The Handmaid's Tale
侍女の物語
Margaret Atwood 1985
Upon realizing that I keep forgetting even my favorite books, I'm trying this method of documenting each chapter as soon as I read it, in the hopes of retaining key moments, even passages, if possible. This is the first time I'm doing this so I'm hoping for the best.
Also, in learning
I have to give credit where it is due so I wanna cite this TED-Ed video for fascinating me and leading me to seek for this "speculative dystopian" classic ringing bells in this Trump era.
Chapter 1 : "If only they would look"
This rather short preface paints a somber picture of a life of the narrator, unnamed at this point, whom with companions are " imprisoned" on an old gymnasium under heavy security. In the dim of the night, they communicate to each other the little things they could, including their names.
We are given an idea of roles people play in the setting: the "Aunts", who guard the narrator and companions within the confines of their location, and the armed "Angels", who guard the perimeter from the other side of fences, their backs turned from the inside.
Chapter 2 : "Fraternize"
Jumping into present tense, the narrator, still somewhat un-acclimated to the desolate life she (or he) is living in the present, makes her way through her home, preparing to go shopping. The chapter demonstrates a "day in the life" scenario in the narrator's household, and we are introduced to another role, the "Marthas" who seemingly perform the chores in the home, minus the shopping which is tasked to the narrator's role. The narrator desperately expresses for the simple, annoying things she used to hate: confessions, conversations, gossiping—human exchange, fraternizing. They are implied to be under very strict rules of submission and duty, governed into compliance by fear, mostly.
Chapter 3 : "Serena Joy"
The narrator makes her way out the back door and into the garden, the Commander's wife's domain. She ponders on the little tasks her "mistress" does, which she envies, despite deeming them pointless.
We find out that it has only been five weeks since the narrator first met the Commander's wife, the start of her first posting. A rather intimidating woman, the wife enjoys a role held in higher regard than that of the narrator, enjoying things forbidden to her such as cigarettes, coffee and alcohol. All the while, the narrator recalls her training on decorum under Aunt Lydia, who insists that their roles are an honor and a gift to the unfortunate wives. The narrator recognizes the Commander's Wife as Serena Joy, the lead soprano of Growing Souls Gospel Hour, a television show when she (the narrator) was still a child. According to her, after her stint on the show, Serena Joy "went on to other things". By the Commander's Wife choice of words, we are made to assume that she and her family holds a high position in the society and have played an key role in establishing the current climate of things.
As the narrator recalls her arrival to the Commander's household, we are given a description of his wife's stern disposition and aversion to any personal relation with the narrator, to her dismay. The narrator heavily implies that there is jealousy in the wife's treatment of her, almost that she is threatened to be usurped in her role. This is the narrator's third posting as her previous postings "didn't work out". We are also introduced to the " Guardians", man-servants assigned to a household serving as security officers and assistants to the commander and their wives.
Chapter 4 : "Watching"
The narrator finally makes it to the gates and stumbles into the Commander's Guardian named Nick, who defiantly winks and gives her a smile. She, obviously feeling attraction to the rugged servant, looks down and walks away. The narrator retains doubt that Nick might even be a spy, trying to test her. The narrator meets with Ofglen, another Handmaid whom she is assigned to do her errands with. Since they have not exchanged anything "unorthodox", the narrator is leaning towards assuming that Ofglen is a true believer, and is in no position to be a real friend. Outside the gates, we are given a glimpse of the atmosphere of the world—there is an ongoing civil war and rebels, including religious groups, are being hunted. In one checkpoint, the narrator observes the young member of the "Guardians of the Faith" (or simply Guardian). Similar to a geisha, the narrator subtly uses her body to tease him. In one quick moment their faces meet each other, she takes control of the mystique of the unknown and harnesses it as a "reward" to herself. She feels happy with this power, no matter how little she still has over "lower" men like him. This begs me to wonder if all women today feel this way. In a society that labels fly about so quickly. With every bat of their eye, every slinky movement, all unspoken, even insignificant beat.
This chapter first mentions the narrator's role as "Handmaid", which is also established as a privilege only elite men can have. I forgot to note before that Rita seems to despise the narrator, most likely because of her role which has something to do with sex (what that is, I already know because of the TV series I already know). Cora is the more sympathetic Martha, seemingly even admires the narrator for being a handmaiden. We are also introduced to Ofglen, who, if the TV series is a reliable indicator will be playing a huge part in the narrator's life.
Chapter 5 : "The Heart of Gilead"
We get a glimpse of a community of Gilead, which makes the narrator yearn, nay think back on the days when she was younger and walked the same streets, in very different circumstances—according to her, days when women are not "protected". She juxtaposes the unspoken cautions females live by with the freedom they possess with something as simple as doing laundry in a laundromat. According to Aunt Lydia, the narrator says, that the society before was dying "of too much choice".
One established fact in Gilead is that women and men have been enforced to their respective traditional gender roles. Any form of literature have been consciously erased such that even signs for stores have been replaced by images. Atwood probably putting emphasis on the power of language with this.
At the grocery, we are introduced to a new sentiment: excitement, as a pregnant Handmaid, proud and triumphantly showing off her bump, appears among the shop-goers. The emotions over pregnancies is explained in this genius snippet: "Now that she’s the carrier of life, she is closer to death, and needs special security. Jealousy could get her, it’s happened before. All children are wanted now, but not by everyone." On her way out, the narrator recognizes the pregnant woman as Janine, whom she spent time at the Red Centre with, some one she does not particularly like.
In this chapter, The Red Centre is finally named after being described in the first chapter in brief detail. Janine was one of the names the narrator mentioned before, as well as Moira, who is implied to be close with the narrator, as she continually hopes to see her during the walk. Luke is mentioned again in this chapter, and is painted to be a romantic partner of the narrator as she remembers planning their future together with their child. Another role of women, the econowives are also introduced in this chapter, as the wives of the poorer men, who do everything in their respective households.
One interesting event was by the end of the chapter, the Handmaids encounter a group of Japanese tourists. More than a difference in cultures, this scene was included to emphasize further the reversal of timelines as the historically demure women of Japan meet the Handmaids. Upon noticing how the modern Japanese women dress themselves, the narrator ponders the fact that the brainwashing has taken a hold of them more than she realizes.
"We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed. It has taken so little time to change our minds, about things like this."
Episode 1 : "Offred"
I'm finding it quite difficult to place the source chapter of the pilot episode of the TV adaptation. Probably because it considers the whole story as opposed to a chapter-by-chapter chronological approach. It is quite notable that the writers took liberties in changing some little details such as ditching the the veil the Wives wear as part of their blue attire. Also, the Commander's Wife was significantly younger than her counterpart in the book. Having said that, I am ecstatic that the
Chapter 6 : "Ofglen and The Wall"
On the way home, the narrator and her companion detour to "the Wall", the city border which also displays the hanged corpses of the victims of "salvaging", implied to be a ritual where heretics and law-breakers are ceremoniously killed. I wonder if the origin of the Filipino notion that "salvaging" is a way of killing people from this novel. Filipinos are not really known for its penchant for dystopian novels.
The narrator notices Ofglen crying at the sight of the wall, but restrains herself from asking as she suspects Ofglen is only doing it to look pious. The narrator starts to think Ofglen might be seeing her in the same light, as she has no reason to believe otherwise.
Chapter 7 : "Dear You"
This chapter is easily the most confusing yet; with hazy details of recollections of her life before, the narrator lets us in on moments that her mind wanders in during the night. First is somewhat a memory of her time in a dorm room with Moira, obviously living a rather the liberated lifestyle with her overalls and single-ear earring and golden nail-polish. This somehow confuses me because it establishes Moira as a friend even before their time at the Red Center. The TV series establishes a foundation regarding this during the pilot when it was established that the narrator and Moira (who is black and gay) were best friends pre-Gilead. The narrator also tries to remember the winter her mother brought her to a demonstration in the park where activists burned pornographic magazines as protest.
As she struggles to remember details of the past, the narrator assumes that they must have been drugged or tortured (think electroshock therapy) into forgetting. She struggles to paint a picture of how her daughter was taken away from her because she wasn't "fit".
The last part of the chapter takes an enigmatic and hopeless tone. We follow the narrator's stream of consciousness ala James Joyce, but eerily evoking a found-footage technique to depict it. She consciously addresses us, the reader;
"if it’s a story, even in my head, I must be telling it to someone. You don’t tell a story only to yourself. There’s always someone else. Even when there is no one."
Chapter 8 : "M’aider"
Jumping into a new day, the narrator visits the wall again with Ofglen and sees new bodies — a priest and two gay Guardians. On the way home, they encounter a funeral procession of Econowives with a jar of an infant who died in the womb. Though they express condolences by actions, the lower-class women sneer at them, probably feeling condescension from the fertile handmaids. As they separate, the narrator notices a hesitation from Ofglen as if she wants to say something more to her. However, she turns her back. Maybe the narrator is seeing a hint of the trapped humanity, like hers, in Ofglen?
"She’s like my own reflection, in a mirror from which I am moving away."
As she enters the gates, she notices the tulips again. With the redness of the tulips and the withering that comes with age, one is tempted to wonder of the symbolism of the flowers.
"The tulips along the border are redder than ever, opening, no longer winecups but chalices; thrusting themselves up, to what end? They are, after all, empty."
As she passes by Nick, he throws in a flirt but she does not indulge him like she did with the young Guardian in chapter 4. Nick is still a suspect for being an Eye, anyway. In another recall to Aunt Lydia, we learn the handmaids are trained to repel temptations like this so they can be "thanked" later.