Relationship between Offred and the Commander Lauren, Maisie and Ella

Key Points - The relationship between Offred and the Commander is complex. As their relationship blossoms, we see how they are relaxed in each other’s company. Offred’s time with the Commander is almost a medicine to the central concern of lack of freedom in the text. Offred’s desire and affections for the Commander reflects the ideology that she has no feelings to share with anybody anymore. - Offred and the Commander play Scrabble and read books on her nightly visits to his office. We see the hypocrisy of the Commander given what the regime stands for and is trying to tackle e.g. removal of language. The Commanders office is a room which opposes of the critical rules of the regime; this is seen as ironic due to his position of high-ranking officer within the Army. Furthermore, the Commander uses these indulgent contraband items to take advantage of Offred, we see how he forcefully pushes himself upon Offred. - We also see the care that the Commander has for Offred and her wellbeing. He wants her to live a bearable existence with some form normalcy. The Commander does not wish for Offred to die as her predecessor had, and she knows that because of this she holds a little power over the man who has the power to make a difference in her life.

AO2 Quote Analysis & Interpretation “Something to fill the time, at night, instead of sitting alone in my room … I don't love the Commander or anything like it, but he's of interest to me, he occupies space, he is more than a shadow.” Idea that there isn't room for love in a place like Gilead anymore. He "occupies space”: idea of occupying both Gilead and her heart – he may be the closest she can come to love in her society. Feminist theme as light as a symbol of oppression; sees him as “more than a shadow” – although he is a cause of her oppression as a political figure within Gilead he also offers her freedom and a release from her oppression (ref. to “freedom to and freedom from”) Theme of night: he represents an escape and opportunity to reflect. The last line directly links him to Luke, for whom she feels true romantic feelings, but from whom she is quite possibly forever separated – she is trying to replace the memory of Luke through the Commander. “The Commander likes it when I distinguish myself, show precocity, like an attentive pet, prick-eared and eager to perform.” She tolerates this relationship for the tiny bit of power it can afford her in this dystopic society. Animalistic imagery of “pet” implies his ownership over her & possibly her indoctrination: she is now voiceless and “eager” to fulfil Gilead’s desires “eager to perform” refers to her role as a Handmaid in bearing children and desire to fulfil the Commander’s desire for a child – again emphasises potential indoctrination into Gilead’s regime.

“I thought he might be toying, some cat-and-mouse routine, but now I think that his motives and desires weren't obvious even to him. They had not yet reached the level of words.” Atwood relates Offred’s distrust to the reader through the metaphorical comparison of their relationship to a “cat-and-a- mouse routine” The cat holds the power to kill the mouse, the mouse on the other hand, is the victim and holds no way to defend itself against a more powerful opponent. Commander holds utmost power and Offred does not have the luxury of choice as resistance to the Commanders wishes would result in disastrous consequences. Atwood’s metaphor compares a predator-prey relationship to an almost animalistic human relationship; highlighting his power over her in the power structure of Gilead. Irony of “not yet reached the level of words” as Offred is the one restricted from speech and knowledge; We see the hypocrisy of the Commander given what the regime stands for and is trying to tackle e.g. removal of language. Possibly reflects on the problem of communicating fully, even with oneself, particularly in a society where expression even of the self is highly frowned upon. “This is freedom, an eye blink of it. Limp, I spell. Gorge. What a luxury. The counters are like candies, made of peppermint, cool like that.” The restriction put upon language, by the Gilidean society can be overcome by manipulating power through sexual means with the Commander. “eye blink” show that even reading for a fraction of a second, is a luxury to Offred. Simile of “like candies, made of peppermint” helps the audience come to realise how coveted any bit of freedom and power is within a strict society such as Gilead To an extent, helps justify why Offred is so willing to ‘trade’ her body in return for these privileges. “Gorge” could imply a sense of guilt (like to “like a prize pig”) – she feels shame at a desire for more freedom from the Commander in a society where, as a woman, she is already privileged

AO3 Text Focus “Now the Commander is coming out. I glimpse him only for an instant, foreshortened, walking to the car. He doesn’t have his hat on, so it’s not a formal event he’s going to. His hair is grey. Silver, you might call it if you were being kind. I don’t feel like being kind. The one before this was bald, so I suppose he’s an improvement. If I could spit, out the window, or throw something, the cushion for instance, I might be able to hit him.”

Critical Viewpoint: Psychoanalytic The meetings which the Commander has with Offred, in secret, soon lead to a relationship which appears similar to the bond that appears in cases of ‘Stockholm syndrome.’ Stockholm syndrome is a condition which occurs in hostages of prisoners when they attach positive emotions to their captors, even if they are actually being abused, and it is often thought to be a coping mechanism for a victim who feels they have lost all of their self-worth. The lines “I ought to feel hatred for this man. I know I ought to feel it, but it isn't what I do feel. What I feel is more complicated than that. I don't know what to call it. It isn't love.”(ch.9, pg.68) are considered, by those adopting the psychoanalytic theory, to reflect the thoughts adopted by the victim of a classic case of Stockholm syndrome. Offred has come to physically fear almost everyone in her life as a Handmaid, especially the Commander as he is a powerful member of Gilead, and thus she should hate them because they have stripped away all her previous rights and securities. It is common in most cases of mental phenomena or illness for the patient to have a rational mind, Offred knowing she ‘ought’ to hate the Commander, and at the same time showing the characteristics of someone with an unstable mind, Offred’s ‘complicated’ feelings despite her rational opinion, as the victim or patient has subconsciously reacted to threat. Aspects of Offred’s relationship with the Commander show how forced the relationship is between them and therefore why she develops an element of fear which results in Stockholm syndrome, such as Offred being forced to let the Commander use her sexually otherwise she could be hanged.

Example Paragraph (AO2 and AO3) The inner struggle within Offred between her opposition to the regime the Commander represents and her desire for love and affection within an emotionless society is represented particularly well in the line “I thought he might be toying, some cat-and- mouse routine, but now I think that his motives and desires weren't obvious even to him. They had not yet reached the level of words.”, where Atwood relates Offred’s distrust to the reader through the metaphorical comparison of their relationship to a “cat- and-mouse routine”. Atwood’s metaphor compares a predator-prey relationship to an almost animalistic human relationship; highlighting the Commander’s power over Offred in the power structure of Gilead, and her use of pet-like animalistic imagery implies his ownership over her, leaving her voiceless. Their relationship exists in secret, and in public it is portrayed as something very different - in each context the balance of power changes. In this way, their relationship can be described as a dichotomy, with the two opposing faces of their relationship altering the roles of “cat-and-mouse”. Aspects of Offred’s fear, demonstrated through this metaphor, can be interpreted from a psychoanalytic viewpoint as exhibiting symptoms of Stockholm syndrome; Offred has come to physically fear almost everyone in her life as a Handmaid, especially the Commander as he is a powerful member of Gilead, and thus she should hate them because they have stripped away all her previous rights and securities, however the forcefulness of this warped relationship results in her development of a fear which leads to symptoms of Stockholm syndrome, such as Offred being forced to let the Commander use her sexually. The comparison of a relationship based on wilderness and death to that of the Commander and Offred’s possibly signifies the way in which the restrictive regulations of Gilead, upon women especially, have resulted in a regression in individual humans to an almost instinctively wild nature. We see a sense of irony in “not yet reached the level of words” as Offred is the member of the relationship restricted from speech and knowledge; through this, Atwood highlights the hypocrisy of the Commander given that the regime stands for and is trying to tackle removal of language. Although this could just suggest his sanctimonious nature, Atwood could be using this as a device to emphasise his love and care for Offred, in his willingness to reject his personal belief system and risk his life in such a restrictive regime, in order to satisfy her. Furthermore, it could possibly reflect on the problem of communicating fully, even with oneself, particularly in a society where expression even of the self is highly frowned upon.

Page references https://quizlet.com/213930747/the-handmaids-tale-section-5-soul-scrolls-flash-cards/ http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/handmaid/quotes.html http://crossref-it.info/textguide/The-Handmaid%27s-Tale/31/2152 http://www.academia.edu/18404165/Role_of_Language_in_exploring_power_structures_within_he_Handm aids_Tale https://www.shmoop.com/handmaids-tale/commander.html http://www.gradesaver.com/the-handmaids-tale/q-and-a/how-does-behaviour-of-offred-and-the- commander-show-that-their-relationship-progressed-in-chapter-29-58067