Chapter 30-34

Concept: Writers use interactions between the protagonist and other characters to reveal more about the character and to drive the plot forward 

What is the main plot of Handmaids Tale? Start- Offred at the commanders house , End- Leaving the house

Examples of interactions between characters to drive events forward : When Offred goes to Serena Joy's ceremony, When Offred is present when a handmaid is giving birth. New Ofglen "I am Ofglen" - replaced the old one (knew the van was coming for her and commits suicide)- this helps to move it forward as Offred is aware of the dangers within society.  Offred's relationship with her

Rita (Chapter 32)

• She is being a bit nicer towards Offred 

Moira (Chapter 33)

• She is very assertive, power over Janine
• Biblical references
  • "Jesus Christ"
  • Huge emphasis on religion within the regime
• Wants to protect Janine, only has her best interests at heart

Ofglen (Chapter 31)

• Outside a church with Offred
• Able to speak more freely
  • Not restricted to what the regime wants them to say
• They have a very good relationship
• It dangerous to even talk, they can get hurt
• Helps us as a reader to understand it on her level (the paragraph)
  • As this is what the whole narrative is all about

Serena Joy (Chapter 31)

• Developing a relationship with her
• Able to develop hierarchal boundaries
• Serena Joy has a lot of power on Offred's decision
• Won't be a risk for Offred
  • Able to have the relationship with Nick

Nick (Chapter 30)

• "Is it Nick, or is it someone else, someone of no importance?"
  • Establishes the relationship
  • That they mean something to each other
• Romance between Offred and Nick
  • Foreshadows a future relationship- furthers the plot
• No one can have a true relationship within society because they have to remain alone
• Nick won't be able to replace the relationship she had in the past with Luke
• Adds a layer of tension
  • Could get caught a lot quicker
• "Context is all; or is it ripeness?"
  • Relationship is sexual attraction, no romance between them

Later that night, Offred stares through her window and catches sight of Nick. She senses the charge of sexual desire in the glance they exchange before she pulls the curtains closed. She remembers the day she and Luke tried to escape from Gilead. They did not pack anything because they did not want to look as if they were leaving permanently. Luke killed their pet cat because they did not want to leave her to starve, and leaving her to meow outside would arouse suspicion. Someone must have reported their plans, because the escape attempt failed. It could have been a neighbor or the man who forged their passports. Offred wonders if the Eyes sometimes posed as forgers in order to catch people trying to escape. Lying in the dark, she prays in a confused fashion and thinks about suicide.

Summer drags on—with no hope of release from the horror of life in Gilead, the passage of time is unbearable. During a shopping trip one day, Ofglen and Offred find two new bodies on the Wall. One is a Catholic, and another is marked with J, which the women do not understand. If he were Jewish, he would be marked with a yellow star. In the early days of Gilead, Jews were accorded special status as “Sons of Jacob,” and they had the choice of converting or emigrating to Israel. Some people pretended to be Jewish and escaped Gilead that way. Many Jews left, but others pretended to convert or refused to convert; now those who did not truly convert are hanged when caught. Ofglen tells Offred that subversives in Gilead use “mayday” as a password, but she warns Offred not to use it often. If she is caught and tortured, she should not know names of other subversives. 

When Offred reaches the house, she notes that Nick’s hat is askew. Serena calls Offred over and asks her to hold the wool while she knits. She asks if there is any sign of pregnancy. When Offred indicates there is not, Serena suggests that the Commander may be sterile. After a moment of hesitation, Offred agrees that it is possible. Serena suggests she try another man, since Offred’s time is running out. Serena says Nick would be the safest possibility, and then offers to let Offred see a picture of her daughter if she agrees. Blinded by sudden hate for Serena, Offred nonetheless agrees, and Serena gives her a cigarette as a reward and instructs her to ask Rita for a match. 

Offred considers eating the cigarette little by little for the nicotine rush and saving the match to burn down the house. The Commander has taken to drinking during his evenings with Offred. Ofglen says Offred’s Commander is high in the chain of power. One night he explains that in the old world, before Gilead, there was nothing for men to do with women anymore—nothing to struggle for, nothing to hold their interest. Men used to complain that they felt nothing. He asks what she thinks of Gilead. Offred tries to empty her mind; she cannot give her real opinion. She does not answer, but he can feel her unhappiness. “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,” he says. “We thought we could do better.”

Ofglen and Offred attend a “Prayvaganza” with the other women of their district, held in what used to be a university building. The Wives sit in one section with their daughters, the Marthas and Econowives sit in another, and the Handmaids kneel in a section cordoned off by ropes. Janine walks in with a new Wife, and Ofglen whispers that Janine’s baby was deformed, a “shredder” after all. She adds that Janine slept with a doctor to get pregnant. Offred remembers a strange episode in the Red Center when Janine sat on her bed staring off into space, speaking to an invisible customer in a restaurant where she worked before Gilead. Moira slapped Janine and shouted until Janine came back to her senses.

Women’s Prayvaganzas are weddings for the Wives’ daughters, mass ceremonies in which girls as young as fourteen get married. In a few years, the brides will be girls who do not remember life before Gilead. Offred remembers a conversation with the Commander, in which he insisted that while Gilead has taken away some freedom, it has guaranteed women safety and dignity. Now all women have spouses, and they are not left alone to care for children, beaten, or forced to work if they do not want to. They can “fulfill their -biological destinies in peace.” Offred noted that they do not allow love, but the Commander replied that arranged marriages work better than falling in love.Although women’s Prayvaganzas usually celebrate group weddings and men’s celebrate military victories, sometimes the Prayvaganzas celebrate Catholic nuns who convert to the state religion. 

When the authorities of Gilead catches Catholic nuns, they torture them. They send old ones directly to the Colonies, but young ones may choose between the Colonies and conversion. If they convert, the nuns become Handmaids, but many choose the Colonies. The wedding ceremony goes on, and Offred remembers how Aunt Lydia always said that the real goal of Gilead is to create camaraderie between women. After the services, Ofglen whispers that the subversives know she sees the Commander in private. She urges Offred to find out everything she can.