The focus is on female experience.
The last line of the chapter states the names of some of the main female characters of the novel: ” Alma. Janine. Dolores. Moira. June.” The names are listed, separated by full stops; these full stops could show the limitations of what the readers will learn about the characters and what the characters themselves know about each other. By giving the characters a name Atwood is showing that they are individuals who have their own identity, not just part of the collective group of Handmaids. This contrasts to later in the book when the Handmaids are given a name based on their Commander (Offred, Ofwarren etc.); they are extremely limited with the amount of power and voice that they have. The full stops used by Atwood help to emphasise this; although they don’t have much power, the fact that they have a real name is their only act of rebellion and is their way of holding on to who they were in the past.
The focus is on relationships and sexual experience.
The first mention of sex and relationships is when Offred says that “there was old sex in the room and loneliness.” She talks about sex as teenage lustfulness rather than sensual, loving and beautiful. The teenage lustfulness is what is targetted by the government of Gilead and is used as a fundamental part of the new society that they built. As Offred talks about the restrictions and lack of control over their own lives that the Handmaids have, she says that they “still had their bodies.” This implies the objectification of women in Gilead and how, when they were at the Centre, they still had some control over their body. However, as the novel continues, we begin to see how they even lose control of their own bodies. The Handmaids are told to have sex with their Commanders, told what they
What is being described is memories of growing up in an America of the not so distant past.
Offred says that she can smell “the pungent scent of sweat, shot through with the sweet taint of chewing gum and perfume.” These scents suggest that the past, and what it used to be, was very recent. The lingering smell of students playing basketball and the perfume of “the watching girls” present the gymnasium as a fun, energetic and glamourous place; a place of vibrancy. As Offred is still able to smell these things, we can infer that she is referring to a time in the not so distant past. If the America that she was describing was very far in the past, there would be no lingering scents and Offred would not be able to describe the room the way that she does.
While describing what the gymnasium is like now, Offred mentions that they “had flannelette sheets, like children’s, and army-issue blankets, old ones that still said U.S.” The use of the old blankets that were yet to be rebranded or replaced shows that Gilead is a new nation and they have not had time to change many things. They are also living and sleeping in “what had once been the gymnasium” which implies that they are reusing things from the past and that the nation of Gilead is not properly equipped yet. They have not built any new buildings and they haven’t rebranded anything, they are reusing things until they have time and money to make the nation their own.
