Week 11: Indulgence

Offred indulges herself in reading magazines and books as well as writing and playing Scrabble with the Commander. She contemplates the meaning behind the magazines to her: “They suggested rejuvenation, pain overcome and transcended, endless love. The real promise in them was immortality” (157). The magazines allow her to engage her mind in thought even if temporarily. However, this opportunity stems from a man, the Commander, giving her the time and resources to think and talk about the material. Writing and spelling require extra effort for Offred as she tries to remember the language of the past. She expresses regret towards reading books and magazines so casually in the past and “soaks in” the material. The Commander gives her an outlet to temporarily escape her present life to think about the past and the possibilities of the future: “Behind this particular door, taboo dissolved” (157). Offred experiences bits of her past life. While she takes a risk by agreeing to these meetings with the Commander, she has likely become fed up with her current situation and realizes that her chances of reuniting with Luke and her daughter dwindle as time goes on. I found the burning of books and magazines reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451. People in charge take away material contrary to their rhetoric. They work to bring back traditional values, focusing on women covering the domestic sphere by having children, cooking, cleaning, and tending to the garden while men work and supervise the household. For instance, Offred experienced how the people in charge forced women to rely on men by freezing their credit cards and “letting them go” from their jobs. Moira and Offred talk about what happened with Offred’s job and credit card: “They’ve frozen them, she said. Mine too. The collective’s too. Any account with an F on it instead of an M… Women can’t hold property anymore, she said. It’s a new law” (178). An unsettling shift in power results with women becoming more subservient to men. Offred grows frustrated and uneasy because she must look to Luke for money, losing her independence and autonomy as a woman.

Comments

  1. Abbey CurranNovember 9, 2017 at 10:00 AM

    You always have such great insights into the book.. I enjoy reading what you have to say! I too was interested in this section of the text. It got me thinking about what roles the flashbacks play into the story as well as what role Offred's time with the Commander could be doing for her. As a sociology major/social work minor, I've learned in many of my classes that sometimes PTSD shines through in the forms of flashbacks of memories that the individual may be supressing. In addition, when individuals are in hard and otherwise traumatizing situations, having an outlet such as Offred's time with the Commander that allows her to bring some of her old self to the surface, could serve as a good or a bad thing.

    In addition, when Moira and Offred discover their assets have been frozen and the money will be transferred to either their closest male relative or significant other, brought up questions regarding Luke's true opinion on society shifting to a truly patriarchal society. He promises to take care of Offred, a statement that could have been made out of genuine care or more of a knight in shining armor situation. However, loosing my independence would most definitely cause me to become frustrated. Personally, I hate relying on people, especially for things like money. It’s terrible, and definitely causes tension, especially when it’s a legal thing.

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