Lecture 2

1. Lecture 2 Chapters 29-39

2. REFRESH • Where we left off (Chapter 28): • We found out how Gilead came into existence and the loss of rights & property of women. • We discussed how we as ‘ the working class’ are willing to COMPLY to what authority figures tell us due to fear. • When you think about it we behave the way we do because of fear. • We obey laws (jail) , we go to school (money) , we pay our taxes (jail) , we go to church (hell).

3. WWYD • What would be your ideal classroom? Do you prefer a teacher that is ‘laissez faire’ or a strict teacher? • How would you run a class?

4. We DO crave structure and need laws implemented and unfortunately the most effective way to ensure rules are followed is to instill fear. • Scared straight

5. We also discussed… • A newfound sympathy for the Commander • We start to find out that there isn’t necessarily a ‘good’ and ‘evil’, the relationships in this novel are more complex than that • The constant fear of being “found out” that Offred faces • How Gilead tremendously regulates “sex” and it imprisons its occupants to crave ‘closeness’.

6. Chapter 29 plot points • The Commander and Offred become more casual with each other. They play scrabble and engage in conversations. Offred tries to get the most information out of the Commander but his answers to her questions are vague. • Offred questions the Commander about Gilead. The Commander states that in Pre-Gilead sex and women were made too ‘available’. Basically men had nothing to fight for- women and sex were too easy to attain.

7. This new Gilead has made men “feel” again. Sex isn’t overtly available. • Obviously “feeling” again comes at the huge expense of women in Gilead. • Offred can’t believe these remarks, especially when The Commander remarks “better always means worse for some” – again this is a discussed about our society especially capitalism.

8. HEADS DOWN • You’re all wealthy factory owners. You employ 7 immigrants to work in your factory. You pay them minimum wage. A worker complains to you stating that he believes he and his colleagues should be paid more and that heating needs to be implemented in the factory because it gets extremely cold in the winter. • Do you grant the employees their requests -the slight raise and heating- or do you hire a new team of immigrants (who are eager to work).

9. PLOT POINTS CON’T. • Offred learns that the previous Handmaid hung herself after Serena Joy found out that her and the Commander had been spending unwarranted time together. • The Commanders views of Gilead and the fact that he knows he is putting Offred in danger leads the readers and Offred to dislike The Commander.

10. We find out in this chapter that The Commander feels bad for Offred. He feels guilty. • She knows that through his guilt she can manipulate him to get things out of him. • One can argue that the Commander can be viewed as ‘selfish’ knowing that the fate of his last handmaid ended in suicide he still asks Offred to join him in his office during ‘off’ times. • He is putting Offred in danger in order to satisfy his intimacy needs.

11. CHAPTER 30 PLOT POINTS • Offred sees Nick outside of her window and feels sexual attraction in the gaze they exchange. She is beginning to feel infatuated with him. • Offred reminisces about the time her and Luke tried to escape from Gilead, they killed their cat to leave no suspicion that they fled and received forged passports. • There escape attempt failed. • Offred wonders if the eyes sometimes pose as forgers in order to catch people from fleeing. • Offred thinks about suicide.

12. THINK ABOUT HOW… • The government now has the right to tap into our conversations and flags certain words if they have reasonable suspicion. • In the middle east men would pose as people willing to help women escape but would actually betray them and turn them into authorities. • On a smaller scale: In certain vacation destinations ‘locals’ offer students drugs in order to arrest them.

13. CHAPTER 31 PLOT POINTS • Ofglen and Offred pass the Wall where two more bodies are mutilated. One is marked with a J. Parrallel to Nazi Germany. • Offredand Serena meet each other on common ground when they discuss the possibility that The Commander may be sterile. • Serena suggests that she try getting pregnant with Nick, him being the closest person to the family. Serena promises to let Offred see a picture of her daughter if she follows her demands. • She agrees and Serena gives her a cigarette as a reward.

14. Serena and Offred share a moment of connection when they discuss the possibility that The Commander might be sterile. For once ‘blame’ is being put on a man in Gilead. • At the same time we witness the manipulation and cruelty of Serena. If Serena can offer Offred a picture of her daughter what does this indicate about Serena? • Serena is using Offred to have a child that she will raise.

15. CHAPTER 32 PLOT POINTS • Offred considers burning down the house and eating the cigarette for a nicotine rush. She is constantly thinking of ways to get out of the world she’s living in. • The Commander explains to Offred that in the old world there was nothing for men to struggle for. Women didn’t challenge men. (FEMINIST) • The Commander asks Offred how she likes the new world, she does not respond. He knows she is unhappy and responds to knowing this with “You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs”.

16. CHAPTER 33 & 34 • Ofglen and Offred attend a “Prayvaganza” with all the women. This event is held in a university. The seating arrangement has the Wives sitting together, the Martha’s and the Econowives witting together and the Handmaids kneeling off to the side. • There is no separation of church and state. Prayer is a public spectacle. “God is a National Resource” • Have we completely separated church and state? • Janine comes in with her WIFE and Ofglen and Offred discuss how her baby was a shredder. They also discuss how Janine had sex with a doctor in order to get pregnant.

17. CHAPTER 34 • These ceremonies were meant to marry off the Wives daughters to men early. • Offred recalls a conversation with the Commander that the new Gilead actually offers protection and safety of women because they are strictly regulated. • Side note: Atwood designs Pre- G and G as both oppressing women. Women feared being raped and assaulted in Pre- G but in G their sex is strictly regulated, they are “walking wombs”. There importance stems from their ability to have a child.

18. While the Commander says this new Gilead offers protection, Offred argues that it does not allow love. • The Commander argues that arranged marriages are better than falling in love. What the new world offers women: Fathers cannot abandon their children Does not allow domestic abuse Value the work of mothering Aunt Lydia makes a comment about this world becoming “ordinary”

19. Offred argues that to fall in love is the best expression of the souls liberty. Choosing who you love is the greatest freedom.

20. CHAPTER 35 • In this chapter Offred recalls the night her and Luke tried to escape. • She remembers getting to the border and when the border police looked down at their passports they sped through the woods in their car. They got out and tried to run. • Thisparallels slaves and their attempts to escape.

21. Offred thinks about what it once was to be in love. She thinks about how one’s life can be defined by love. • Serena shows Offred a picture of her daughter.

22. CHAPTER 36 • The Commander appears drunk in his room and asks Offred to change into an outfit with sequins and feathers and to put on Serena’s blue coat. • He asks if he can take her out and she obliges. • Nick drives them and she wonders what Nick will think of her. • The Commander tells Offred to say she’s an “evening rental” if anyone asks.

23. CHAPTER 37 • The Commander takes Offred to a forbidden club called Jezebel “speakeasy”. • Women are dressed in clothes from Pre- G times that are very revealing. Offred knows that The Commander enjoys showing her off. • The Commander states that men require a variety of women to be satisfied. • Women who were once intelligent and had respectable jobs were know prostituting at the club. • Offred spots Moira here wearing a Playboy bunny uniform. They signal each other to meet in the washroom.

24. THE VIRGIN AND THE WHORE • Atwoods suggests that patriarchal systems tend to split women up into two categories: the virgin and the whore. This is done by making the women of Gilead sexless ( Wives, Martha’s, Handmaids) and giving the prostitutes overtly sexual clothing. • HYPOCRISY • Pick and choosing parts from the bible to abide by. The Commander claims that men are wired to desire multiple sex partners for pro-creational purposes YET we also believes in a society that banns anything sex related.

25. BRUNO CLIP • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LazrAzBP_0I

26. Church asking for money • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmO0VkYUA2g

27. Chapter 38 • Offred and Moira meet in the bathroom and Moira explains her story of trying to escape. • Escaped from the Red Center wearing Aunt Elizabeth’s clothing. • Was on an underground female road trying to escape but was caught and tortured. • She decided to work as a prostitute instead of going to the colonies. • Moira’s complete demeanor and rebellion had changed. She was empty.

28. Moira embodies Gilead’s ability to crush even the strongest spirit. • Offred starts to regret taking for granted the movements were mother was involved in. • Another thing to consider is that Offred cannot feel passion with The Commander because she is not having sex with him by choice. Sex by choice vs. Sex by free will

29. INTERVIEW WITH ATWOOD • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMrz_ivl8jo ‘ I HAVE NOT WRITTEN ANYTHING THAT HASN’T ALREADY HAPPENED’

30. For tomorrow • Chapter 39- 46 & historical notes