefs of Gilead, not accepting the fate that these people have chosen for her. The butter also signifies the past, before the time of Handmaids or Commanders, a past that Offred desires more than anything else.
