Characters Flashcards
Offred
-Homodiegetic Narrator
-Handmaid to Serena Joy/The Commander
-Former wife of Luke
-Lover of Nick
-Never learn her real name
-Know little of her physical appearance
-Had a daughter we know little about
-Aspires to be like Moira her bff
-Rebellious in her thoughts but not outright rebellious against Gillead
The Commander
-Head of the household
-Husband of Serena Joy
-Has the most privaledge
-High ranking official of Gilead
-Breaks many laws himself
-Misogynistic
-Cares about Offred’s opinions and wellbeing
Serena Joy
-Commander’s wife
-Unable to have children
-Before Gilead she was a singer and famous on TV
-Fully believes in Gilead
-Gardens and knits
-Has arthiritis
-Ignores Offred throughout the novel until the end as she is desperate for Offred to become pregnant so breaks the law by setting Offred up with Nick
Nick
-Chauffer of the house
-Helps Serena Joy with manual labour
-Offred’s lover
-A seemingly low ranking Guardian as he hasn’t been assigned a woman
-From the beginning rejects some of Gilead’s structures (rolls up sleeves)
-Found trustworthy by Commander and Serena
-Used to break the law by the Commander and Serena
-Unclear what he thinks and his motives
-Suggested that he is part of the Ressistance
Luke
-Offred’s pre-Gilead husband
-Previously married before Offred and had a long affair with her before divorcing his wife
-Often referred to throughout the text despite never being seen
-Lacks sympathy when Gilead begins and Offred loses her job and money
-He and Offred were caught trying to escape Gilead
-Unclear what happened to him
Moira
-Offred’s best friend in college
-Opionated, brave and stubborn
-Feminist lesbian
-Failed to escape the Red Centre once but then managed to the second time
-Eyes captured and tortured her
-Became a prostitute to avoid the Colonies
-At Jezebel’s, her spirit seems to be broken
Aunt Lydia
-Seemingly the main aunt at the Red Centre
-True believer of Gilead
-Takes on a maternal front to indoctrinate the Handmaid’s but is cruel
Ofglen
-Handmaid (the second of 3 called Ofglen)
-Part of the Ressistance and gets Offred involved in it
-Trusted by Offred
-Hanged herself before the Eyes could take her
Rita
-Envies the small amount of freedom Offred gets
-Older
-Kitchen servant
-A bit cold towards Offred
-Exerts the little power she has
Cora
-Cleaning woman
-Older
-Found the previous Handmaid when she had killed herself
-Fears another suicide
-Builds some sort of friendship with Offred and they exchange a type of kindness
-Is extremely looking forward to a Handmaid having a child for the family
Offred/Luke’s daughter
-Physical appearance not explained
-Offred yearns to see her
-A polaroid picture revealed that she survived and is being indoctrinated as a whitegowned Daughter
Offred’s Mother
-Enthusiastic militant (taking action) feminist
-Unknown if she survived or her whereabouts
-Burned pornographic magazines with Offred
-Moira says she recognised Offred’s mother in an unwoman documentary of a nuclearpolluted Colony, meaning she could be dead
Janine/Ofwarren
-Handmaid
-Indoctrinated to fully believe in Gilead
-Hysterical
-Favoured by Aunt Lydia due to her indoctrination, sent to spy on other Handmaids
-Shunned and put at fault for being gang raped before Gilead
-Shows off her pregnancy
-Baby later declared as a failure, she is blamed
-Unliked by other Handmaids, and therefore the reader
Offred’s Predecessor
-The Handmaid who was previously in Offred’s room
-Revealed to have done the same by visiting the Commander in his office and going to the club with him
-Serena Joy discovered the affair which led to the Handmaid hanging herself which is the reason the chandelier was removed
-Scratched a doggerel (badly written or expressed) Latin phrase in the closet
-Offred has a sense of relation with the handmaid
