Handmaid's Tale Relationships
One of the main ideas in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood, is relationships and their importance as there is lack of intimacy and human contact which are both controlled and prohibited in Gilead. We can see that in this totalitarian society, all relationships are controlled strictly and monitored and there are boundaries which you must not cross. In this society, even sex is controlled. As a handmaid, you are obliged to have sex with your Commander at fixed times and this sexual event is named ‘the Ceremony’. The relationship between Offred and the three men in her life: the Commander, his chauffeur Nick and her husband Luke, are important to this theme of importance of relationships as these relationships are all very
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Although neither the Commander nor Luke seem to do much, Nick is different through his selfless action of rescuing Offred from arrest at the end, possibly at the cost of his own life. Although the novel shows us a feminist nightmare, a society where women have no identity and are defined and controlled by their fertility, Nick’s relationship with Offred also shows us that men too are repressed and controlled in this society. It’s said that Nick “hasn't been issued a woman... He doesn't rate”. Nick is a hero for helping Offred. Offred needs him to be there for her when she is lonely and craves human contact, living in this society where it is repressed. She needs the Commander to give her something to do, occupy space in her life and to play scrabble with, which is erotic and forbidden. If the Commander is her “husband” and Nick her “lover”, Luke, her husband in “the time before”, filled both roles. He was there for her in the past but is also a parallel with the Commander in that they are both in positions of power over Offred. We see the importance of these relationships to the theme of importance of relationships as they show that lack of intimacy and human contact in Gilead is causing people to crave affection and need someone to be there for them in order for them to carry on
Although neither the Commander nor Luke seem to do much, Nick is different through his selfless action of rescuing Offred from arrest at the end, possibly at the cost of his own life. Although the novel shows us a feminist nightmare, a society where women have no identity and are defined and controlled by their fertility, Nick’s relationship with Offred also shows us that men too are repressed and controlled in this society. It’s said that Nick “hasn't been issued a woman... He doesn't rate”. Nick is a hero for helping Offred. Offred needs him to be there for her when she is lonely and craves human contact, living in this society where it is repressed. She needs the Commander to give her something to do, occupy space in her life and to play scrabble with, which is erotic and forbidden. If the Commander is her “husband” and Nick her “lover”, Luke, her husband in “the time before”, filled both roles. He was there for her in the past but is also a parallel with the Commander in that they are both in positions of power over Offred. We see the importance of these relationships to the theme of importance of relationships as they show that lack of intimacy and human contact in Gilead is causing people to crave affection and need someone to be there for them in order for them to carry on