The Handmaid's Tale

While beginning to read The Handmaid's Tale, the most surprising thing that sticks out to me is the idea that Offred does not feel as if she can call anything "mine."

I feel I can compare Offred very slightly to Esther in The Bell Jar. They both feel like they can't control what's happening around them, and although they handle their situations differently, their minds are in the same state: lost and confused.

Offred constantly works around in her mind the idea of what happened to her husband and daughter. She remembers Luke many times throughout the beginning of the novel, and she seems lost without him. Of course, when you're family is ripped apart, that's to be expected.

Offred, just as Esther, kind of moves through life step after step like she thinks she's supposed to. Offred describes the environment around her in great details, but also very bluntly. She does what she has to do and what she is told to do and does it without question.

Esther moves through her environment like she thinks she's supposed to, even though she has no clear vision of where she's going. Esther is preoccupied with many things that involve the future, though, while Offred is preoccupied with the past.

It will be interesting to see how long Offred can last without completely immersing her mind in the past. It would be hard to continue thinking about your lost family every day, and especially with Moira's appearance, which makes her recall many other past events. I think it will all probably catch up with her sometime, though.