"You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs..." Post #10

For my forum this week, I would like to focus mainly on twisted ideas the Commander tells Offred that he believes from how the old society worked. I want to closely analyze these two quotes that he says to Offred. First he states,
“The problem wasn’t only with the women, he says. The main problem was with the men. There was nothing for them anymore.”

The quote takes place one night when the Commander and Offred meet secretly. She notices that he has drank far too much. She takes this opportunity to take advantage of him by asking him questions that she would not normally ask. After she asks, the Commander loosely explains that the world was worth nothing for men anymore. I believe by saying this, the Commander was putting a lot of blame on women in general. My interpretation was that the Commander basically slut shamed women before the state of Gilead. This quote exemplifies the shaming effect that this totalitarian state inflicts on the women of Gilead. This is evident because the Commander is saying that he believed the women before Gilead acted too ‘loose’ or, as they would say, like Jezebels. In addition, I find this quote to apply to real life situations especially because slut shaming is still so prevalent in society today. After the Commander says the quote he can sense Offred’s despair so he tries to make up for it for by saying this next quote.  
“You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,” he says. “We thought we could do better.”

Clearly, this did not make Offred feel any better. At this point my opinion changed about the Commander. This is an awful thing for him to say to Offred because she is ‘the broken egg’ in this case. She is the person whose life has been ruined by this new change to their world.  

Comments

  1. Abbey CurranNovember 9, 2017 at 9:46 AM

    I totally agree that this whole scene just didn't sit well with me. Up until this point, I had kind of been enjoying the Commander and Offred's time together, or at least found it interesting and thought provoking. It was, in a way, slut shaming the women of the old world by saying they had gotten too promiscuous, and between that and the porn industry, men had just lost interest in sex because there was nothing left to try/do. It kind of reminded me of something a sex addict would say (or at least, Jody from Shameless), that they've done all there is to too, at at some point, they're just doing it for the sake of doing it.

    I couldn't tell if the commander was saying this in a genuine way though, if that makes sense. During the scene, I couldn't tell if he believed in what they were doing, or if he had just kind of excepted it as reality because it clearly benefits him and the other men of Gilead more so than the women. It gets me thinking about who is really in charge, and who decided on these rules? Is the Commander too "brainwashed" to some extent. Obviously, he has to be at least slightly delusional, because in what world does this seem like a more ideal world? Maybe I'm simply speaking from a female's perspective, but I suppose by the end of the book I'll be able to make a better judgement.

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  2. Allison RossNovember 10, 2017 at 9:32 AM

    Someone in class today made the comment, “No one in the book so far seems to be happy” and that really struck a chord with me. Everyone has been saying that this is the kind of society they need to flourish and succeed, one that is male dominant and breaking women down, but now not even the men seem to be happy! The commander in this passage really made that clear and I’m now confused on how to see the situation. In a sense, I almost feel bad for him because he seems to have dug himself into this rut and even he doesn’t seem to be happy. I agree with Abbey, how does this seem like a more ideal world when literally no one seems to be happy?

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  3. Raquel GorresNovember 13, 2017 at 6:23 PM

    I agree with your points here. When I first read those two quotes, I was a little uneasy at how the Commander was basically blaming women for the men’s problems. But I like how you took it a little deeper, and made the connection to slut shaming. That wasn’t a connection I would’ve made, so I’m glad you brought it to my attention. The idea that women were only there to satisfy men, and if they didn’t do their “job,” there was the concept of ‘what are men supposed to do’ besides go out and find other women. But then the men would just turn around and slutshame the women they slept with.
    I also find it a little weird how he’s insulting women, while trying to make it look like he’s trying to put the blame the men.

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